Lesson 6: The Covenantal Horizon
The Feedback Loop
Dr. Don Carson calls the relationship between exegesis and theology a “feedback loop.” The following graphic communicates this idea clearly:
Notice first the arrows at the bottom of the image. According to Carson, exegesis done rightly leads to accurate biblical theology; biblical theology done rightly enables the collection of data for systematic theology; historical theology comes in between as a quality control mechanism; and these areas of theology, done well, result in accurate practical theology.
So exegesis is the control center for accurate theology in every discipline.
But notice also the arrows moving backward from pastoral theology back to exegesis. These “feedback loops,” as Carson calls them, “go back and reshape how one does any exegesis.”¹
Brian Collins, commenting on Carson’s system, points out that
[w]hen I exegete a text, I should not try to come to it as if I know nothing about the rest of the Bible or the history of Christian interpretation or of systematic theology. Instead, I want all of that to bear on my exegesis of the text.
—Brian Collins, quoted by Andy Naselli in "Evaluating Theological Interpretation of Scripture: An Interview with Brian Collins," emphasis mine.
But still, we must remember that
the line of final control is the straight line from exegesis right through [biblical theology] and [historical theology] to [systematic theology] and [practical theology]. The final authority is the Bible and the Bible alone.
—Don Carson, "How to Read the Bible and Do Theology Well."
So each discipline is based on sound exegesis, but each in turn enriches exegesis and the other disciplines.
Remember this graphic from Lesson 3?
Looking at the final four horizons, we want to use the Covenantal Horizon to shed light on our passage in light of the Bible’s unfolding storyline, the Canonical Horizon to give us a systematic understanding of its teaching, the Confessional Horizon to keep us on track with the church’s teaching throughout history, and the Contemporary Horizon to help us practically apply what we have learned.
In other words, we don’t practice these four disciplines for their own sake. They must always point us back toward the passage we are studying. We must set our eyes on the Scriptures, and use the disciplines of theology to help us see.
