The Promise of the Holy Spirit

John Owen writes about the ministry of the Holy Spirit within us.

And if we consider this promise of the Spirit as to the ends of it, we shall find that he is promised and given as the sole cause and author of all the good that we can enjoy in this world. For there is no good communicated to us, no gift, grace, mercy, privilege, or consolation bestowed upon us, but through the Holy ghost; nor is there any good in us towards God, any faith, love, duty, or obedience, but what is effectually wrought in us by him, and by him alone. (The Holy Spirit: His Gifts and Power by John Owen, pp. 112-113)

According to Ephesians 1, the Holy Spirit is the gift of God that opens the eyes of our hearts so that we understand the riches that God has bestowed upon us through salvation.

Jonathan Edward's View on Beauty in Creation

Jonathan Edwards comments on divine beauty in creation. God uses nature to communicate his beauty to His creatures.

Now we have shown that the Son of God created the world for this very end, to communicate himself in an image of his own excellency.

He communicates himself, properly, only to spirits, and they only are capable of being proper images of his excellency, for they only are properly beings, as we have shown. Yet he communicates a sort of a shadow, or glimpse, of his excellencies to bodies, which, as we have shown, are but the shadows of beings, and not real beings. He who by his immediate influence, gives being every moment, and by his Spirit, actuates the world, because he inclines to communicate himself and his excellencies, does doubtless communicate his excellency to bodies, as far as there is any consent or analogy. And the beauty of face and sweet airs in men are not always the effect of the corresponding excellencies of mind, yet the beauties of nature are really emanations or shadows of the excellencies of the Son of God. So that when we are delighted with flowery meadows, and gentle breezes of wind, we may consider that we see only the emanations of the sweet benevolence of Jesus Christ. When we behold the fragrant rose and lily, we see his love and purity. So the green trees, and fields, and singing of birds are the emanations of his infinite joy and benignity. The easiness and naturalness of trees and vines are shadows of his beauty and loveliness. The crystal rivers and murmuring streams are the footsteps of his favor, grace, and beauty. When we behold the light and brightness of the sun, the golden edges of an evening cloud or the beauteous bow, we behold the adumbrations of his glory and goodness, and in the blue sky, of his mildness and gentleness. There are also many things wherein we may behold his awful majesty, in the sun in his strength, in comets, in thunder, in the hovering thunderclouds, in ragged rocks, and the brows of mountains. That beauteous light with which the world is filled in a clear day, is a lively shadow of his spotless holiness, and happiness and delight in communicating himself; and doubtless this is a reason that Christ is compared so often to those things, and called by their names, as the Sun of Righteousness, the morning star, the rose of Sharon, and lily of the valley, the apple tree amongst the trees of the wood, a bundle of myrrh, a roe, or a young hart. By this we may discover the beauty of many of those metaphors and similes, which to an unphilosophical person do seem so uncouth.

Michael A. G. Haykin comments on Jonathan's Edwards view of divine Beauty and its enjoyment of it by us is necessary in our walk with God.

Edwards' approach could also be helpful in that it explains why aesthetic experience is for many people also a religious experience. Moreover, by emphasizing that the beauty we perceive in the created realm is a mode of God's presence, he avoids the seeming nebulousness of much of the discussion about divine beauty.

If follows, of course, for Edwards, that those who ignore the beauty of God in creation are committing a religious fault. For Edwards, 'the beatific was basic' to God and the universe. Moreover, Edwards is convinced that men and women uniformly fail in this regard, for the have lost the faculty to see the visible beauty of God in his creation. They perceive the secondary beauty, but fail to see the divine beauty that saturates nature. This faculty can only be restored through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, the 'agent of conversion and of all our good'.

What the Apostle Paul Prayed for.

Ephesians 1:17-18

that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints

Peter O'Brien in his commentary on Ephesians notes the subject of Paul's prayer.

Unlike many contemporary Christians, the apostle does not pray for fresh spiritual blessings, as though he is unaware of the fact that God has graciously given them every spiritual privilege in Christ. On the other hand, Paul does not want his readers to become complacent. He does not assume that because everything is theirs in Christ they do not need to grow in their understanding or experience of these Christian blessings. (O’Brien, pp. 129-130)

Notice Paul did not pray for additional blessings for the Ephesians. He prayed that the Ephesians may understand the blessings and promises that God through Christ abundantly given us already. Paul wants us to pray for everyday needs, but we should also pray fervently that God would give us wisdom and understanding in knowing Him and His salvation for us.

