The Progressive Revelation Principle
This is the principle by which God makes the revelation of any given truth increasingly clear as the Word proceeds to its consummation. PROGRESS OF DOCTRINE IN THE NEW TESTAMENT- Bernard: "The reality of this progress is very visible; and more especially so when we regard the New Testament as the last stage of that progressive teaching which is carried on through the Scriptures as a whole. Glance from the first words to the last: "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth...Even so, come, Lord Jesus."
"How much progress lies between these two? In the one lies the first rudiment of revelation addressed to the earliest and simplest consciousness of man; namely, that which comes to him through his senses, this consciousness of the material world which lies in its grandeur around him. In the other lies the last cry from within, the voice of the heart of man, such as the intervening teaching has made it; the expression of the definite faith which has been found and the certain hope which has been left by the whole revelation of God.
"The course of teaching which carries us from one to the other is progressive throughout, but with different rates of progress in the two stages which divide this progression.
"In the OLD TESTAMENT, the progress is protracted, interrupted, often languid, and sometimes so dubious as to seem like retrogression. Accession takes place in sundry parts, in divers manners, at times under disguises of earthly forms, seeming to suggest mistakes which have to be corrected. Yet, through it all, the doctrine grows, and the revelati6n draws nearer to the great disclosure. Then, there is entire suspension.
"We turn the next page which represents the silence of 400 years- and we are in the NEW TESTAMENT.
"Now again there is progress, but it is rapid and unbroken. Our steps before were centuries; now they are but years. From the manger of Bethlehem (on earth) to the City of God (coming down from heaven), the great scheme of things unrolls before us without a break.
"It is in harmony with the processes of nature and with human feelings that preparations should be slowly matured, but that final results should rapidly unfold. When life becomes intense, it can no longer endure delays or develop itself by languid progression. The root was long before it showed the token of its presence; the stem and leaves grew slowly, but yesterday, the bud emerged from its sheath; today, it is expanded in the flower.
"In a swift course of events and the period of one human life, a few contemporary writers have given us all the gospel that we need to know under our present dispensation, all that we shall ever know until Jesus comes again!"
"In the OLD TESTAMENT we are told to pray three times a day; in the Gospels we are told to "enter into your closet," and in the last place, "Pray without ceasing," in the Epistles.GENESIS 3:15 reveals man's fall and the promise of the Redeemer in the Seed of the Woman. Then God reveals the Seed to come from the family of Abraham-then to Isaac. Then, on to which of Isaac's two sons? ...Jacob.
Jacob had many sons-which one Of these? The Scriptures reveal that the Promised Seed shall come out of Judah-and then, on out of the family of David!
ATONEMENT is not a New Testament word. The Old Testament meaning is that of a "cover." Sins, therefore, were covered by the blood of bulls and goats. Our sins today, praise God, are not covered; they are WASHED AWAY by the PRECIOUS BLOOD OF JESUS CHRIST!THE TRINITY-GENESIS 1:1 "Elohim"-is a plural noun; ISAIAH 9:6, the pronoun "us"; the baptism of the Lord Jesus shows the Trinity: 1. God the Father, in the Voice
2. Jesus, the Son
3. Holy Spirit, descending as a Dove.THE HOLY SPIRIT: GENESIS 1:2 records the Spirit as moving upon the face of the waters. The word "moved" should be translated as meaning "brooded." When you hear of the Holy Spirit, you hear of the moving, or brooding, the bringing of life! TITUS 3:5 is progress, and ACTS 1:8 is more progress.
SATAN:
| LIAR | Jesus said that Satan was a liar. |
| ACCUSER | Job 1 & 2 picture him as an accuser. |
| HINDERER | Zechariah 3: 12 — he is a hinderer. |
| TEMPTER | Matthew 4 pictures him as the tempter. |
| SIFTER | Luke 22:31 tells us he is the sifter. |
| INSTIGATOR OF LIES | Acts 5 shows him as instigator of lies. |
| INSTIGATOR OF LAWLESSNESS | II Thessalonians 2 pictures him as the instigator of lawlessness. |
SERMON: THE LAMB OF GOD-Explain the Progressive Revelation Principle.GENESIS 4 is the mentioning of the first lamb-Abel's Selected.GENESIS 22-Abraham didn't understand, but said, "My son, God will provide Himself a lamb for a burnt offering." This is the first time the thought of a substitutional sacrifice occurs. God must provide the lamb; man cannot.
Provided. EXODUS 12-the Lamb slain; the blood is placed upon the door. Death is going to be placed in all homes in Egypt. Every first born Egyptian or Israelite is under the curse. Only those under the blood of the lamb are delivered! The Lamb is slain on that night of death. Here we find the first hint of the Cross in the two sides of the door and lintel.
The lamb on the wooden spike was literally a crucified lamb, and 2000 years later, this was the LAMB! Proffered.LEVITICUS 16-Two kid goats seem to express what Christ does as a dying Savior, and as a Resurrected Savior! Completion.ISAIAH 53-We learn for the first time that the Lamb is a man- "Man of Sorrows." Revealed.JOHN 1:29, 36-From this Scripture, we learn for the first time that Jesus was the Lamb of God! Fulfilled.
The Lamb is the sacrifice for:
| (Genesis 4) | The Individual |
| (Exodus 12) | The Family |
| (Leviticus 16) | The Nation |
| (John 1) | The World |
Acts 8-Philip declares for the first time that Jesus Christ was the Lamb of ISAIAH 53.I PETER 1:18-20-We learn that Christ was chosen by God before the foundation of the ages!
ANIMAL SACRIFICE was instituted by God for one purpose, that of the teaching of the sacrifice of the Lamb of Calvary-Jesus Christ! The thing that made sacrifice necessary was SIN. Animal sacrifice does not come up to the Majesty of God Almighty; neither does a human sacrifice of babes, children, etc. The sacrifice of a beast does not come up to the level of a man for man's sin. Only a man can be sacrificed for man, and the only way for man to come up to the level of the Majesty of God Almighty, is through God Almighty, Himself. Jesus came down; God came down and was made man; man did not in some way become God, but God came down and was made man. That Babe in the manger in Bethlehem was God then and there, for HE, our Lord Jesus Christ, was conceived by the Holy Ghost.
THERE MUST BE AN INFINITE SACRIFICE FOR SIN OF MAN! WITHOUT SUCH, THERE IS NO SALVATION!
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