(remember, these are unedited/draft show notes, not a transcript — listening is always better…and if you listen AND follow along below, you’ll see how)
Focus Question:
What is “salvation history?”
Intro:
So…today’s focus question is going to define a theological term that we will see represented in both NT and OT segments of reading today. And as we’ve been doing, this isn’t so much a hardcore theology lesson so much as using the focus question to give us something to listen for as we read together. So I’m going to give you the question and answer up front:
What is “salvation history?”
The Bible…makes it clear that God has a unified plan for all of history. His ultimate purpose, “a plan for the fullness of time,” is “to unite all things in him [Christ], things in heaven and things on earth” (Eph. 1:10), “to the praise of his glory” (Eph. 1:12). God had this plan even from the beginning…
The work of Christ on earth, and especially his crucifixion and resurrection, is the climax of history; it is the great turning point at which God actually accomplished the salvation toward which history had been moving throughout the OT.
The present era looks back on Christ’s completed work but also looks forward to the consummation of his work when Christ will come again and when there will appear “new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells” (2 Pet. 3:13; see Rev. 21:1–22:5).
The unity of God’s plan makes it appropriate for him to include promises and predictions at earlier points in time, and then for the fulfillments of these to come at later points.(1)
New Testament segment:
Passage: Matthew 15
Translation: CSB (Christian Standard Bible)
Verses: 39
Words: ~824
Jesus turned in the midst of His teaching from those who refused to respond adequately to His message to those who proved more receptive. In the same way He then turned from those who rejected His miracle-working ministry, in His hometown and homeland, to those outside Israel who would receive Him more gladly…
Despite…(Matthew’s)…attestations of Jesus’ divine origin, the Jewish leaders remained hostile…(2)
So consider the Canaanite woman that we just read about
This woman admitted her secondary place in salvation history (Jesus was sent to the Jews first, v. 24). But she nevertheless exemplifies “great faith” (v. 28)…So Jesus granted her request for her daughter’s healing…(2)
So let’s listen to the end of Hosea, and I’ll wrap up with one more point about this ‘salvation history’ thing.
Old Testament segment:
Passage: Hosea 11-14
Translation: CSB (Christian Standard Bible)
Verses: 51
Words: ~1285
Wisdom segment:
Passage: none today
Translation: CSB (Christian Standard Bible)
Verses:
Words: ~
The bottom line:
How do you define “time?” Many (or most) philosophers would describe time as “change” — events or moments that happen in a series. But God is timeless, right?
You have often heard me say that God’s heart for people is “for all people at all times.” And as we journey through the OT, that’s easy to forget when we read, day after day, about God’s chosen people Israel.
If God is timeless, then in some crazy way that we’re not going to solve here, He has known and planned for all of eternity that we would experience time. So “salvation history” is something that describes His eternal plan for how we would experience. His covenant with the nation of Israel is one finite stretch of time in that whole process, but it’s just a chapter in a bigger story that all points to Jesus…sometimes looking ahead (even prophetically) to when He’d come the first time and, ultimately, come back a second time. (NOTE: I added to this…the podcast is def a better version!)
Come quickly, Lord Jesus!
Love you!
Roger
ForTheHope is a daily audio Bible + apologetics podcast and blog. We’ve got a passion for just keepin’ it real, having conversations like normal people, and living out the love of Jesus better every single day.
Roger Courville, CSP is a globally-recognized expert in digitally-extended communication and connection, an award-winning speaker, award-winning author, and a passionately bad guitarist. Follow him on Twitter -- @RogerCourville and @JoinForTheHope – or his blog: www.forthehope.org.
Sources and resources:
(1) Crossway Bibles, The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008), 23.
(2) David S. Dockery, ed., Holman Bible Handbook (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 1992), 554–555.