Christ the Center

David Owen Filson joins us to speak about Dr. J. Oliver Buswell, theologian and former president of Wheaton College and Covenant College and Seminary. Buswell was involved with the early modernist-fundamentalist controversy and the founding of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church, though he joined the Bible Presbyterian Church when it split with the fledgling OPC over premillennialism and teetotalism. He continued to be an interlocutor with members of the OPC and faculty at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia. Interestingly, he coined the term "presuppositionalism" while debating with Cornelius Van Til over apologetic and theological method. Dr. Filson is teaching pastor of Christ Presbyterian Church in Nashville, Tennessee. He previously spoke on the subject in episode 316, January 17, 2014

We continue our #VosGroup series in pages 185–188 of Vos' book Biblical Theology: Old and New Testaments to consider the unfolding of God's plan as it moves from the period under Moses to that of the prophets. Prophetism marks an epochal movement in OT revelation. In other words, the “new happenings” of God’s mighty deeds in redemptive revelation bring enduring advancement toward consummation—each epoch builds upon and brings advancement to what has proceeded. The new feature is “the organization of the theocratic kingdom under a human ruler” (185). God is seeking to confer himself on a holy people through a holy king in a holy theocratic realm. As such, Prophetism is a “Kingdom-Producing Movement (186–187). This is a critical point to grasp: prophetism is attached to the advancement of the theocratic kingdom. Prophetism therefore has no independent significance. Its entire rationale grows out of the producing and advancement of the theocratic kingdom of Jehovah. This comes into even greater clarity as we recognize that the Word is the instrument of Prophetism (187–88). The essence, formally, of prophetism is that it “restricts” itself to the Word of God—the Word from the mouth of Jehovah. The Word of God “in reality did more than anything else towards the spiritualizing of the relation between Jehovah and Israel” (187).

Pierce Taylor Hibbs speaks about language and the Trinity. His book, The Trinity, Language, and Human Behavior: A Reformed Exposition of the Language Theory of Kenneth L. Pike is available in P&R Publishing's Reformed Academic Dissertations series. Hibbs describes Kenneth Pike's linguistic theory and compares it to the theology of Cornelius Van Til, demonstrating shared Trinitarian themes. Pierce Hibbs is the Assistant Director of the Theological English Department at Westminster Theological Seminary. He writes at wordsfortheologians.org. Links Who is Kenneth Pike?

In this episode, we speak about the free offer of the gospel. The real point in dispute in connection with the free offer of the gospel is whether it can properly be said that God desires the salvation of all men. This issue was related to several theological controversies of the 1940s and stemming back decades earlier. Much of this particular issue comes the split of 1924 within the Christian Reformed Church which led to the formation of the Protestant Reformed Church under the leadership of Herman Hoeksema. For some, the antithesis is so absolutized that there can be no real transition from wrath to grace and no free offer of the gospel. Cornelius Van Til spoke of the antithesis as an ethical rather than metaphysical antithesis. In a letter to Jesse de Boer, he indicated that it was merely another way to speak of total depravity. As we walk through a study committee report delivered to the 15th General Assembly of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church, we are confronted with the great mystery of God's will and his infallible revelation to us in Scripture. Links OPC Study Committee Report (15th General Assembly, 1948) Abraham Kuyper, Common Grace Cornelius Van Til, Common Grace and the Gospel

The first paragraph of chapter twenty-nine in the Westminster Confession of Faith sets forth the institution of Lord’s Supper and the uses and ends for which it is designed: Our Lord Jesus, in the night wherein he was betrayed, instituted the sacrament of his body and blood, called the Lord’s Supper, to be observed in his church, unto the end of the world, for the perpetual remembrance of the sacrifice of himself in his death; the sealing all benefits thereof unto true believers, their spiritual nourishment and growth in him, their further engagement in and to all duties which they owe unto him; and, to be a bond and pledge of their communion with him, and with each other, as members of his mystical body. In this episode, we discuss the five purposes of the Lord's Supper detailed in the confession: Christ instituted the Lord’s Supper as a commemorative ordinance for the perpetual remembrance of the sacrifice of himself in his death. The Lord’s Supper is a confirmatory sign (cf. Rom. 4:11) for the purpose of sealing all the benefits procured by Christ’s death unto true believers. Christ instituted the Lord’s Supper for the spiritual nourishment and growth of believers in him. Christ instituted the Lord’s Supper for believers for their further engagement in and to all duties which they owe unto him. Finally, Christ instituted the Lord’s Supper to be a bond and pledge of believers’ communion with him, and with each other, as members of his mystical body.

We continue our #VosGroup series in pages 175–182 of Vos' book Biblical Theology: Old and New Testaments to consider ancestor worship and animism before moving to a summary of Part I of the entire book and specifically, revelation during the period of M

We speak with Dr. Stephen G. Myers about Ebenezer Erskine and the important events of Presbyterian history with which he was involved.

William Vandoodewaard speaks to us about Martin Bucer, John Knox, and the development of pastoral care during the Reformation.

Bill Dennison speaks about Karl Marx, leading us through his biography, influences, and his intellectual effects upon social and political history.

Jonathan Gibson and Mark Earngey speak about Reformation worship. Their new book Reformation Worship: Liturgies from the Past for the Present, is an irenic plea for the Church (and especially her ministers) to engage again in the two-millennia-old question: "How then shall we worship?"