Verse of the Day

Friday, February 27, 2015

The Study of the Scriptures - Session 3: Wednesday, 25 FEB 2015 at Faith Baptist Fellowship Church, Lake Ariel, PA

The Study of the Scriptures
Session 3, Wednesday 25 FEB 2015
Faith Baptist Fellowship Church
Lake Ariel, PA


Note: There was no audio recording of this session.

I. Review Sessions 1-2

Hebrew 1:1-3

“How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord,
Is laid for your faith in His excellent Word!
What more can He say than to you He hath said,
You, who unto Jesus for refuge have fled?”[1]

2 Timothy 3:13-17

1. The character of God and our need:

The acknowledgement of God’s ability and our inability is fundamental to understand what is required to know His Word.

2. The nature of God’s revelation and His prerogative as the Revealer:

The acknowledgement of the nature of God’s revelation and confidence in Him as the communicator of His revelation is essential for the humble student of God’s Word.

3. The nature of our cultural context and the skeptical mindset of modern man:

Christians today face discouragement that they can know God’s Word both from the skepticism of our cultural mindset, and from the elitism of ivory tower academics.

Calvin - Know God, know yourself
See yourself in relation to the Word and the world in history
Know your place, your role, your capabilities and limitations

The ability of God

The responses of the creature to the revelation of God

The inability of fallen or natural man

It is naturally impossible for man in his fallen state to understand and properly respond to the revelation of God - Romans 1:18-32

What is the unregenerate unbeliever to do?

1 Corinthians 2

“Blind unbelief is sure to err
And scan His work in vain;
God is His own interpreter,
And He will make it plain.”[2]

Historical and Personal Parameters in the Spectrum of Abilities
for the Understanding of the Scriptures:

Created Unfallen Man
Fallen Unregenerate (Natural)
Man
Fallen
Regenerate
(Spiritual) Man
Maturing Regenerate
(Spiritual) Man
Maturing Regenerate Man: Maximizing Resources
Glorified
Man
1. Eyes to see

2. Ears to hear

3. Mind to know

4. Heart to believe

5. Unhindered communion with God

*********

What could be better?

1. Eyes Blind

2. Ears Deaf

3. Mind Dark

4. Heart hard

5. Neck stiff

6. Rebellion towards God

7. Suppression of the truth of God

*************

The problem is obvious!
1. Eyes to see

2. Ears to hear

3. Mind to know

4. Heart to believe

5. Spirit to teach

*************

So, what is the problem?
1. Read

2. Memorize

3. Meditate

4. Obey

5. Testify
1. Knowledge of Ancient History and Culture

2. Knowledge of Ancient Languages (vocabulary, semantics, grammar, syntax)

3. Awareness of Spiritual Warfare including Satanic Subversion of the Word of God through False Teachers throughout history
Know as we are known

The Means God Uses

If we believe that God’s Word is sufficient and clear (perspicuous), that He has communicated effectively, then what should be our concerns as we come to His Word? What can we learn from His Word about our responsibility towards the Scriptures? (deception, self-deception, false teaching, wrongly dividing versus rightly dividing, twisting and wresting the Scriptures, curiosity, vain imaginings, idle questions, etc.)

When we look into the mirror of God’s Word we are confronted with teachings which should cause us to proceed with great caution.

2 Tim: 2:14-26

The other serious concerns enumerated by Paul here - in addition to his description of the nature of Hymenaeus' and Philetus' error - are: 

1) unprofitable and subversive strivings about words,
2) profane and vain babblings that precipitate ungodliness, and
3) foolish, ignorant, strife-breeding questions.

When we come to Christ we come as lost sinners, dead, helpless, and in desperate need of God’s mercy and grace, forgiveness and cleansing, healing and power. When we come to God’s Word we need to come as humble students, not as proud scholars. We must come confessing our ignorance, and recognizing our need of instruction. We come with darkness, and in need of illumination. We do not shine light on God’s Word, it is quite the other way around. We come with our confusion seeking the clarity that can only be found in the Scriptures of Truth. If we come with such humility God will lift us up. (1 Peter 5:5-6) If we come any other way we must expect nothing less than failure. (Hebrews 11:6)

We need to observe what the Bible does with the Bible, or more properly, how the inspired authors handle the Scriptures. This is especially instructive in the New Testament as we observe how the Old Testament is understood, interpreted and applied.

"The principal rule of interpreting Scripture is that Scripture interprets Scripture." - R. C. Sproul

1. The Scriptures

The best textbook for studying the Bible is the Bible itself.  You already have all that you need (2 Pet. 1:3) if you are a born-again believer in Jesus Christ, indwelt by His Spirit, with His Word before your eyes, and in fellowship with His children in the Church.

What do the Scriptures say about the Scriptures?

What do the Scriptures confront us with about the Scriptures?

Let us take up the obligation of searching the Scriptures, often mentioned as the first task of the Bible student as that of “observation.”

“Peering into the mists of gray
That shroud the surface of the bay,
Nothing I see except a veil
Of fog surrounding every sail.
Then suddenly against a cape
A vast and silent form takes shape,
A great ship lies against the shore
Where nothing has appeared before.

