Cornerstone Curriculum, Official Certification Edition

150 / CORNERSTONE CURRICULUM STUDENT WORKBOOK

seed is fulfilled in the person of Jesus of Nazareth. The seminal text in Scripture outlining the promise is the protoevangelium , the first telling of the Gospel in Genesis 3.15. Here God promises the certainty of hostility between the serpent and the woman and their respective “seeds,” the bruising of the heel of the woman’s seed, and the crushing of the serpent’s head by the seed. In the NT, Jesus of Nazareth is revealed to be this divine seed commissioned to destroy the devil’s work and to redeem humankind to God. Yahweh’s covenant promise with Abraham serves as the progressive continuation of God’s divine promise for a Savior. In his covenant with Abraham, God promised to supply him a “seed” who would bring redemption and restoration to Abraham’s descendants and all the nations of the earth. In the NT, Jesus of Nazareth is declared to be the seed of Abraham, the restorer and redeemer of creation and the world. If you are interested in pursuing some of the ideas of The Promise Given , you might want to give these books a try: Baron, David. Rays of Messiah’s Glory: Christ in the Old Testament . Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2001. Clowney, Edmund P. The Unfolding Mystery: Discovering Christ in the Old Testament . Phillipsburg, NJ: P & R Publishing, 1991. Drew, Charles D. The Ancient Love Song: Finding Christ in the Old Testament . Phillipsburg, NJ: P & R Publishing, 2000. As you go through this lesson, probing the nature of the OT’s witness to Christ, you will want to examine the ways in which these insights and perspectives can affect your own understanding and practice of ministry. How do you study and investigate the OT, what are your attitudes and responses to the OT literature, and in what way does your own preaching and teaching need to be impacted by a fresh and more unified understanding of the relationship of the testaments? Ask the Holy Spirit to help you identify the key ways in which you might want to make a direct practical ministry connection with the perspectives and ideas that you covered in this lesson, and ones that you can think about and pray for throughout this next week. The key to dynamic growth and innovation in ministry is being dramatically open to the Holy Spirit’s promptings about growth, change, and application. Ask him to point out particular situations where you can integrate these new insights into your own personal walk and ministry.

Resources and Bibliographies

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B i b l i ca l S tud i e s

Ministry Connections page 89 & 9