The Puritan High View of Women.

I'm reading Jonathan Edwards: The Holy Spirit in Revival by Michael A. G. Haykin. The author points out that Jonathan Edwards, deeply loved his wife, Sarah. As a matter of fact, Haykin quotes Amanda Porterfield about an interesting trademark about the American Puritans.

One of the most striking phenomena about the New England Puritans is that their greatest ministers and governors -- Thomas Shepard, John Winthrop, Simon Bradstreet, Edward Taylor, Jonathan Edwards, for example -- loved their wives beyond measure. These men found their wives to be earthly representatives of God's beauty. For these men a loving wife was not only a model Christian but also an expression of the beauty of the world that pointed beyond itself to divine beauty. And the enjoyment of God's beauty was the essence of Puritan spirituality. (Haykin, p. 111)

This generation has seen a revival of the proclamation of the same doctrines to which the Puritans held. These Reformed or Calvinistic doctrines are claimed by an increasing number in our generation. Men, we can only pray that our generation of believers not only be characterized by doctrinal purity, but that we love our wives in the same manner of Edwards: our love should be beyond measure to the glory of God.

Francis Chan on Church Growth

Francis Chan, in his book Forgotten God: Reversing Our Tragic Neglect of the Holy Spirit comments on the role of the Holy Spirit on church growth

Even our church growth can happen without Him. Let’s be honest: If you combine a charismatic speaker, a talented worship band, and some hip, creative events, people will attend your church. Yet this does not mean that the Holy Spirit of God is actively working and moving in the lives of the people who are coming. It simply means that you have created a space that is appealing enough to draw people in for an hour or two on Sunday.

It certainly does not mean that people walk out the doors moved to worship and in awe of God. People are more likely to describe the quality of the music or the appeal of the sermon than the One who is the reason people gather for “church” in the first place.

I share this not because the Holy Spirit is not working among us, but we should not let mere growth in the numbers who attend our church convince us that we are on the right path. The Reformers had a phrase ecclesia semper reformanda. It means the church is always reforming in accordance to the Word of God. We always need to examine our practices and programs to see if they in accordance to the Word of God. Chan is emphasizing we need to check if we are depending on the Holy Spirit for guidance and growth. The mark of a growing church in not numbers, but "Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ." (Ephesians 4:15).

The Second Great Article of Gospel Truth

John Owen reflects on the doctrine of the Holy Spirit in his book, The Holy Spirit: His Gifts and Power

We may observe that the doctrine of the Spirit of God, is the second great article of those gospel truths, in which the glory of God and the good of souls, are most eminently concerned; without the knowledge of which in its truth, and the improvement of it in its power, the first will be altogether useless. For when God designed the great and glorious work of recovering fallen man, and of saving sinners to the praise of the glory of his grace, he appointed in this infinite wisdom two great means thereof: the one was the giving of His Son for them; and the other was, the giving of his Spirit to them. (Owen, p. 43)

Spiritual Blessing in Ephesians 1:3

Ephesians 1:3-14 is called an eulogy because it is a prayer of praise to God the Father for all the spiritual blessings He gives his saints (faithful members of the Church). The following is a snippet of the commentary from Peter T. O'Brien's commentary: The Letter to the Ephesians. I thought it laid out the spiritual blessing in Ephesians 1:3 rather well. I put the blessings in a list format to highlight them.

Here the adjective spiritual means ‘pertaining to or belonging to the Spirit’, and thus ‘spiritual blessings’ signify those which ‘properly pertain to the life of the Spirit’. The adjective does not primarily point to a contrast with what is material (e.g., Deut. 28:1-14), secular or worldly. Nor do Paul’s words suggest simply the spiritual gifts listed in 1 Corinthians 12:3-11. The nature of these gracious gifts is made plain in the following words of the eulogy (vv. 4-14), and include

• election to holiness,
• adoption as God’s sons and daughters,
• redemption and forgiveness,
• a knowledge of God’s gracious plan to sum up all things in Christ,
• the gift of the Spirit,
• and the hope of glory. (O’Brien, p. 97)

How can we not with Paul bless the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ in prayer for giving us this blessing.