He who sees a truth must often gaze
Into a fog for many days;
It may seem very sure to him
Nothing is there but mist-clouds dim.
Then, suddenly, his eyes will see
A shape where nothing used to be.
Discoveries are missed each day
By men who turn too soon away.”[3]

Golden Rule of Interpretation: When the plain sense of Scripture makes common sense, seek no other sense; therefore, take every word at its primary, ordinary, usual, literal meaning unless the facts of the immediate context, studied in the light of related passages and axiomatic and fundamental truths, indicate clearly otherwise."[4]

 “A shortened form of the above rule goes like this: If the plain sense makes good sense seek no other sense lest it result in nonsense."”[5]

Agassiz and the Fish, or The Student the Fish and Agassiz[6]

“Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.” (John 5:39)

II. Introduce Session 3

Two questions:
1) What is unique about the Bible?

2) How does the Bible interpret the Bible?

What is one of the bases for our faith that the Scriptures are the Word of God?

“Q. 5. How do we know that the Bible is the Word of God?[7]
A. The Bible evidences itself to be Gods Word by the heavenliness of its doctrine, the unity of its parts, its power to convert sinners and to edify saints; but the Spirit of God only, bearing witness by and with the Scriptures in our hearts, is able fully to persuade us that the Bible is the Word of God.”[8]

What should we expect to discover as we expose ourselves to Scripture regarding its unity?

Why should those who are believers in Jesus Christ, and in the Scriptures as God’s Word, not be surprised at what they discover the Bible does with the Bible?

My initial learning lesson with the Scriptures regarding the reality of cross referencing provided in study or reference Bibles was an eye-opener!

The unity of the Scriptures is the basis for what we are now to consider in The First Mention Principle, and the Old Testament quotations, allusions, and verbal parallels found in the New Testament. The Bible, from beginning to end, enables us, as God’s means, to understand God’s revelation. The Scriptures interpret the Scriptures!

1. The First Mention Principle

“That principle by which God indicates in the first mention of a subject, the truth with which that subject stands connected in the mind of God.”

Benjamin Wills Newton: “I find in Scripture this principle of interpretation, which I believe, if conscientiously adopted, will serve as an unfailing guide to what was in the mind of God. This is the keystone of the whole matter.”

A. T. Pierson: “This is a law we have long since noted, and have never yet found it to fail. The first occurrence of a word, expression, or utterance, is the key to its subsequent meaning, or it will be a guide to ascertaining the essential truth connected with it.”

“The first time a thing is mentioned in Scripture it carries with it a meaning that will be carried all through the Word of God.”

“There is only one speaker throughout all Scripture, although there are many mouths. Only one providing, governing, controlling mind….No matter when, where, or how, the message is given, God is the speaker, and since there is only one speaker, and since that speaker knows from the beginning what He is going to say, He can so shape the first utterances as to forecast everything that is to follow. He is able to do that.”[9]

The book of Genesis has often been referred to as the “seed plot” of the Bible. It is the book of “Beginnings,” and we need to bear in mind that what begins here is not left behind. The doctrines or teachings found here are like strands of thread in a tapestry, woven supernaturally together into a unified whole. Start right in your Bible study, and you may hope to end right. When you learn something here in the beginning hold that thought, hand onto it, you may see it again. Wait for it!

Genesis 1:1-5 — 1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. 2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. 3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. 4 And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. 5 And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.

2. Old Testament quotations and allusions

Roger Nicole’s 8 points:[10]

I. Relevance of the Old Testament to New Testament Time

The NT writers assumed that the OT in its entirety was meaningful and relevant for their own time.

II. Old Testament Prophecies Concerning Christ and the Church

The NT writers were convinced that many of the events of the life of our Lord and indeed of the beginnings of the Christian church had been prophesied in considerable detail by OT writers.

III. The Old Testament — the Word of God

The ground of the NT writers’ faith in the prophetic vision of the OT was their conviction, frequently and variously expressed, that the OT is the Word of God.

IV. God’s Meaning in Old Testament Prophecies

Because they viewed the OT as the Word of God, the NT writers did not hesitate to interpret its statements, not merely in terms of what the human authors could have thought, but in terms of what God himself meant in speaking through the prophets.

V. Details of Prophecies Revealed in New Testament Light

In many cases the NT writers, being illumined by the Holy Spirit, perceived with greater clarity than the OT writers themselves God’s intended meaning behind some prophecies. What the Prophets had seen only dimly and in terms of general principle, the NT writers saw in the glowing light of fulfillment in a perspective in which a wealth of details fall into place.

VI. The Deeper Insight of New Testament Writers

The NT writers had such a deep insight into the fullness of God’s redemptive purpose that they could perceive foreshadowings and parallelisms where others might easily have missed them altogether. In many such cases it is not necessary to hold that the OT writers completely understood the way their pronouncements would relate to their fulfillment in the NT.

VII. Unity in Diversity of Old Testament Passages

In a number of cases the NT authors saw a significant relationship between a diversity of OT passages. Sometimes they made this plain by a juxtaposition of quotations; in other cases, they appear to have united two or more passages in an illuminating combination.

VIII. The Divine Authority of the Old Testament

While the NT writers draw attention to the meaning of OT passages, they do no hesitate to build an argument on one word of the original text. This method of quoting the OT manifests a supreme confidence in the divine authority of even the minutest details of Scripture.

3. Examples of New Testament allusions and verbal parallels to the Old Testament:

E.g., Gen. 1:1 — In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

Heb. 11:3 — Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.

Jn. 1:1-3 — 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 The same was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

Gen. 1:2, 6, 9 — 2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters….6 And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters….9 And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.

in 2 Pet. 3:5 — For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water:

4. The examination of some “first mention” teachings in Genesis 1, with follow through in New Testament allusions:

Gen. 1:3-5 — 3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. 4 And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. 5 And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.

