Copyright © 2020 Harry Wilson Whipple All rights reserved. The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary has permission to reproduce and disseminate this document in any form by any means for purposes chosen by the Seminary, including, without limitation, preservation or instruction. THE CHURCH AS THE NEW COVENANT COMMUNITY ___________________ A Project Presented to the Faculty of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary ___________________ In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Ministry ___________________ by Harry Wilson Whipple May 2020 APPROVAL SHEET THE CHURCH AS THE NEW COVENANT COMMUNITY Harry Wilson Whipple Read and Approved by: __________________________________________ Robert L. Plummer (Faculty Supervisor) __________________________________________ Dean C. Clark Date______________________________ TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS . vi LIST OF FIGURES . viii PREFACE . xii Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION . 1 Context . 2 Rationale . 6 Purpose . 7 Goals . 9 Research Methodology . 10 Definitions . 12 Conclusion . 14 2. THE NEW COVENANT COMMUNITY AND ITS MEDIATORIAL MINISTRY . 15 Introduction . 15 Covenant with Noah . 19 Covenant with Abraham . 22 Covenant with Israel through Moses . 26 Covenant with David . 30 New Covenant . 33 Summary . 41 iii Chapter Page 3. THE NEW COVENANT COMMUNITY AND ITS FOUNDATIONS . 50 Introduction . 50 The Sacrifice of Christ . 52 The Outpouring of the Holy Spirit . 53 The Outpouring of the Holy Spirit Results in Spirit Baptism . 56 4. THE NEW COVENANT COMMUNITY IN ITS TOTAL AND LOCAL MANIFESTATIONS . .74 Introduction . 74 The Ordinance of Water Baptism . 80 The Ordinance of the Lord’s Supper . 87 Conclusion . 101 5. THE NEW COVENANT COMMUNITY AND ITS GOVERNMENTAL AUTHORITY . 104 Greek City-State Ekklesia . 105 Mosaic Covenant Ekklesia . 112 New Covenant Ekklesia . 123 Conclusion . 138 6. THE NEW COVENANT COMMUNITY IN THE MILLENNIAL KINGDOM . .142 Introduction . 142 Historical Aspects . 148 Premillennialism . 162 Postmillennialism . 164 Amillennialism . 167 The Rapture Question . 187 iv Chapter Page 7. THE NEW COVENANT COMMUNITY AND DISPENSATIONAL THOUGHT . 207 Traditional Dispensationalist Kingdom Postponed . 207 Progressive Dispensationalist Inaugurated Kingdom . 210 Dispensationalist View of the New Covenant: Church Participation—Millennial Israel Ratification . 213 One New Covenant, One New Covenant Community Position . 229 8. THE NEW COVENANT COMMUNITY AND COVENANT THEOLOGY . 233 Traditional Covenantalism . 233 Progressive Covenantalism . 247 Historical Considerations . 252 Seventeenth-Century Baptist Federalism . 258 9. CONCLUDING COMMENTS . 269 BIBLIOGRAPHY . 276 v LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ANF The Ante-Nicene Fathers Ant Flavius Josephus, Antiquitates Judaicae BDAG A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and other Early Christian Literature, by Walter Bauer, ed. and trans. William F. Arndt, F. Wilbur Gingrich, and Frederick W. Danker, 3rd ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000. BCOTWP Baker Commentary on the Old Testament Wisdom and Psalms BDB Brown, Francis, S.R. Driver and Charles A. Briggs. The New Brown— Driver—Briggs—Gesenius Hebrew and English Lexicon. Reprint, Lafayette, IN: Associated Publishers and Authors, 1979. BECNT Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament BHS Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia EBC The Expositor’s Bible Commentary ISBE International Standard Bible Encyclopedia JETS Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society LXX Septuagint NA28 Novum Testamentum Graece, Nestle-Aland, 28th ed. NAC New American Commentary NIDCC New International Dictionary of the Christian Church NIDNTT New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology NIDNTTE New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology and Exegesis NPNF Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers vi NIGTC New International Greek Testament Commentary NICNT New International Commentary on the New Testament NICOT New International Commentary on the Old Testament TDNT Theological Dictionary of the New Testament TLOT Theological Lexicon of the Old Testament TPNTC The Pillar New Testament Commentary TWOT Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament WBC Word Biblical Commentary WEC Wycliffe Exegetical Commentary ZECNT Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament vii LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page 1. The new covenant community . 1 2. New covenant foundations and its ordinances . 8 3. Physical relationship of previous covenants vs. spiritual relationship with Christ, the Mediator of the new covenant . 37 4. Biblical covenants establish the Messianic kingdom . 41 5. Christ as Man restores the dominion of creation . 44 6. Christ as Seed brings kingdom promises . 45 7. The Mosaic and new covenants in relation to the cross and Pentecost . 51 8. The foundations of the Mosaic and new covenants . 51 9. Ethnic Israel before Sinai and after the cross . 57 10. Jewish believers become new covenant recipients . 58 11. Difference of occasion between Joel’s prophecy and Peter’s explanation . 63 12. Same outpouring of the Spirit at Pentecost and during the millennium . 64 13. Outpouring of the Spirit results in Spirit baptism . 65 14. Same outpouring of the Spirit equals Spirit baptism . 65 15. Same outpouring of the Spirit is Spirit baptism into the body of Christ . 67 16. Same outpouring of the Spirit is Spirit baptism into the body of Christ as the church . 68 viii Figure Page 17. Same outpouring of the Spirit ratifies the new covenant . 69 18. Correlation between the kingdom of God, Spirit outpouring/baptism and the new covenant community . 70 19. The new covenant community in its locality . 74 20. New covenant foundations and its ordinances . 80 21. The Lord’s Supper celebrated in a church context . 95 22. The Mosaic covenant community . 113 23. Comparison of the Greek civic, Mosaic covenant and new covenant ekklesiai . ..