Inspiration and the Holy Spirit

R. A. Torrey addresses the heresy that inspiration of the Holy Spirit in the Bible is just the same as an architect being inspired to design a building or a poet composing a poem.

A very scholarly and brilliant preacher seeking to minimize the difference between the work of the Holy Spirit in apostles and prophets and His work in other men calls attention to the fact that the Bible says that Bezaleel was to be "filled with the Spirit of God" to devise the work of the tabernacle (Ex. xxxi. 1-11). He gives this as a proof that the inspiration of the prophet does not differ from the inspiration of the artist or architect, but in doing this, he loses sight of the fact that the tabernacle was to be built after the “pattern shown to Moses in the Mount” (Ex. xxv. 9, 40) and that therefore it was itself a prophecy and an exposition of the truth of God. It was not mere architecture. It was the Word of God done into wood, gold, silver, brass, cloth, skin, etc. And Bezaleel needed as much special inspiration to reveal the truth in wood, gold, silver, brass, etc., as the apostle or prophet needs it to reveal the Word of God with pen and ink on parchment. [R. A. Torrey, pp. 248-249]

I would go one step further. The Christian is to honor God through the Christians's work. We can not honor God without Holy Spirit's help. The Spirit will empower us to glorify the Son through our every day work. God will provide us through our work the means and power to glorify Him.

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. (Ephesians 2:10, ESV)

The Author's Intention of Ephesians

I'm preparing to lead a study on Ephesians 1. Here are some good quotes from Peter O'Brien's commentary on Ephesians, "The Letter to the Ephesians."

“He [Paul] writes Ephesians to his mainly Gentile Christian readers, for whom he has apostolic responsibilities, with the intention of informing, strengthening, and encouraging them by assuring them of their place within the gracious, saving purpose of God, and urging them to bring their lives into conformity with this divine plan of summing up all things in Christ (1:10). Paul wants to ‘ground, shape and challenge’ his readers in their faith. In other words, the main purpose of his letter is ‘identity formation’. (O’Brien, p. 57) brackets mine

Cosmic reconciliation and unity in Christ are the central message of Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians. (O’Brien, p. 58)

The aorist infinitive ‘to bring all things together’ does not point to the past, but signifies purpose: the summing up of all things is the goal to be achieved. Yet the implementation of the divine plan is already under way. The letter makes it quite plain that significant steps have already been taken to set in motion the achievement of this goal: in particular, it is through Jesus’ saving work that the revelation of the mystery’s content has come about (1:7-9), while God’s placing all things under his feet and appointing him to be head over everything for the church (1:22) is an important step towards the fulfillment of this goal. But the summing up awaits the consummation, which will occur at the end. (O’Brien, p. 60).

O'Brien has a quote by Cargounis about "the summing up of all things." or anakephaloaiosis.

In his stimulating monograph dealing with the mystery in Ephesians, Chrys Caragounis claims that as Paul proceeds to amplify and explain the meaning of the anakephaloaiosis throughout the letter, he concentrates on two main representatives of these spheres, namely, the powers representing ‘the things in heaven’, and the church (particularly in relation to Jews and Gentiles in the body of Christ) representing ‘the things on earth’. Caragounis further suggests that the two obstacles which need to be overcome before the divine purposes of bringing everything back into unity in Christ can be fulfilled are (a) the rebellion of the powers, and (b) the alienation of the Jews from the Gentiles (2:11-22, as well as the estrangement of both from God, 2:16). Much of the rest of Ephesians is given over to explicating, with reference to each of these two spheres, the steps in the process that God has taken in order to ‘bring all things into unity in Christ’.

The Great Dividing Line between Rome and the Reformation

Sinclair Ferguson in his introduction to John Owen's book, The Holy Spirit: His Gifts and Power, comments on the role the doctrine of the Holy Spirit has in church history.

Indeed the famous counter-reformation Jesuit missionary to England, Edmund Campion, once said that the great dividing line between Rome and Geneva lay along the axis of the doctrine of the person and work of the Holy Spirit. In effect, in the place of the Holy Spirit the Roman Catholic Church had substituted the role of the church--its teaching authority, its priesthood, and its seven sacraments. In this respect, Owen stood on the shoulders of the Genevan reformer John Calvin whom B.B. Warfield insightfully called 'The theologian of the Holy Spirit.'

