Faithfulness: A Prescription For Theology -- By: Craig A. Blaising

Journal: Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society
Volume: JETS 49:1 (Mar 2006)
Article: Faithfulness: A Prescription For Theology
Author: Craig A. Blaising


Faithfulness: A Prescription For Theology

Craig A. Blaising

Craig Blaising, executive vice president and provost at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, P.O. Box 22000, Fort Worth, TX 76115, delivered this presidential address at the 57th annual meeting of the ETS on November 17, 2005, in Valley Forge, PA.

Before he ascended into heaven, the Lord Jesus commissioned his followers to make disciples of all nations (Matt 28:16–20). In doing this, the Gospel of Matthew tells us, they were to teach the nations to obey all that he had commanded them. The setting, the meeting at the mountain, the appearance of the Lord who has all authority in heaven and on earth, ordering obedience to all of his commandments, must have recalled to their minds the meeting of God with Israel at the mountain of Sinai where commandments were given that they be his holy people (Exodus 19–20). Perhaps they also recalled the promise in Isaiah that the nations would come to the mountain of the Lord and that they would be taught his ways, so that they might walk in his paths (Isa 2:2–4).

Luke likewise tells us that, before his ascension, Jesus explained to his disciples the things concerning him in all the Scriptures, the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms, that he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and that he sent them to proclaim from the Scriptures repentance and forgiveness of sins to all nations (Luke 24:27, 44–48).

John tells us about the sending of the disciples in the context of the upper room discourse and the high priestly prayer. Jesus prayed for the sanctifi-cation of those from the nations who would believe in him through the word of his apostles (John 17:17–21), the very same apostles whom he commanded to abide in and keep his word (John 15:7–11) and to whom he promised to send the Holy Spirit not only to bring to their remembrance the words he spoke to them but also to guide them into all the truth, fulfilling Christ’s intent to say many other things as the Holy Spirit declared to the disciples all that belongs to Christ, which is also all that belongs to the Father (John 14:15–17, 25–26; 15:26–27; 16:12–15).

The obligation in the commission in the three Gospels i...

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