Light — 1:3, 3, 4, 4, 5, 16 (Strong’s #216); plural (#215), 2X each in 1:15, 17 — different word, (Strong’s #3974), 2X in 1:16, plural in 1:14, 15, 16.

Darkness — 1:2, 4, 5, 18 (Strong’s #2822)

Said — 1:3, 6, 9, 11, 14, 20, 24, 26, 28, 29 (Strong’s #559)
Saw — 1:4, 10, 12, 18, 21, 25, 31 (Strong’s #7200) — good
[Note: Assertion of prerogative as Judge in verdict of ethical character.]

Divided — 1:4, 6, 7, 14, 18 (Strong’s #914; in the hiphil = to separate, sever completely, or distinguish between) — light from darkness, waters under the firmament from waters above, day from night.
[Note: trans. as separated in NASB, ESV, HCSB, NIV, and NLT. Assertion of prerogative as Creator in establishment of boundaries.]

Called — 1:5, 5, 8, 10, 10 (Strong’s #7121; cp. also 2:19, 23) — Day, Night, Heaven, Earth, Seas.
[Note: Assertion of prerogative as Sovereign in naming.]

What did God do/say, and what did He not do/say?

There is mystery here, and we must not allow our curiosity to drive us beyond what God reveals.
Hic sunt dracones![11]

Within the bounds of God’s written revelation every jot and tittle is significant!

Mt. 5:18 — For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.

The Tittle: “The Bet/Vet and the Kaf/Haf … look very similar except that the Bet/Vet has a little extension on its bottom/right corner. Likewise the Dalet and the Resh …. the Dalet with a little extension on its top/right corner. Also the Het and Tav …. the Tav's bottom/left corner is extended. These small extensions are called tittles.”[12]

 ב כ ד ר ח ת    

Where do light and darkness occur together in other Biblical contexts? In other words, where will you encounter these terms as your read on from Genesis 1 to the end of the Scriptures in Revelation 22? Especially where would you notice these words or concepts occurring together in the same context with the idea of their division as an accompanying factor?

The only NT quotation from, or allusion or verbal parallel to Gen. 1:3 is:

2 Cor. 4:6[13] — For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

Inscription on the Reformation Wall in Geneva: Post Tenebras Lux.[14]



“At the centre of the monument, four 5 m-tall statues of Calvinism's main proponents are depicted:
·         Theodore Beza (1519–1605)
·         John Calvin (1509–1564)
·         William Farel (1489–1565)
·         John Knox (c.1513–1572)
To the left (facing the Wall, ordered from left to right) of the central statues are 3 m-tall statues of:
·         William the Silent (1533 – 1584)
·         Gaspard de Coligny (1519–1572)
·         Frederick William of Brandenburg (1620 – 1688)
To the right (ordered from left to right) are 3 m-tall statues of:
·         Roger Williams (1603–1684)
·         Oliver Cromwell (1599–1658)
·         Stephen Bocskay (1557–1607)
Along the wall, to either side of the central statues, is engraved the motto of both the Reformation and Geneva: Post Tenebras Lux (Latin for After darkness, light). On the central statues' pedestal is engraved a Christogram: ΙΗΣ.”[15]

Also:

Mt. 4:16 — The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up.

Mt. 6:23 — But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!

Mt. 10:27 — What I tell you in darkness, that speak ye in light: and what ye hear in the ear, that preach ye upon the housetops.

Jn. 1:5[16] — And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

Jn. 3:19 — And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

Jn. 12:35[17] — Then Jesus said unto them, Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you: for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth.

Ac. 26:18 (Is. 42:16) — To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.
[Is. 42:16 - And I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not; I will lead them in paths that they have not known: I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight. These things will I do unto them, and not forsake them.]

Rom. 2:19 — And art confident that thou thyself art a guide of the blind, a light of them which are in darkness,

2 Cor. 6:14 — Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?

Eph. 5:8-11 — 8 For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light: 9 (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;)
10 Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord. 11 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.

1 Th. 5:4-8[18]4 But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. 5 Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. 6 Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober. 7 For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night. 8 But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation.

1 Pet. 2:9 — But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:

1 Jn. 1:5 — This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.

[1 Tim. 6:16 — Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen.]

[James 1:17? — Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.]

1 Jn. 2:8 — Again, a new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in him and in you: because the darkness is past, and the true light now shineth.

Sola Scriptura, Soli Deo Gloria,

John T. “Jack” Jeffery
Pastor, Wayside Gospel Chapel
Greentown, PA

25 FEB 2015

Appendix A: Basic Bible Study Materials — A Suggested Bibliography (with links to Amazon)

This is the book that I recommend as collateral reading for the "Scripture Study Seminar":

Sinclair Ferguson, From the Mouth of God (Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 2014); paperback (no Kindle available at this time) for $10.59 on Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/Mouth-God-Sinclair-B-Ferguson/dp/1848712421/ [accessed 18 JAN 2015].

