In this episode of Christ the Center, Camden Bucey and Lane Tipton explore Geerhardus Vos's profound treatment of faith in the Gospel of John (pp. 390–392 of Biblical Theology). Vos unfolds faith not as an abstract belief but as a living, continuous union with the incarnate and ascended Truth—Jesus Christ Himself. John's theology binds faith and truth together: the Son comes down from heaven as the true light, true bread, true vine, and the Truth (John 1:9; 6:32; 15:1; 14:6). Faith, therefore, is a Spirit-wrought communion with the heavenly reality revealed in Him.

Tipton and Bucey trace how this Johannine vision lifts believers from the shadowy worship of the old covenant to true, eschatological worship "in spirit and in truth." Faith beholds Christ even now, anticipating the beatific vision. In contrast to philosophical or impersonal notions of truth, Vos insists that truth is personal, Trinitarian, and heavenly—rooted in the self-revealing God. Thus, saving faith is not blind trust but an intimate, knowing participation in the life of the risen Christ, a foretaste of the age to come.

Order Lane Tipton's book, Introduction to the Theology and Apologetics of Van Til

Chapters

00:07 Introduction
01:44 New Book: Introduction to the Theology and Apologetics of Cornelius Van Til
11:11 Faith in the Gospel of John
16:19 Defining Truth According to the Son
26:49 Heaven and the Truth
29:44 The Typological Dimension of Truth
34:32 Faith as the Human Relation to Truth
37:35 Faith Anticipates the Glorified Christ
40:56 Faith, Unbelief, and Knowledge
44:25 Faith and Beholding the Lord
46:48 Scripture and the Truth
52:00 The Need for More Redemptive-Historical Study in John
57:40 Conclusion

Vos Group #103 — Faith in the Gospel of John