Like Calvin before him, however, Owen's exposition of the Spirit's ministry is not only set over against Roman Catholic sacramentalism but also against contemporary teaching that tended to separate the Spirit from the word of God and focus attention on individual revelation by the Spirit rather than on the Spirit's illumination of the revelation in Scripture. (p. 24)

The Joy of God's Love

R. A. Torrey writes in his book The Person and Work of The Holy Spirit about a father's love for his child. The example he gives is quite moving.

Some years ago there was a father in the state of Illinois, who had a child who had been deaf and dumb from her birth. It was a sad day in that home when they came to realize that that little child was deaf and would never hear and, as they thought, would never speak. The father heard of an institution in Jacksonville, Ill., where deaf children were taught to talk. He took this little child to the institution and put her in charge of the superintendent. After the child had been there some time, the superintendent wrote telling the father that he would better come and visit his child. A day was appointed and the child was told that her father was coming. As the hour approached, she sat up in the window, watching the gate for her father to pass through. The moment he entered the gate she saw him, ran down the stairs and ran out on the lawn, met him, looked up into his face and lifted up her hands and said, “Papa.” When that father heard the dumb lips of his child speak for the first time and frame that sweet word “Papa,” such a throb of joy passed through his heart that he literally fell to the ground and rolled upon the grass in ecstasy. But there is a Father who loves as no earthly father, who longs to have His children realize that they are children, and when we [pg 140] look up into His face and from a heart which the Holy Spirit has filled with a sense of sonship call Him “Abba” (papa), “Father,” no language can describe the joy of God.

It may be said, I think, the measure of joy in a relationship is the measure of love in the relationship especially in the parent's love for their children. Our greatest joy should be that God joys over us.

See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 1 John 3:1

The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you (Zephaniah 3:17)

but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8, ESV)

God's meaningful universe

John Frame in his book, The Doctrine of God, explains the significance of decrees and the job of humanity in understanding them.

God's decrees display his lordship attributes. In an obvious way, they display his control, for they are efficacious and universal. God's intentions will certainly be fulfilled, and they will be fulfilled for everything in the created world.

They also display his authority, for they are meaningful thoughts--wise plans or counsels for the world. As such, they interpret the world; they determine the meaning and significance of everything God makes. God's interpretations, of course, are always supremely authoritative. When he declares the significance of something for his purpose, that is the significance it has. So the doctrine of the decrees implies that God has authoritatively preinterpreted everything and every event. As Van Til emphasized, the interpretation of the facts precedes the facts. Our world is a world that is exhaustively meaningful, because it is the expression of God's wisdom. Among human beings, interpretation is not the work of trying to assess for the first time the significance of uninterpreted facts. Rather, ours is a work of secondary interpretation, interpreting God's interpretation. (pp. 316-317)

In theology, the universe is not random. The events and created objects are purposely created by God to declare His glory (Psalm 19:1-2) and His wrath (Romans 1:18) to anyone who will listen, and we all will listen one day. For those who love God, these facts express God's omnipresence and omnipotence and thus bring comfort and joy.

Genesis 17:1 -- "Walk before me and be perfect."

In his commentary on Genesis, Allen P. Ross quotes Benno Jacob (First Book of the Bible, pp. 109-110) who has some excellent insights into "I am God Almighty; walk before me and be blameless."

If you want to become whole, which is my request for you, you must walk before me; you place yourself under my exclusive supervision, guidance, and protection. The image is taken from the shepherd who walks behind his herd directing it by his calls, or from the father under whose eyes the child walks. It is more than the walking "with" God of Enoch and Noah who were practically lead [sic] by the hand.

When questions arise you shall take directions only from God and be devoted to him without reservation. This word does not refer to moral conduct, for that would be too insignificant in this situation and is self-understood. The high demand corresponds to God's, "Be you mine, and I will be yours." (Creation and Blessing: A Guide to the Study and Exposition of Genesis, p.331)

Ross goes on writes that the Hebrew word "perfect" (tamin includes meanings of "without fault" and "complete" or "whole.") In other words, holiness and separateness is part of the meaning of the word.

C. S. Lewis and Hebrews 1:3

A friend of mine posted on Facebook from the "Science is Awesome" website. ***********************************************************************************************************

You are currently on a 4.5 billion year old spaceship

A self sufficient, organic, complex spaceship.

