WWW.BSMI.ORG G e n e s i s A BIBLICAL THEOLOGY Timothy Lin, Ph.D. Former Pastor, Professor, and Seminary President Forward by Eugene H. Merrill, Distinguished Professor of Old Testament, Dallas Theological Seminary Made available by Biblical Studies Ministries International, Inc. WWW.BSMI.ORG EUGENE H. MERRILL: “A proper biblical theology, as Timothy Lin here shows, must begin at the beginning, that is, with Genesis. Every significant theological idea of both the Old and New Testament finds its taproot in this foundational text. Careful to avoid an eisegesis that refuses to let Genesis speak for itself, Lin nonetheless is quick to show that Genesis opens the door to the Gospel message. The Bible makes no sense without a clear grasp of the truths of Genesis, revelation brilliantly recovered and expounded in this stirring and provocative theological synthesis.” Eugene H. Merrill Ph.D., Distinguished Professor of Old Testament Studies, Dallas Theological Seminary LESLIE M. FRAZIER: “The principle of Progressive Revelation is portrayed clearly in this Biblical Theology of Genesis. In this foundational book of Scripture Dr. Lin displays not only hermeneutical principles but emphasizes the spiritual teachings and their development. It will prove useful for both pastors and laymen in understanding Genesis and the whole Bible. I have given my son Mike, the senior pastor of a large church, copies of all three of Dr. Lin’s books.” Leslie M. Frazier, Ph.D., Far East Director, Baptist International Missions, Inc. 2 Scripture quotations are from either the Authorized Version of the Bible or by the author’s own translation. When the author began this work there were few good versions of the Bible available to quote. Fourth revised edition, October 2002 Other books by Dr. Lin How the Holy Spirit Works in Believers’ Lives Today The Kingdom and What It Means to the Life of the Believer The Secret of Church Growth © Biblical Studies Ministries International, Inc. You are permitted and encouraged to reproduce and distribute this material in any format provided that: (1) You credit the author and Biblical Studies Ministries International, Inc.; (2) Any modifications are clearly marked; (3) You do not charge a fee beyond the cost of production; (4) You do not make more than 500 copies; and (5) You include BSMI’s web site address (www.bsmi.org) on the copied resource. For placing this material on the web, a link to the document on BSMI’s web site is preferred. For any use other than that given above, please contact Biblical Studies Ministries International, Inc., 820 Bennett Court, Carmel, IN 46032 or [email protected]. Copyright © 1997 Biblical Studies Ministries International, Inc. WWW.BSMI.ORG 3 CONTENTS A BRIEF BIOGRAPHY OF DR. TIMOTHY LIN......................................................... 5 PREFACE ....................................................................................................................... 6 Part One: GENERAL INTRODUCTION.......................................................................... 7 BIBLICAL INSPIRATION ............................................................................................ 7 HERMENEUTICAL RULES FOR PROGRESSIVE REVELATION ........................13 THE GENUINENESS AND AUTHORSHIP OF GENESIS....................................... 26 PROGRESSIVE REVELATION IN GENESIS........................................................... 32 Part Two: THE REVELATION OF GOD AND MAN IN GENESIS ............................ 36 Chapter One—THE TIMES OF ADAM ...................................................................... 36 THE REVELATION OF GOD................................................................................. 36 e A. God Is the Eternal—“In the beginning, b reshith” (Gen. 1:1). ....................... 36 B. God Is the Creator—“created, bara” (Gen. 1:1). ............................................ 38 C. God Is the Omnipotent—“Elohim” (Gen. 1:1)................................................ 39 D. God Is the Holy One—“without form and void, thohu wabhohu” (Gen. 1:2).41 E. God Is the Revealer—The Trinity (Gen. 1:1-2:3). .......................................... 42 F. God Is Love—His Goodness—“Yahweh Elohim” (Gen. 2:4-25)................... 43 G. God Is Love—His Mercy—“Yahweh Elohim” (Gen. 3:1-13)........................ 48 H. God Is Just—“Yahweh Elohim” (Gen. 3:14-24)............................................. 49 THE REVELATION OF MAN ................................................................................ 53 A. Man’s Creation (Gen. 1:26-28; 2:7)................................................................ 53 B. Man’s Probation (Gen. 2:7-17)........................................................................ 