1. In addition to Sinclair Ferguson's work that I am recommending as collateral reading the following five recent works on the subject may be the most helpful:

J. Scott Duvall, and J. Daniel Hays, Journey into God's Word: Your Guide to Understanding and Applying the Bible (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2008);

Gordon D. Fee and Douglas Stuart, How To Read The Bible For All Its Worth: A Guide to Understanding the Bible, 4th ed. (Grand Rapids: Academie Books, 1982, 1993, 2003, 2014); 

Peter Krol, Knowable Word: Helping Ordinary People Learn to Study the Bible (Minneapolis: Cruciform Press, 2014);

Grant Osborne, The Hermeneutical Spiral: A Comprehensive Introduction to Biblical Interpretation, 2nd ed. (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1991, 2006);

R. C. Sproul, Knowing Scripture, 2nd ed. (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1977, 2009);

2. Here are five recommended older works whose value does not fade!

James M. Gray, How to Master the English Bible: An Experience, a Method, a Result, an Illustration (London: Oliphant Anderson & Ferrier, 1907);
in public domain, available online or as a free downloadable digital file (PDF or ePub) on Google Books at http://books.google.com/books?id=AOUOAAAAQAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false [accessed 18 FEB 2012].

J. Edwin Hartill, Principles of Biblical Hermeneutics (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1947);
available online or as a free PDF file download (60 mb) on Seminario LAMB at  http://seminariolamb.com/biblioteca/lib/lib-biblical%20analysis/Principles%20of%20Biblical%20Hermeneutics%20-%20J%20Edwin%20Hartill.pdf [accessed 9 MAR 2014];
print editions available on Amazon at 
[accessed 18 JAN 2015].

Arthur T. Pierson, The Bible and Spiritual Criticism: Being the Second Series of Exeter Hall Lectures on the Bible Delivered in London, England in the Months of February, March and April, 1904 (Minneapolis: Bethany Fellowship, Inc., n.d.; 1970 reprint of 1905 original by The Baker and Taylor Co., New York);

Robert A. Traina, Methodical Bible Study: A New Approach to Hermeneutics (Wilmore, KY: self-published, 1952; Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1980); 

Oletta Wald, The New Joy of Discovery in Bible Study, rev. ed. (Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress, 2002);
Note: This newly revised edition is also available in Kindle.

Compiled by:

John T. “Jack” Jeffery
Pastor, Wayside Gospel Chapel
Greentown, PA

28 JAN 2015

Appendix B: Old Testament Quotations and Allusions in the New Testament — A Working Bibliography[19]

I. Listings of the Quotations and Allusions

ESV Study Bible, English Standard Version (Wheaton: Crossway, 2008), pp. 2608-2611.

H. Gough, The New Testament Quotations Collated with the Scriptures of the Old Testament (London: Walton and Maberly, 1855); on Google Books at http://books.google.com/books?id=LaYCAAAAQAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false [accessed 25 FEB 2015].

The Greek New Testament, eds. Barbara Aland, Kurt Aland, Matthew Black, Carlo M. Martini, Bruce M. Metzger, and Allen Wikgren, 4th rev. ed. (Stuttgart, FRG: United Bible Societies and Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, 1993, 1994), pp. 887-890, s.v. “Index of Quotations,” and pp. 891-901, s.v. “Index of Allusions and Verbal Parallels.”

The New Testament in the Original Greek, rev. Brooke Foss Westcott, and Fenton John Anthony Hort (New York: The Macmillan Co., 1949), pp. 601-618, s.v. “Quotations from the Old Testament.”

Novum Testamentum Graece, eds. Eberhard and Erwin Nestle, 27th ed., eds. Barbara and Kurt Aland, Johannes Karavidopoulos, Carlo M. Martini, and Bruce M. Metzger (Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, 1898, 1993), pp. 772-802, s.v. Appendix IV: “Loci Citati Vel Allegati, A. Ex Vetere Testamento.”

Old Testament Quotations in the New Testament, ed. Robert G. Bratcher, Helps for Translators 3, 3rd rev. ed. (New York: United Bible Societies, 1961, 1984, 1987).

“Old Testament Quotations: Some Notes on the Apostles’ usage of the Septuagint; and Quotations of and Allusions to the Old Testament In the New Testament, Compiled and annotated by Michael D. Marlowe,” on Bible Researcher at http://www.bible-researcher.com/quote01.html [accessed 22 FEB 2015].

“Parallel Passages in New Testament Quoted from Old Testament,” on Blue Letter Bible at https://www.blueletterbible.org/study/misc/quotes.cfm [accessed 22 FEB 2015].

“Quotations and Allusions,” on Bible Gateway at https://www.biblegateway.com/topical/Quotations-Allusions/ [accessed 22 FEB 2015].

“Table of Old Testament quotes in the New Testament, in English translation,” on Joel Kalvesmaki at http://www.kalvesmaki.com/LXX/NTChart.htm [accessed 22 FEB 2015].

Crawford Howell Toy, Quotations in the New Testament (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1884); on Google Books at https://books.google.com/books?id=NoBCAAAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false [accessed 25 FEB 2015].

II. Articles and Chapters

Nicholas T. Batzig, “Three Ways the New Testament Writers Quote the Old Testament,” (20 MAY 2012), on Feeding On Christ at http://feedingonchrist.com/three-ways-the-new-testament-writer-quote-the-old-testament/ [accessed 24 FEB 2015].

G. K. Beale, “Seeing the Old Testament in the New: Definitions of and Criteria for Discerning Old Testament Quotations and Allusions,” A Handbook on the Use of the Old Testament in the New: Exegesis and Interpretation (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2012), pp. 29-40; on Theofil at http://www.theofil.nu/files/Beale%20-%20CriteriaForQuotesAndAllusions.pdf [accessed 24 FEB 2015].

Matthew Black, “The Christological Use of the Old Testament in the New Testament,” New Testament Studies 18 (1971-1972), pp. 1-14.