You are orbiting a power source that is a million times larger than your ship.

There are 200 billion more power sources, possibly with ships like your, in your group.

There are 40 more groups in your particular neighborhood.

Your neighborhood is moving at 2 million miles per hour to an object that is 150 million light years away.

Welcome to life. It's more exciting when you think on a larger scale.

**********************************************************************************************************
My friend attributed this quote to Carl Sagan, but the web site does not say. I must agree that it is in the spirit of Sagan. This quote raises many questions. Why does astronomical sizes and millions of years make life more exciting? If that is the case, should not contemplating the end of the universe be our most exciting meditation? The most popular theory of the end of the universe is "The Big Freeze." The universe will keep expanding until it approaches absolute zero. No life, no light, nor even matter as we know it will exist. It will be the big zero. The end of the universe is a big whimper. It is indeed an exciting end to contemplate.

The author of the quote introduces meaning or purpose through the words spaceship and direction; However,  in Carl Sagan's universe, the earth is not a spaceship, but the result of random events. In Sagan's view, we are just the product of time and chance. There is no design. In Sagan's universe we do not have a direction. We are on top of a spinning globe, which is spinning around a star, which is spinning around a galaxy, which is spinning around a local group of galaxies. There is no one driving. We are literally spinning out of control. The biblical world view offers an alternative. Life has meaning; the earth has meaning; and the universe shouts meaning. Read these two quotes.

When Hebrews 1:3 speaks of Christ "sustaining all things by his powerful word," sustain is the Greek verb phero, meaning "bear, carry." This not a picture of Christ as a kind of Atlas, holding up the world on his shoulders ("upholding," KJV), but a dynamic image of him carrying the world from one point to another through time. There is a destination, and Christ's purpose is to bring the world process to that goal, that conclusion. John Frame, A Theology of Worship Volume 2: The Doctrine of God, p. 276 by John Frame.

But already in the New Testament this "Son" is identified with the Discourse or reason or Word which was eternally "with God" and yet also was God. He is the all-pervasive principle of concretion or cohesion whereby the universe holds together. All things and specially Life, arose within Him, and within Him all things will reach their conclusion--the final statement of what they have been trying to express. (C. S. Lewis, Miracles. p.76)

Christ has an ultimate end in mind for the universe, it is for his glory; and He will bring it about.

Abraham the Evangelist

I was preparing for my faith family's bible study and I came across a couple of interesting insights about Abraham in a commentary on Genesis. The first point involved Genesis 12:4-5

So Abram went, as the LORD had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people that they had acquired in Haran, and they set out to go to the land of Canaan. When they came to the land of Canaan, (Genesis 12:4-5 ESV)[bolding mine]

When I first read the passage about "people that they had acquired," I thought Moses meant slaves. However Allen P. Ross in his commentary pointed out translating that phrase as "slaves" would probably be incorrect. Ross wrote the following observation about Genesis 12:5.

Tucked away in this verse, easily overlooked, is the expression "and the people [nepes] whom they had acquired [`asa] in Haran." This expression probably does not refer to the acquisition of slaves, for the Hebrew word nepes would not likely be used for that. And it certainly does not refer to their children, because Sarai was barren until Isaac's birth (21:1-7). Cassuto argues that this expression probably refers to proselytes (ibid., p.310). If he is correct, then the narrative implies that, already in Haran, Abram had been sharing his faith in the Lord. (p. 265, Creation and Blessing: A Guide to the Study and Exposition of Genesis , Allen P. Ross)

I thought, "Cool, Abraham shared his faith in the friendly environs of Haran with his family around him." However, another observation in the commentary gave me an insight into Abraham's boldness. I read next in Genesis 12:7-9:

Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built there an altar to the LORD, who had appeared to him. From there he moved to the hill country on the east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. And there he built an altar to the LORD and called upon the name of the LORD. And Abram journeyed on, still going toward the Negeb. (Genesis 12:7-9 ESV)

Abraham's responded to God's further revelation about the land going to his descendants was worship and calling upon the name of the Lord. In Ross's commentary the verb "called upon" can mean more than just prayer.

