Thursday, November 13, 2008

The Seven Births

I'm taking a free online course in biblical theology. The instructor, Dr. Gerard van Groningen, tells a story about a young woman being introduced to the Bible for the first time after coming to faith in Christ. Dr. van Groningen, not wanting to start her off in the "deep end" set up a reading schedule through what he refers to as the seven births.

  1. the birth of the universe (Genesis 1)
  2. its rebirth with Noah (Genesis 6:1 - 11:32)
  3. the birth of God’s people with Abraham (Genesis 12:1 - 25:18)
  4. the birth of the people of Israel in Exodus (Exodus 1:1 - 12:30)
  5. the birth of Christ (Luke 1:1 - 4:13)
  6. the birth of the Davidic covenant (2 Samuel 7:1 - 29)
  7. the birth of the church (Acts 1:1 - 2:47)

This method focuses on the organic nature of God’s revelation.

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