Copyright © 2010 Micah John McCormick 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 ACTIVE OBEDIENCE OF JESUS CHRIST A Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy by Micah John McCormick May 2010 UMI Number: 3411533 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. UMI ----Dissertation Publishing ---- UMI 3411533 Copyright 2010 by ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This edition of the work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. Pro uesf --- ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, M148106-1346 APPROVAL SHEET THE ACTIVE OBEDIENCE OF JESUS CHRIST Micah John McCormick Read and Approved by: Thomas R. Schreiner Gregg~ [jL, Date f1a.. vv~ -s I , 2.0 t 0 To my parents, Alexander and Karen McCormick TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS. .. .. V111 PREFACE Xl Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION.............................................. 1 Defining and Explaining the Active Obedience of Christ 2 Previous Literature ............................. 7 Warrant for the Study. .. 10 Structure of the Argument. .. 22 2. HISTORICAL SURVEY. .. 29 Irenaeus . .. 31 Anselm ...................................................... 35 Lutheran View. .. 39 Calvin. .. .. 46 Westminster. 59 Further Reformed Thought. .. 68 Arminian View. 82 Decline of Active Obedience. .. 86 Conclusion. .. 92 IV Chapter Page 3. ADAM'S OBEDIENCE FOR ETERNAL LIFE BEFORE THE FALL. 94 The Nature of Adam's Headship. .. 95 The Offer of Eternal Life. 108 A Covenant of Works? . .. 119 Relative Importance of the "Covenant of Works" with Adam. .. 132 Conclusion. 135 4. HUMANITY'S OBEDIENCE FOR ETERNAL LIFE AFTER THE FALL............................................ 137 Leviticus 18:5 . .. 139 Ezekiel 20 . .. 147 Nehemiah 9:29. .. 150 Luke 10:28 . 153 Galatians 3: 12 . .. 158 Romans 10:5 . .. 168 Conclusion. 175 5. MESSIAH'S OBEDIENCE FOR ETERNAL LIFE FORESHADOWED. .. 178 Messiah in the OT? . .. 179 The Covenants. .. 183 Noah. .. 186 Abraham. .. 188 Israel. .. 193 David .................................................. 198 v Chapter Page Wisdom Literature. .. 201 Prophets . .. 212 Conclusion. .. 222 6. MESSIAH'S OBEDIENCE FOR ETERNAL LIFE FULFILLED. .. 224 The Obedient Son in the Gospels. .. 224 Birth ................................................... 225 Baptism. .. 232 Temptation . .. 237 Ministry . .. 240 Crucifixion. .. 247 Resurrection. .. 248 Romans. .. .. 250 Romans 5:12-21 .......................................... 250 Romans 8: 1-4 . .. 263 Romans 10:5 . .. 267 Other Passages . .. 269 Galatians 4:4-5 ........................................... 270 Philippians 2:8 . .. 275 Hebrews 5:8 ............................................. 279 Conclusion. .. 284 7. OBJECTIONS................................................ 287 Systematic Formulation. .. 287 vi Chapter Page Objections. .. 290 The Terms "Active" and "Passive" Force an Unbiblical Dichotomy .. 290 The Active Obedience of Christ is a Legal Fiction. .. 293 Jesus' Death is the Sole Ground of Justification. .. 295 Imputed Righteousness and Forgiveness of Sins are Synonymous. .. 298 "Works" Never Contribute to Salvation. .. 305 Belief in Active Obedience Leads to Antinomianism . .. 308 Conclusion. 309 8. CONCLUSION............................................... 311 Summaries .................................................. 311 Avenues for Further Research . .. 315 Importance of the Doctrine. .. 318 BIBLIOGRAPHY. .. 321 VlI LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AB Anchor Bible ACCS Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture BBR Bulletin for Biblical Research BDAG Greek-English Lexicon ofthe New Testament, Bauer et al. BECNT Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament BSac Bibliotheca Sacra CD Church Dogmatics, Karl Barth CBQ Catholic Biblical Quarterly CTJ Calvin Theological Journal EBC Expositor's Bible Commentary FC Formula of Concord HTR Harvard Theological Review Int Interpretation JAAR Journal ofthe American Academy ofReligion ICC International Critical Commentary Inst. Institutes ofthe Christian Religion, John Calvin JBL Journal ofBiblical Literature JETS Journal ofthe Evangelical Theological Society JSNT Journal for the Study ofthe New Testament Vlll JSNTSS Journal for the Study ofthe New Testament Supplement Series JSOT Journal for the Study ofthe Old Testament JSOTSS Journal for the Study of the Old Testament Supplement Series JTS Journal of Theological Studies LBCF London Baptist Confession ofFaith (1689) NAC New American Commentary NIB New Interpreter's Bible NICOT New International Commentary on the Old Testament NICNT New International Commentary on the New Testament NIGTC New International Greek Testament Commentary NSBT New Studies in Biblical Theology NovT Novum Testamentum NTS New Testament Studies SD Savoy Declaration SJT Scottish Journal of Theology SBJT Southern Baptist Journal of Theology TJ Trinity Journal TynBul Tyndale Bulletin WCF Westminster Confession ofFaith WBC Word Biblical Commentary WTJ Westminster Theological Journal WUNT Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament VT Vetus Testamentum IX ZA W Zeitschriji fur die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft x PREFACE Although this project bears my name, lowe a great debt of gratitude to a number of people who encouraged and assisted me along the way. Most importantly, I am thankful to God and his grace in my life. Without him, I surely never would have desired to study the Scriptures, much less the glorious gospel of his Son Jesus Christ. The energy I put into this study was not simply natural energy-my interest stems from the Holy Spirit's convicting work. I am deeply aware of my own unrighteousness, and I long to grow in my knowledge and experience of what it means to be found righteous in Christ. I am also very thankful for the parents God has given me. Along with raising me in the gospel, they have been very supportive in all of my graduate work. My supervisor, Dr. Stephen Wellum, has been enthusiastic about this topic from the outset. His advice remains invaluable; I am extremely thankful for his input-especially given the many obligations he has to fulfill. The other members of my committee, Dr. Thomas Schreiner and Dr. Gregg Allison, also provided important feedback, as well as my external reader, Robert Peterson. Wherever I have not followed their advice exactly, I am probably the worse for it. Other readers who deserve many thanks for their input include Kevin McFadden, Brad Baugham, and (once again) my father. Kudos go to Timothy Mackey for his language prowess. Style experts Marsha Omans on and Toby Jennings sought to Xl point me on the straight and narrow-I take full blame for any remaining breaches of the SBTS style guide. Finally, I would be remiss not to thank Lee Tankersley, who will perhaps one day get around to reading my dissertation. Whenever I was immersed in study at my library carrel, Lee had the knack of rousing me from my dogmatic slumber with a necessary and provocative question: "Do you want to go to Chick-Fil-A for lunch today?" Micah McCormick Louisville, Kentucky May 2010 XlI CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION In 1937, as J. Gresham Machen lay dying, he dictated one final telegram to his long time friend and colleague John Murray. In it, Machen wrote two simple sentences: "I'm so thankful for active obedience of Christ. No hope without it."} This great Protestant leader, who had defended and articulated so many theological truths throughout his career, when pressed with the reality of his impending death, chose to single out one particular doctrine-the doctrine of the active obedience of Christ. For Machen, this teaching was not simply a matter of doctrinaire speculation-it was the comfort of his heart. Although Machen once preached a sermon on this doctrine, he never wrote a major work on it. This work attempts to help fill that gap. Throughout, one simple question is in view: Is the active obedience of Christ a biblical teaching? This work concludes that the active obedience of Christ.