The response to God's confirming appearance was worship. The idea of sacrifice, presumed here with the building of an altar, continues the ancient form of expressing gratitude and devotion. But at the second mention of his building an altar to worship the Lord is the report that he "made proclamation of the Lord by name..." The expression, first used in Genesis 4:26 refers to the public proclamation of faith in the Lord. The expression is used in the Bible for prayer or for praise, but in Mosaic material it seems to be broader (although a public proclamation of the faith could include prayer and praise) Martin Luther translated it "preached" (predigte), a good rendering in this context.(p. 267, ibid)

So in summary, Abraham built an altar and preached about the one true God in the country of the pantheistic and antagonistic Canaanites. Abraham was bold in his faith even at this early stage. He messed up a few times, but Abram displayed a rare quality of faith that is praised in Hebrews 11.

The Holy Spirit's Role in Creation

The following quote by Michael Reeves is on the role of the Holy Spirit in creation. I never thought about the connection between the Holy Spirit's ministry and beauty before.

So, some Scriptures speak of creation as the work of the Father (it is conceived in his love); others speak of creation as the work of the Son (he brings about his Father’s will); but still others speak of it as the work of the Spirit. “By the word of the LORD were the heavens made, their starry host by the breath [or Spirit] of his mouth” (Ps 33:6). How? What is the Spirit’s role? We have already seen that the Spirit empowers the Word, but he does even more: while the Son establishes and upholds all things (Heb 1:3), the Spirit perfects or completes the work of creation. Job 26:13 puts it delightfully: "By his breath [or Spirit] the skies became fair. In other words, the Spirit garnishes and beautifies the heavens and the earth. Our first vision of the Spirit, hovering dovelike in Genesis 1, captures something essential. It is that, like a mothering dove settling on her eggs, the Spirit vivifies, bringing what has been created to life. And so, while the Nicene Creed speaks of the Father as "Maker of heaven and earth," it speaks of the Spirit as the Lord and giver of life.

Life is something that God has always had, and in creation is it something he now shares with us. By his Spirit he breathes out life on us. And not just in the beginning: that is always the Spirit's work, to bring life. In the book of Job, Elihu says, "The Spirit of God has made me; the breath of the Almighty gave me life" (Job 33:4). Ongoingly in his creation, the Spirit vitalizes and refreshes. He delights to make his creation--and his creatures--fruitful. Isaiah writes of the time when "the Spirit is poured upon us from on high, and the desert becomes a fertile field, and the fertile field seems like a forest" (Is 32:15). The psalmist sings: "When you send your Spirit, they [the creatures] are created, and you renew the face of the earth" (Ps 104:30). Small wonder, then, that creativity, the ability to craft, adorn and make beautiful, is a gift of the Spirit:

Then the Lord said to Moses, "See, I have chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, ability and knowledge in all kinds of crafts--to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, to cut and set stones, to work in wood, and to engage in all kinds of craftsmanship." ((Ex 31:1-5).

The Spirit makes his creation alive with beauty. (Delighting in the Trinity: An Introduction to the Christian Faith by Michael Reeves)

The Rainbow in Genesis

I am reading a chapter in Sacred Bond about the Noahic covenant. The Noahic covenant is a covenant of common grace. God's makes promises to all men and all flesh. The rainbow is the sign God gives us that he remembers those promises. The authors spent some time on rainbows what it symbolizes to the ancient world and what it should symbolize to us today.

So what does the rainbow symbolize? There are two scholarly interpretations of the rainbow, both of which are worthy of mention. First, the Hebrew word for rainbow can mean either rainbow or bow, as in bow and arrow. God calls it "my bow" in verse 13. In ancient iconography, victorious kings and gods are pictured coming back from war with their bows in a horizontal position (like a rainbow). Going into battle, the king/god has the bow vertical in hand, ready to shoot; but after battle it is horizontal, symbolizing the peace after war. The rainbow, then, could be symbolic of God's war bow that hangs in the sky, symbolic of peace. God will not destroy the world again; he is no longer hostile.

Second, the ancients understood the sky or firmament as a dome-shaped barrier that held back the waters above, as in Genesis 1:6-7. Hence, when God judged the world in the flood, he opened the windows of heaven, releasing the waters above (7:11). In fact, the Hebrew word for flood refers more specifically to these celestial waters. Thus, God's promise is that he will never wipe out all flesh by the waters of the flood. The rainbow then visually represents the dome-shaped firmament as shut. The rainbow appears when it rains to show that the celestial waters will not be released.