Matthew Black, “The Theological Appropriation of the Old Testament by the New Testament,” Scottish Journal of Theology 39 (1986), pp. 1-17.

Darrell L. Bock, “Evangelicals and the Use of the Old Testament in the New: Part 1,” Bibliotheca Sacra 142:567 (1985), pp. 209-220; on beginning with moses at http://beginningwithmoses.org/bt-articles/192/evangelicals-and-the-use-of-the-old-testament-in-the-new-part-1 [accessed 23 FEB 2015].

Darrell L. Bock, “Evangelicals and the Use of the Old Testament in the New: Part 2,” Bibliotheca Sacra 142:568 (1985), pp. 306-316; on beginning with moses at

Christopher R. Bruno, “Readers, Authors, and the Divine Author: An Evangelical Proposal for Identifying Paul's Old Testament Citiations,” Westminster Theological Journal 71:2 (Fall 2009), pp. 311-321.

E. Earle Ellis, “How Jesus Interpreted His Bible,” Criswell Theological Review 3:2 (1989), pp. 341-351; on Gordon Faculty Online at http://faculty.gordon.edu/hu/bi/Ted_Hildebrandt/NTeSources/NTArticles/CTR-NT/Ellis-JesusBible-CTR.htm [accessed 24 FEB 2015], and http://faculty.gordon.edu/hu/bi/ted_hildebrandt/NTeSources/NTArticles/CTR-NT/Ellis-JesusBible-CTR.pdf [accessed 24 FEB 2015].

E. Earle Ellis, “Jesus' Use of the Old Testament and The Genesis of New Testament Theology,” Bulletin for Biblical Research 3 (1993), pp. 59-75; on Biblical Studies at http://www.biblicalstudies.org.uk/pdf/bbr/jesus-ot_ellis.pdf [accessed 24 FEB 2015].

Craig Evans, “Jewish Exegesis,” in Dictionary for Theological Interpretation of the Bible, gen. ed. Kevin Vanhoozer (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2005), pp. 380-384.

Craig Evans, “The Old Testament in the New,” in The Face of New Testament Studies: A Survey of Recent Research, eds. Scot McKnight and Grant R. Osborne (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2004), pp.130-145.

Hulitt Gloer, “Old Testament Quotations in the New Testament,” in Holman Bible Dictionary, ed. Trent C. Butler (Nashville: Broadman & Holman, 1991); on Study Light at  

Donald A. Hagner, “The Old Testament in the New Testament,” in Interpreting the Word of God: Festschift in Honor of Steven Barabas, eds. Samuel J. Schultz & Morris A. Inch (Chicago: Moody Press, 1976), pp.78-104; on Biblical Studies at http://www.biblicalstudies.org.uk/pdf/mp/otnt_hagner.pdf [accessed 22 FEB 2015].

“How the New Testament Quotes and Interprets the Old Testament,” in ESV Study Bible, English Standard Version (Wheaton: Crossway, 2008), pp. 2605-2607.

“The Interpretation of Scripture: The Use of the Old Testament in the New,” (list of articles) on Biblical Studies at http://www.biblicalstudies.org.uk/int_otnt.php [accessed 22 FEB 2015].

Kenneth D. Litwak, “Echoes of Scripture? A Critical Survey of Recent Works on Paul's Use of the Old Testament,” Currents in Research: Biblical Studies 6 (1998), pp. 260-288.

Richard N. Longenecker, “'Who is the Prophet Talking About?' Some Reflections on the New Testament's Use of the Old,” Themelios 13:1 (OCT/NOV 1987), pp. 4-8.

Dan G. McCartney, “New Testament Use of the Old Testament,” on Academia at https://www.academia.edu/733056/The_New_Testament_Use_of_the_Old_Testament [accessed 24 FEB 2015].

Alan Hugh McNeile, “Our Lord's Use of the Old Testament,” in Essays on Some Biblical Questions of the Day, by Members of the University of Cambridge, ed. Henry Barclay Swete (London: Macmillan and Co., 1909), pp. 215-250, s.v. Essay VIII; on Google Books at https://books.google.com/books?id=bYtJAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false [accessed 23 FEB 2015].

Stephen Motyer, “Old Testament in the New Testament, the,” in Baker's Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology, ed. Walter A. Elwell (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1996); on Bible Study Tools at http://www.biblestudytools.com/dictionaries/bakers-evangelical-dictionary/the-old-testament-in-the-new-testament.html [accessed 22 FEB 2015].

Steve Moyise, “Does the NT Quote the OT Out of Context?” Anvil 11:2 (1994), pp. 133-143;
on Biblical Studies at http://www.biblicalstudies.org.uk/pdf/anvil/11-2_moyise.pdf [accessed 24 FEB 2015].

Steve Moyise, “Intertextuality and historical approaches to the use of Scripture in the New Testament,” Verebum et Ecclesia 26 (2005), pp. 447-458.

Steve Moyise, “Intertextuality and the Study of the OT in the NT,” The Old Testament in the New Testament. Essays in Honour of J. L. North, ed. Steve Moyise, Journal for the Study of the New Testament Supplement 189 (Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 2000), pp. 14-41.

“New Testament use of the Old Testament,” on Theopedia at http://www.theopedia.com/New_Testament_use_of_the_Old_Testament [accessed 22 FEB 2015].

