Lesson 7: Christ as the Key

Unpacking the Principle

• The “answer” key - Understanding how Jesus fulfills the Bible’s patterns, promises, and problems.
• The “house” key - Understanding how Jesus and his gospel unlock the full meaning and implications of an OT text.
• The “ignition” key - Understanding how Jesus empowers the church to obey.
• The “keystone” - Understanding how Jesus unites and makes sense of the whole Bible and all creation.

• Christ is patterned, promised, and present in the OT.¹
• Christ Patterned:
• “House” Key: How do Christ and his gospel reveal the full meaning and implication of this OT text?;
• “Answer” Key
• Reading forward: How do the events, people, places, institution, story, etc. in this text pattern Christ’s person and work?
• Reading backward: How does the gospel reveal the full meaning of this OT pattern?
• Christ Promised:
• Reading forward: Are there any specific prophecies or larger themes that promise Christ and his gospel in this text?
• Reading backward: Consider how Christ fulfills that promise and how that promise comes to the church through Christ.
• Christ Present:
• How is Christ present in this text?
• Reading forward: What does this OT text reveal about the Lord Jesus and his character?
• Reading backward: What about the revelation of God in Christ brings light to this OT text?

• Many NT texts reveal Christ directly by speaking about his person and work.
• What does this text reveal about Christ’s person and work?
• What OT patterns, problems, or promises provide context for how this NT text reveals Christ?
• Some NT texts reveal Christ indirectly by casting a vision for life that is rooted in Christ and grows out of his gospel.
• How is this text rooted in Christ’s person and work?
• How do Christ’s person and work make this identity real or this calling possible?
• What does this text reveal about Christ’s person and work?

• The OT: How does this OT text anticipate and reveal the church’s identity and mission?
• The NT: By revealing Christ or growing out of his work, what does this NT text reveal about the church’s identity and mission?

The Revelation of Christ

The book is the revelation of Christ, who is the eternal Word and revelation of his Father; as such, it cannot be considered apart from Christ. The book is living and active because Christ is living and active. And just as Christ cannot be left out of Scripture, so Scripture cannot be apart from Christ. “Take thou this Book, and distil it into one word, and that word will be Jesus. The Book itself is but the body of Christ, and we may look upon all its pages as the swaddling bands of the infant Saviour; for if we unroll the Scripture, we come upon Jesus Christ himself.” —quoted in Michael Reeves, Spurgeon on the Christian Life: Alive in Christ, 40.