The Highway Forums General Discussion Theology Discussion Forum Redemptive-Historical Hermeneutic

Defining Redemptive Historical Interpretation

Redemptive History* as a hermeneutic* focuses on the progressive self-revelation of God to His covenant* people through the vehicle of history. God is the sovereign Beginning and End of all things both in this world below and in heaven above. All things have a direction toward the consummation of God's good purposes. The culmination of the ages is the manifestation of God in the flesh, Jesus Christ, first in humiliation to accomplish God's eternal redemption and finally in glory to consummate the Kingdom of God. To these fullnesses of time God orchestrates all of history leading up. He foreshadows and alludes the consolation of Israel throughout the Old Testament. Redemption accomplished in history, heaven having intruded the lower regions of the earth, Jesus Christ reigns having fulfilled the Old Testament types and shadows. The church in the kingdom age like the nation of Israel before, is the nation of choice through which God has delighted to bless all the nations of the world. He has invested her with the means of grace, and they can be found no where else. She is a light to the nations. She is the heir and seat of the covenant promises and blessings. She is the new covenant historical manifestation of God's righteous kingdom. As redemptive historians we attempt to approach the Scriptures as the progressive self-disclosure of God. All of the Scriptures point to the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, become flesh. And all of the Scriptures need to be interpreted in light of His historical work, death, resurrection, and ascension.