Roger Nicole, “The New Testament Use of the Old Testament,” in Revelation and the Bible: Contemporary Evangelical Thought, ed. Carl. F. H. Henry (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1958), pp. 135-151; reprinted in Evangelicals and Inerrancy, ed. R. Youngblood (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1984); in Standing Forth: Collected Writings of Roger Nicole (Ross-shire, G.B.: Mentor, 2002), pp. 223-242; and in The Right Doctrine from the Wrong Texts? Essays on the Use of the Old Testament in the New, ed. G. K. Beale (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 1994), pp. 13-28; on Bible Researcher at http://www.bible-researcher.com/nicole.html [accessed 22 FEB 2015].

Roger Nicole, “The Old Testament in the New Testament,” in The Expositor's Bible Commentary (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1979), 1:617-628.

Stanley Porter, “The Use of the Old Testament in the New Testament: A Brief Comment on Method and Terminology,” in Early Christian Interpretation of the Scriptures of Israel: Investigations and Proposals, eds. Craig A. Evans and James A. Sanders, Vol. 5 in Studies in Scripture in Early Judaism and Christianity, Vol. 148 in Journal for the Study of the New Testament: Supplement Series (Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1997), pp. 79-96.

Robert Rendall, “Quotation in Scripture as an Index of Wider Reference,” The Evangelical Quarterly 36:4 (OCT-DEC 1964), pp. 214-221; on Biblical Studies at http://www.biblicalstudies.org.uk/pdf/eq/1964-4_214.pdf [accessed 24 FEB 2015].

Klaas Runia, “The Interpretation of the Old Testament by the New Testament,” TSF Bulletin 49 (Autumn 1967), pp. 9-18; on Biblical Studies at http://www.biblicalstudies.org.uk/pdf/tsf-bulletin/49_ot-nt_runia.pdf [accessed 24 FEB 2015].

D. Moody Smith, Jr., “The Use of the Old Testament in the New,” in The Use of the Old Testament in the New and Other Essays: Studies in Honor of William Franklin Stinespring, ed. James M. Efird (Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 1972), pp.3-65; on Biblical Studies at http://www.biblicalstudies.org.uk/pdf/stinespring-fs/smith.pdf [accessed 24 FEB 2015].

Moisés Silva, "The New Testament Use of the Old Testament," in Scripture and Truth, eds. D. A. Carson and John D. Woodbridge, eds. (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1992), pp.147-165.

Krister Stendahl, “Biblical Theology, Contemporary,” in The Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible. ed. G. A. Buttrick (Nashville: Abingdon, 1962), 1:418-432.

Louis Matthews Sweet, “Quotations in the New Testament,” in International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, eds. James Orr, John Nuelson, Edgar Mullins, Morris Evans, and Melvin Grove Kyle (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1939); on International Standard Bible Encyclopedia Online at

Robert L. Thomas, “The New Testament Use Of The Old Testament,” The Master’s Seminary Journal 13:1 (Spring 2002), pp. 79-98; on The Master’s Seminary at http://www.tms.edu/tmsj/tmsj13d.pdf [accessed 22 FEB 2015].

Michael J. Vlach, “New Testament Use of the Old Testament: A Survey of Where the Debate Currently Stands,” presented 17 NOV 2011 at the 63rd Annual Meeting of the Evangelical Theological Society (San Francisco, CA); on Theological Studies at http://www.theologicalstudies.org/files/resources/nt_use_of_ot_for_ets_2011.pdf [accessed 24 FEB 2015].

Jack Weir, “Analogous Fulfillment: The Use of the Old Testament in the New Testament,” Perspectives in Religious Studies 9:1 (Spring 1982), pp. 65-76.

Arthur Lukyn Williams, “The Problem of the Septuagint and Quotations in the New Testament,” Journal of the Transactions of the Victoria Institute 58 (1926): 152-175; on Biblical Studies at http://www.biblicalstudies.org.uk/pdf/jtvi/1926_152.pdf [accessed 24 FEB 2015].

III. Books

G. L. Archer and G. C. Chirichigno, Old Testament Quotations in the New Testament: A Complete Survey (Chicago: Moody, 1983).

D. L. Baker, Two Testaments, One Bible: A Study of the Theological Relationship between the Old and New Testaments (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1992).

G. K. Beale and D. A. Carson, eds., Commentary on the Use of the Old Testament in the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2007).

G. K. Beale, ed., The Right Doctrine from the Wrong Texts? Essays on the Use of the Old Testament in the New (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 1994).

Robert G. Bratcher, ed., Old Testament Quotations in the New Testament, Helps for Translators 3, 3rd rev. ed. (New York: United Bible Societies, 1961, 1984, 1987).

D. A. Carson and H .G. M. Williamson, eds., It Is Written: Scripture Citing Scripture: Essays in Honour of Barnabas Lindars, SSF (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988). 

Brevard S. Childs, Biblical Theology of the Old and New Testaments: Theological Reflection on the Christian Bible (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1992).

Charles Harold Dodd, The Old Testament in the New, Ethel M. Wood Lecture delivered before the University of London on 4 March 1952 (London: The Athlone Press, 1952); on Biblical Studies at http://www.biblicalstudies.org.uk/pdf/emwl/otnt_dodd.pdf [accessed 23 FEB 2015].

James M. Efird, ed., The Use of the Old Testament in the New and other Essays: Studies in Honor of William Franklin Stinespring (Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 1972).

E. Earle Ellis, The Old Testament in Early Christianity (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1991).

E. Earle Ellis, Paul's Use of the Old Testament (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1957, 1981).

Craig Evans, ed., From Prophecy to Testament: The Function of the Old Testament in the New (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 2004).