61 D. Man’s Temptation (Gen. 3:1-24)..................................................................... 67 Chapter Two—THE TIMES OF NOAH ...................................................................... 74 THE REVELATION OF GOD................................................................................. 75 A. Yahweh, the Compassionate Father of the Family (Gen. 4:1-15)................... 75 B. Yahweh, then Elohim, the Merciful Lord of Mankind (Gen. 6:1-22)............. 81 C. Elohim, the Righteous Judge of the Earth (Gen. 7:1-8:19). ............................ 87 D. Elohim, Sovereign Ruler of the Universe (Gen. 8:20-9:17, 26-27; 11:5-9).... 90 THE REVELATION OF MAN ................................................................................ 95 A. Division in the Family (Gen. 4:1-15). ............................................................. 96 B. Division in Society (Gen. 4:16-5:32). ............................................................. 99 C. Division in Noah’s Generation (Gen. 6:1-12). .............................................. 102 D. Division Among the Races (Gen. 9:20-27)................................................... 105 E. Division According to Languages (Gen. 10:1-11:9). .................................... 108 Chapter Three—THE TIMES OF ABRAHAM, ISAAC, JACOB, AND JOSEPH... 110 THE REVELATION OF GOD................................................................................... 111 A. Yahweh’s Faithfulness in Promising the Covenant (Gen. 11:27-17:27)....... 111 B. El Shaddai’s Faithfulness in Preserving the Covenant (Gen. 18:1-25:18).... 119 C. El Shaddai’s Presence in Sustaining the Covenant (Gen. 26:1-50:26).......... 127 THE REVELATION OF MAN .................................................................................. 134 A. Abraham—the Revelation of Faith (Gen. 11:27-25:10) ............................... 134 B. Isaac—The Revelation of Sonship (Gen. 25:19-28:5) .................................. 145 D. Joseph—The Revelation of the Overcoming Life (Gen. 37:1-36; 39:1-45:24; 47:13-31; 49:22-26; 50:1-26).............................................................................. 154 CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................... 158 4 A BRIEF BIOGRAPHY OF DR. TIMOTHY LIN Dr. Timothy Lin was born to a minister’s family in Chekiang, China. He was taught to read the Bible when he was 6, began to preach when he was 15, but was not born again until age 19. Having left Central Theological Seminary of Nanking in 1934 due to its modernistic teaching, he served as the pastor of Jubilee Church in Shanghai until 1937. In 1938-39 he was principal of the Christian and Missionary Alliance Bible Institute of Kwangsi. In 1940 he came to the United States for the first time to study Hebrew and Greek at Concordia Theological Seminary and Washington University. During World War II, Dr. Lin was in charge of Bethel Orphanage as well as being the principal of Bethel High School. He was also the dean of Shanghai Bible College. After the war, Dr. Lin was invited to be the president of the East China Theological College of Hangchow, which was cosponsored by the China Inland Mission. Then in 1948 he came again to the United States for advanced study, receiving a B.D. and S.T.M. from Faith Theological Seminary, then in Wilmington, Delaware, and a Ph.D. from the College of Hebrew and Cognate Learnings of Dropsie University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In addition, he holds several other earned and honorary degrees. Dr. Lin was a member of one of the Old Testament translation committees for the New American Standard Bible. He was also a professor in the graduate school of Bob Jones University, in South Carolina, where he taught Systematic Theology, Biblical Theology, Old Testament Hebrew, Biblical Aramaic, Classic Arabic, and Peshitta Syriac. Moreover, he was a professor at Talbot Seminary, Los Angeles, and Trinity Evangelical Seminary, Chicago, and the president of China Evangelical Seminary in Taiwan. In 1961 the Lord led him to become interim pastor of the small struggling First Chinese Baptist Church of Los Angeles, and in 1962 the permanent pastor. When he retired as Senior Pastor a few years ago, the church had eight pastors, more than 2,200 in regular Lord’s Day attendance, and in addition had started several mission churches with more than 300 in regular attendance. Dr. Lin has also been a popular teacher and Bible conference speaker, being in great demand by ministers, teachers, and church leaders for training in biblical interpretation and church growth in the Far East as well as in North America. 5 PREFACE When a layman opens a theological book he often finds that it is like half-cooked rice, since most books of this nature are written from