The symbolic value of the rainbow could be either of these, or perhaps both. Either way, the effect of the symbol is clear. The rainbow reminds us that the floods will never come again. The beautiful arch points to God's promise that he will never judge the world by the waters of the flood. The firmament is shut; there is peace after the storm. (pp. 76-77, Sacred Bond: Covenant Theology Explored by Michael G. Brown and Zach Keele)

The Importance of Genesis 1-3

I'm trying to understand covenant theology. I'm reading Sacred Bond: Covenant Theology Explored by Michael G. Brown and Zach Keele. So far it is the best introduction I have seen written in this century on Covenant Theology. The book has a nice quote about the necessity of the Christian to understand the first three chapters of Genesis.

The apostolic preaching of the gospel is the bridge that brings us to God as Savior: it is paved and clearly marked. But the pillars on this bridge, which are rooted deep into the riverbed below, belong to Genesis 1-3. The streaming water may hide the pillars from our eyes at times; yet without the Genesis pillars, the gospel viaduct would begin crumbling beneath our feet, hurling us headfirst into the water.

Genesis 1-3 forms the essential foundation for the gospel, especially because it reveals the covenant of works. The doctrine of the covenant of works teaches us more about the perfect work of Christ and, in so doing, bolsters up our assurance salvation.(p. 42)

I'm not sure what the water(sin?) is in the metaphor and the metaphor seems strained, but the quote does stress that understanding Genesis 1-3 is key in understanding the full extent of the gospel.

Holiness and the The Flood

In his commentary on p. 198 of Creation and Blessing: A Guide to the exposition of Genesis, Allen P. Ross quotes Marcus Dods on why God chose to blot out completely life upon the earth in the Genesis flood.

This event [The Flood] then gives us some measure by which we can know how much God will do to maintain holiness upon the earth. In this catastrophe every one who strives after godliness may find encouragement, seeing in it the Divine earnestness of God for good and against evil. There is only one other event in history that so conspicuously shows that holiness among men is the object for which God will sacrifice everything else. There is no need now of any further demonstration of God's purpose in this world and His zeal for carrying it out.... The Flood has not been forgotten by almost any people under heaven, but its moral result is nil. But he whose memory is haunted by a dying Redeemer, by the thought of One Whose love found its most appropriate and practical result in dying for him, is prevented from much sin, and finds in that love the spring of eternal hope. [Book of Genesis, pp. 66-67.

We must not think Noah escaped this judgment because of his righteousness. Noah received grace "But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD."(Genesis 6:8 ESV). Allen comments earlier in his commentary about Genesis 6:8.

A close study of the word for grace will support that it signifies unmerited favor. If the word is given its proper meaning, it means that the recipients of grace actually deserved the judgment too. The discussion of Noah's righteousness comes in the next section. Here, Noah received sovereign grace and escaped the catastrophe. No one escapes divine judgment apart from grace.(Ross, p. 185)

John Quincy Adams's Life Purpose

I read a biography of John Quincy Adams. The man was groomed to be president by his parents almost from birth. JQA was intelligent and charming. His parents realized his uniqueness and pushed him to serve his country with every fiber of his being. This drive was passed down to his descendants and it was intentional. I am not sure what is the best way to encourage public service, but John Adams and his descendants for several generations served their country with all their ability and strength. Here is a couple quotes about passing down a legacy of public service to future generations.

Author of the renowned autobiography The Education of Henry Adams, Henry Adams passed summers with his grandparents at Quincy until he was twelve years old and would remember throughout his life "the effect of the back of the Presidents's [John Quincy Adams] head as he sat in his pew on Sundays."

It was unusual for boy to sit behind a President grandfather and to read over his head the tablet in memory of a President great-grandfather who had pledged "his life, his forture, and his sacred honor" to secure the independence of his country and so forth... The Irish gardener once said, "you'll be thinkin' you'll be President too."

p. 286 John Quincy Adams by Harlow Giles Unger

This is a quote by JQA to his children.

You must have one great purpose of existence...to make your talents and your knowledge most beneficial to your country and most useful to mankind. -- JOHN QUINCY ADAMS, "TO MY CHILDREN"

as quoted in p.313, John Quincy Adams by Harlow Giles Unger.