Lane Tipton delivers a plenary address from the annual Reformed Forum Theology Conference, which was hosted October 8–9 at Providence OPC in Pflugerville, Texas. Dr. Tipton’s address is titled, “Perichoresis, Endoxation, and the Glory-Spirit: Foundations for Image-Endowment and Covenant Theology in the Work of Meredith G. Kline“

Chapters

• 00:00:00 Introduction
• 00:02:36 Perichoresis, Endoxation, and the Glory-Spirit
• 00:18:22 Endoxation and Incarnation
• 00:32:50 Endoxation as the Initial Creational Replication of Trinitarian Perichoresis
• 00:46:42 The Glory-Spirit and the Image of God
• 01:01:21 Special Revelation and Covenantal Advancement
• 01:09:16 Conclusion

Participants: Camden Bucey, Lane G. Tipton

Jim Cassidy delivers a plenary address from the annual Reformed Forum Theology Conference, which was hosted October 8–9 at Providence OPC in Pflugerville, Texas.

Cassidy investigates the ontological assumptions which led Karl Barth to reject the doctrine of the covenant of works. He considers how Barth’s doctrine of God, with its actualistic ontology, is the ground for his rejection of the historic doctrine of classical federal theology. In the process of showing how his novel construction of the doctrine of God leads to his critique, Barth sets up—albeit unwittingly—how own kind of covenant of works whereby man today can ascend into “God’s time for us” to gain the knowledge of God.

Chapters

00:00:00 Introduction
00:03:28 “This Is a Myth”: Barth’s Rejection of the Covenant of Works
01:00:41 Conclusion

Participants: Camden Bucey, Jim Cassidy

Danny Olinger delivers an address at the 2021 Reformed Forum Theology Conference. The event was held October 8–9, 2021 at Providence OPC in Pflugerville, Texas.

The conference theme was, “The Promise of Life: God’s Plan for His People in the Covenant of Works.” In contrast to Roman Catholic, modernist, and evangelical approaches, we explored a thoroughly Reformed understanding of God’s relationship to Adam as he was created. We learned how Jesus Christ ultimately brings us to the glorious future which God originally offered to Adam in the garden of Eden.

Danny Olinger is General Secretary for the Committee on Christian Education of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church. He is the author of Geerhardus Vos: Reformed Biblical Theologian, Confessional Presbyterian and the editor of A Geerhardus Vos Anthology: Biblical and Theological Insights Alphabetically Arranged.

Chapters

00:00:00 Introduction
00:04:46 Geerhardus Vos and the Covenant of Works
00:10:49 Summary in The Eschatology of the Psalter
00:16:20 Adam and Christ in Romans 5 and 1 Corinthians 15
00:26:06 The Promise of Life in the Covenant of Works
00:41:28 The Nature and Destiny of Man
00:48:43 Reformed and Roman Catholic Theology
00:59:15 Theology from Genesis 2:16–17
01:02:22 The Sabbath Day
01:12:25 Conclusion

Participants: Camden Bucey, Danny Olinger

The beatific vision (1 John 3:2) is the consummation of God’s relationship with his people. While Christians of all traditions acknowledge this blessed future to some degree, there are significant differences as to how it all works out. The Reformed tradition has understood this future and its genesis in terms of a covenantal relationship between God and Adam.

If you have listened much to our podcasts or courses at Reformed Forum, you likely have heard us discuss “the deeper Protestant conception.” This is a phrase first used by Geerhardus Vos in his Reformed Dogmatics. It involves the notion that man originally was created good yet with an eschatological purpose. Even before the fall into sin, Adam was intended to advance to a higher, more glorious, eschatological life with God in heavenly places. Elsewhere, this is captured in the phrase, “eschatology precedes soteriology.”

Yet developments in Roman Catholic theology throughout the end of the nineteenth century and into the twentieth century gave rise to a movement that also advocates for eschatology preceding soteriology and a dismantling of the traditional dualistic separation of nature and grace.

In this address, Camden Bucey traces the historical developments of Roman Catholic theology in the twentieth century. In so doing, we may deepen our understanding of the already deeper Protestant conception while improving our ability to represent the diversity of Catholic thought leading up to and following the Second Vatican Council.

This address was delivered at our 2021 Theology Conference held at Providence OPC in Pflugerville, Texas.

Chapter Markers

00:00:00 Introduction
00:05:22 Nature, Grace, and Covenant
00:11:01 Basic Features of the Covenant of Works
00:18:42 The Deeper Protestant Conception
00:31:43 Twentieth-Century Developments in Catholicism
00:40:03 Henri de Lubac’s Proposal
00:45:57 Karl Rahner’s Response
00:50:22 Understanding Merit in Relation to Nature, Grace, and Covenant
00:57:40 Twentieth-Century Catholicism and the Reformed Tradition
01:10:55 Conclusion

Participants: Camden Bucey