The Old Testament Witness to Christ and His Kingdom, Mentor's Guide, MG09

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T H E O L D T E S T A M E N T W I T N E S S T O C H R I S T A N D H I S K I N G D O M

or brought to a head in himself the whole of humanity, an interpretation which better accords with the meaning of Ephesians 1.10. Irenaeus elaborated the parallels between Adam and Christ. Adamwas made of virgin soil, was tempted by Satan, and brought sin and death into the world through disobedience at the tree. Christ was born of the Virgin Mary, resisted temptation by Satan, and overcame sin by obedience to death on the cross. Irenaeus further suggested that Christ passed through all ages of life–infant, child, youth, and old man–in order to sanctify all who are born again to God through him. He became what we are in order to make us what he is. As a result of his life, death, and resurrection all that was lost in Adam is regained in Christ. The human race was given a new start, and saved humanity is gathered together as one in Christ. Christ also summed up and completed in himself the revelation of God. The doctrine of recapitulationwas important in the context of the Gnostic controversy because it secured the reality of the incarnations, the unity of mankind, and the certainty of redemption.

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~ E. Ferguson. “Recapitulation.” Evangelical Dictionary of Theology . Walter Elwell, ed. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1984. pp. 916-17.

A. Definition of types and analogy

1. F. F. Bruce: (derived from the Greek, typos , meaning “seal-impression”); “a way of setting forth the biblical history of salvation so that some of its earlier phases are seen as anticipations of later phases, or some later phase as the recapitulation or fulfillment of an earlier one.”

2. Moorhead: “a type is a person, event, or thing so fashioned as to resemble another.”

3. J. A. Schmidt: “types are a set of pictures or object lessons by which God would teach his people about his grace and saving power.”