R. T. France, Jesus and the Old Testament: His Application of Old Testament Passages to Himself and His Mission (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1971).

John Goldingay, Approaches to Old Testament Interpretation (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1990).

H. Gough, The New Testament Quotations Collated with the Scriptures of the Old Testament (London: Walton and Maberly, 1855); on Google Books at http://books.google.com/books?id=LaYCAAAAQAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false [accessed 25 FEB 2015].

Richard B. Hays, Echoes of Scripture in the Letters of Paul (New Haven: Yale University Press,1993).

Franklin Johnson, The Quotations of the New Testament from the Old Considered in the Light of General Literature (Philadelphia: American Baptist Publication Society, 1895); on Internet Archive at https://archive.org/details/quotationsnewte00johngoog [accessed 23 FEB 2015].

S. Lewis Johnson, The Old Testament in the New (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1980).

Donald Juel, Messianic Exegesis: Christological Interpretation of the Old Testament in Early Christianity (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1988).

Walter C. Kaiser, Toward Rediscovering the Old Testament (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1987).

Walter C. Kaiser, The Uses of the Old Testament in the New (Chicago: Moody Press, 1985).

Richard Longenecker, Biblical Exegesis in the Apostolic Period, 2nd ed. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1999).

Jonathan Lunde and Ken Berding, eds. Three Views on the New Testament's Use of the Old Testament (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2008).

Steve P. Moyise, The Old Testament in the New Testament, Continuum Biblical Studies (London: Continuum International Publishing Group, 2001).

Stanley E. Porter, ed. Hearing the Old Testament in the New Testament, Mcmaster New Testament Studies (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2006).

Randolph Vincent Greenwood Tasker, Our Lord's Use of the Old Testament (London: Westminster Chapel, 1953).

Crawford Howell Toy, Quotations in the New Testament (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1884); on Google Books at https://books.google.com/books?id=NoBCAAAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false [accessed 25 FEB 2015].

David McCalman Turpie, The Old Testament in the New (London: Williams and Norgate, 1868); on Internet Archive at https://archive.org/details/OldTestamentInTheNew [accessed 25 FEB 2015].

David McCalman Turpie, The New Testament View of the Old (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1872); on Google Books at https://books.google.com/books?id=xGJGAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false [accessed 25 FEB 2015].

Compiled by:

John T. “Jack” Jeffery
Pastor, Wayside Gospel Chapel
Greentown, PA

22-25 FEB 2015





End Notes:

[1] In John Rip­pon, A Se­lect­ion of Hymns from the Best Au­thors (1787); “at­trib­ut­ed var­i­ous­ly to John Keene, Kirk­ham, and John Keith;” on Cyber Hymnal at http://nethymnal.org/htm/h/f/hfirmafo.htm [accessed 26 JAN 2015]. The four possibilities for the “K-” ascription in Rippon (Robert Keen(e), George Keith, Thomas Kirkham, and Kennedy or Kennady) are discussed on Hymnary.org at http://www.hymnary.org/person/K [accessed 26 JAN 2015].

[2] Will­iam Cow­per, “God Moves in a Mysterious Way,” in Twen­ty-six Let­ters on Re­li­gious Sub­jects, by John New­ton (1774); on Cyber Hymnal at http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/g/m/gmovesmw.htm [accessed 26 JAN 2015].

[3] Clarence Edward Flynn, cited by Robert A. Traina, Methodical Bible Study (self-published, 1952), pg. 33.

[4] David L. Cooper, The God of Israel, rev. ed. (Los Angeles: Biblical Research Society, Inc., 1945), pg. iii. At the time this book was written Cooper was the President of the Biblical Research Society, and the Editor of the Biblical Research Monthly.  David L. Cooper's articles on "Rules of Interpretation" from Biblical Research Monthly (1947 and 1949) are available online on the Biblical Research Studies Group at  http://www.biblicalresearch.info/page7.html [accessed 4 FEB 2014].  "Part Three, 3rd Rule" of the "Rules of Interpretation" is "The Golden Rule of Interpretation" at  http://www.biblicalresearch.info/page47.html [accessed 4 FEB 2014]. These articles by Cooper are cited in "Hermeneutics: The Science of Interpreting the Scriptures", on Messianic Association at http://www.messianicassociation.org/ezine19-dc.hermeneutics.htm [accessed 4 FEB 2014].

[5] "Dr. David L. Cooper, the founder of The Biblical Research Society, was proficient in the Biblical languages. He studied Greek under Dr. A. T. Robertson.”
“This rule was published regularly in Dr. Cooper's monthly magazine, Biblical Research Monthly.”
Source: "Do I Interpret the Bible Literally?  Seven Tests to See If I Truly Do", on the Middletown Bible Church (Middletown, CT) at  http://www.middletownbiblechurch.org/dispen/literal.htm [accessed 4 FEB 2014].

