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Theology Thursday: Packer on covenant theology
Posted by Lee Gatiss, 24 Apr 2014
This great article on baptism by JI Packer is from Churchman about 60 years ago. But it’s still a cracker. http://churchsociety.org/docs/churchman/069/cman_069_2_packer.pdf
As I grew up as a Christian at university, I was given various books and told they were good to read. One of those was Packer’s Knowing God. I have since read many of his other works with great profit. What I have discovered only in recent years is that our forefathers in the faith also said some very helpful things on subjects which are of continuing relevance and debate today. This short article on baptism is not only brilliant for its summary of covenant theology, but really useful in showing us how such theology applies to practical ministry questions. I heartily commend it. Packer sees the theme of ‘covenant’ as ‘the key to Biblical Theology.’ Because of the Arminian reaction after 1662 (what Packer calls ‘the semi-Pelagian slippery slope’!), covenant theology was somewhat sidelined within the Church of England after that fateful year. Our theology of the sacraments has been most impoverished by this, he writes. So his article is ‘an attempt to expound the main features of the doctrine of Christian Baptism in the light of the covenant idea.’ He looks, in his characteristically lucid and elegant way, at three things: the nature of the covenant relationship between God and sinners; the unity and continuity of God’s covenant under its successive editions; and finally at the place of children in the covenant. The second part of the article then goes on to look especially at baptism in the context of the covenant of grace. He looks at what baptism means and then draws two conclusions: the children of believers are part of the same covenant, and so should be baptised; and second, he considers the efficacy and usefulness of baptism. Lee Gatiss is the Director of Church Society.
http://churchsociety.org/blog/entry/theology_thursday_packer_on_covenant_theology#When:06:00:00Z
Theology Thursday: Packer on covenant theology
Posted by Lee Gatiss, 24 Apr 2014
This great article on baptism by JI Packer is from Churchman about 60 years ago. But it’s still a cracker. http://churchsociety.org/docs/churchman/069/cman_069_2_packer.pdf
As I grew up as a Christian at university, I was given various books and told they were good to read. One of those was Packer’s Knowing God. I have since read many of his other works with great profit. What I have discovered only in recent years is that our forefathers in the faith also said some very helpful things on subjects which are of continuing relevance and debate today. This short article on baptism is not only brilliant for its summary of covenant theology, but really useful in showing us how such theology applies to practical ministry questions. I heartily commend it. Packer sees the theme of ‘covenant’ as ‘the key to Biblical Theology.’ Because of the Arminian reaction after 1662 (what Packer calls ‘the semi-Pelagian slippery slope’!), covenant theology was somewhat sidelined within the Church of England after that fateful year. Our theology of the sacraments has been most impoverished by this, he writes. So his article is ‘an attempt to expound the main features of the doctrine of Christian Baptism in the light of the covenant idea.’ He looks, in his characteristically lucid and elegant way, at three things: the nature of the covenant relationship between God and sinners; the unity and continuity of God’s covenant under its successive editions; and finally at the place of children in the covenant. The second part of the article then goes on to look especially at baptism in the context of the covenant of grace. He looks at what baptism means and then draws two conclusions: the children of believers are part of the same covenant, and so should be baptised; and second, he considers the efficacy and usefulness of baptism. Lee Gatiss is the Director of Church Society.
http://churchsociety.org/blog/entry/theology_thursday_packer_on_covenant_theology#When:06:00:00Z
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