Journal: Reformed Presbyterian Theological Journal
Volume: RPTJ 03:2 (Spring 2017)
Article: What Is Typology?: An Excerpt From The Shadow Of Christ In The Book Of Job
Author: C. J. Williams

RPTJ 3:2 (Spring 2017) p. 43

What Is Typology?:
An Excerpt From The Shadow Of Christ
In The Book Of Job

C. J. Williams

Professor of Old Testament Studies
Reformed Presbyterian Theological Seminary

“For your first lesson in typology, take out your laptop and place your pinky on the A key, your ring finger on the S key, and your middle finger on the D key…” Sighs and groans emanate from my students as I attempt this joke every year in the classroom, but that never stops me from trying it again the next year. On one occasion, a bright-eyed student carefully placed his fingers as instructed, and looked up at me anticipating further direction. I knew I had to begin at the beginning, and focus on the basics, which is what I hope to do in this chapter.

What is typology? In spite of its technical sound, and the many involved treatments of it, the crux of Biblical typology is not difficult to explain or understand. In essence, it is the way that God used history to bring His promises to life. God’s plan of redemption, brought to its fullness in the work of Christ, was not carried through history on words of prophecy alone, but touched down in the life and experience of God’s people, as particular individuals and events illustrated and animated the promises and provisions of God in the Covenant of Grace. More specifically, the person and work of Jesus Christ was imprinted on the history that led to His incarnation, through people and events that were invested with prophetic meaning by God, offering glimpses of the coming Savior, and reassuring God’s people of the promise of His coming.

This makes typology a vital link between the Old and New Testaments, and gives us a fresh reassurance of the continuing power and relevance of the Old Testament as a revelation of Jesus Christ.

Most words with the “-ology” suffix denote the study of a certain branch of knowledge, and “typology” is no different. In one sense, it refers to the study of Biblical types. However, typology is not merely an academic discipline. It is the term we use to describe the Bible’s own method of using people, events, or institutions, to foreshadow a greater reality yet to come. The type is the foreshadow; the antitype is the reality.

The English word type comes from the Greek word typos, which is used variously in the New Testament, usually translated as “form,” “image,” “pattern,” or “example.” It is used in such contexts as I Timothy 4:12, where the Apostle Paul exhorts Timothy to “be an example (typos) to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity.” In some texts, however, it is clear that typos is us...