[6] The account of "The Student, the Fish, and Agassiz", often referred to simply as "Agassiz and the Fish" has been referred to in many sources. I first learned of this story while studying Robert A. Traina's book, Methodical Bible Study (self-published, 1952), pg. 80, note 6. He cited C. R. Eberhardt, The Bible in the Making of Ministers, pp. 134-138, as a source for the story. In Traina's "Bibliography" he lists Lane Cooper, Louis Agassiz as a Teacher.  This may have been another source. The fullest and perhaps most well-known version of this story is Samuel H. Scudder's, which is available online at Dr. David Howard, Jr.'s Bethel Seminary site at  http://people.bethel.edu/~dhoward/resources/Agassizfish/Agassizfish.htm 
[accessed 11 JUL 2012]. Howard documents this as from American Poems, 3rd ed. (Boston: Houghton, Osgood & Co., 1879), pp. 450-454. Other versions of the story may be found at "The Story behind the Story of "The Student, the Fish, and Agassiz"" on Dr. David Howard, Jr.'s Bethel Seminary site at  http://people.bethel.edu/~dhoward/resources/Agassizfish/storybehind.htm [accessed 11 JUL 2012]. When folks take this approach to the study of a verse, a paragraph, a chapter or a book of the Bible they will see things and learn things that most others will miss. See also Justin Taylor's blog post, "Agassiz and the Fish" (16 NOV 2009) on The Gospel Coalition at http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/justintaylor/2009/11/16/agassiz-and-the-fish/ [accessed 11 JUL 2012].

[7] See also the answer to this question in the Westminster Larger Catechism, Q.4.

[8] Keach’s Catechism (1677); on Creeds of Christendom at http://www.creeds.net/baptists/keach.htm [accessed 25 FEB 2015].

[9] J. Edwin Hartill, Principles of Biblical Hermeneutics (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1947), pg. 70; online or as a free PDF file download (60 mb) on Seminario LAMB at http://seminariolamb.com/biblioteca/lib/lib-biblical%20analysis/Principles%20of%20Biblical%20Hermeneutics%20-%20J%20Edwin%20Hartill.pdf [accessed 9 MAR 2014]. Print editions are available on Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/Principles-Biblical-Hermeneutics-Edwin-Hartill/dp/0310272556/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1394410156&sr=1-1 [accessed 9 MAR 2014]. See also Arthur T. Pierson, The Bible and Spiritual Criticism: Being the Second Series of Exeter Hall Lectures on the Bible Delivered in London, England in the Months of February, March and April, 1904 (Minneapolis: Bethany Fellowship, Inc., n.d.; 1970 reprint of 1905 original by The Baker and Taylor Co., New York), pg. 41. This is coordinated with the Progressive Mention Principle and the Full Mention Principle.

[10] Roger Nicole, “The Old Testament in the New Testament,” in The Expositor's Bible Commentary (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1979), 1:618-625.  See also Roger Nicole, “The New Testament Use of the Old Testament,” in Revelation and the Bible: Contemporary Evangelical Thought, ed. Carl. F. H. Henry (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1958), pp. 135-151; reprinted in Evangelicals and Inerrancy, ed. R. Youngblood (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1984); in Standing Forth: Collected Writings of Roger Nicole (Ross-shire, G.B.: Mentor, 2002), pp. 223-242; and in The Right Doctrine from the Wrong Texts? Essays on the Use of the Old Testament in the New, ed. G. K. Beale (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 1994), pp. 13-28; on Bible Researcher at http://www.bible-researcher.com/nicole.html [accessed 22 FEB 2015].

[11] ""Here be dragons" is a phrase used to denote dangerous or unexplored territories, in imitation of the medieval practice of putting sea serpents and other mythological creatures in uncharted areas of maps.
The only known historical use of this phrase is in the Latin form "HC SVNT DRACONES" (i.e. hic sunt dracones, here are dragons) on the Hunt-Lenox Globe (ca. 1503–07). Earlier maps contain a variety of references to mythical and real creatures, but the Lenox Globe is the only known surviving map to bear this phrase. 
The term appeared on the Lenox Globe around the east coast of Asia, and might be related to the Komodo dragons in the Indonesian islands, tales of which were quite common throughout East Asia.
The classical phrase utilized by ancient Roman and Medieval cartographers used to be HIC SVNT LEONES (literally, Here are lions) when denoting unknown territories on maps."
Wikipedia at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Here_be_dragons  [accessed 27 MAY 2012].

[12] Edwin Beckford on Jewish Outreach International at http://www.angelfire.com/super/redhorse/BeenThere/Teachings/Jot_Tittle/Jot_Tittle.html [accessed 25 FEB 2015].

[13] G. K. Beale and D. A. Carson, eds., Commentary on the Use of the Old Testament in the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2007), pp. 762-764.

[14]Post tenebras lux is a Latin phrase translated as Light After Darkness. It appears as Post tenebras spero lucem ("After darkness, I hope for light") in the Vulgate version of Job 17:12.
The phrase came to be adopted as the Calvinist motto, and was subsequently adopted as the motto of the entire Protestant Reformation. It is used by John Calvin's adopted city of Geneva, Switzerland on their coins. As a mark of its role in the Calvinist movement, the motto is engraved on the Reformation Wall, in Geneva, and the Huguenot Monument, in Franschhoek, South Africa.” Wikipedia at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post_tenebras_lux [accessed 22 FEB 2015]. Job 17:12 (KJV) - They change the night into day: the light is short because of darkness.

[15] Wikipedia at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reformation_Wall [accessed 22 FEB 2015]. See also “Reformation Wall, Geneva,” on Sacred Destinations at http://www.sacred-destinations.com/switzerland/geneva-reformation-wall [accessed 22 FEB 2015]; and “Reformation Wall | A Monument in Geneva, Switzerland,” on Ritebook at

[16] Beale and Carson, op. cit., pg. 421.

[17] Beale and Carson, op. cit., pg. 476.

[18] Beale and Carson, op. cit., pg. 882.

[19] The resources included in this bibliography are selections primarily general in nature. An extensive body of specialist literature has been excluded that is focused on specific New Testament books or authors.