1993 Issue 6 - Sermon on Luke 1:39-56 - The Magnificat - Counsel of Chalcedon

8/12/2019 1993 Issue 6 - Sermon on Luke 1:39-56 - The Magnificat - Counsel of Chalcedon

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Luke 1:39-56

Introduction

1. The Historical ContextJoT

The

Magnificat (1:39-45,56)

a.(1:39-45) The Visit of the

Mother of the Savior with the

Mother of the Forerunner

(1). The Reason for the Visit

AfterMarywas informedby Gabriel

of

the miraculous

conceptionofjesus

in her

womb, she

uaveled to visit

Elizabeth, perhaps

at the suggestion

of

Gabriel

himself.

Pemaps,sheneeded

a

godly

older

woman, a

dear

friend, a close

relative, an

under-

standing person,

with

whom

she

could

discuss the

extrl1.ordinary and '

sacred things ,she

had

,recendy experienced. Perhaps

she,needed to go to someone who

had

also

been

miraculouslyblessedbyGod.

At this point, who else could she talk

to' abouthetpregnancy, beingavirgin?

could not even talk to joseph yet?

Z). The Response of Elizabeth

to the News

of

the Incarnation

(a). The Emotional

and

Spiritual

Response 0 f Elizabeth

When Elizabeth heard Mary's voice

greetingherIn herown house,

Elizabeth

was

filled

with the Holy Spirit' and cried

out with laud voice.

Obviously she is

tremendouslythriUedbytheunexpeaed

and magnificentrevelation ofMary. The

Holy Spitit, the prophetic Spirit of the

old covenant,seizes her, and she salutes

Mary as the mother of the Messiah."

Godet in Geldenhuys.

(b).

The Verbal Response:

The Song

of

Elizabeth

Elizabeth's little song is the first of

five songs praising

God

for the

incarnation of Christ. In all five--{he

song ofElizabeth, ofMary, ofZacharias,

of

he Angels and ofSimeon--{heLord

God is the object

of

adoration and

praise, 1:43, 46-55, 68-73, 78, 79;

2: 14,30-32. This attitude of worship

is accompanied with astonishment,

awe

and

humility, 1:43,48,52,77-79:

2:29. "Elizabethnobly andvoluntarily

placed herself

in

the background arid

acknowledged unreservedly and

joyfully that her younger relative had

received infinitely more honor than

she." - Geldenhuys

[11. The Blessedness of Mary (1:42)

Mary is divinely blessed because

the Lord has chosen her to be the

mother of the Messiah. Her son is

blessed because He is the Messiah.

"Blessed" means more than "Happy."

"Happy" indicates

how

a person

feels.

"Blessed" indicates what a person s A

person

is

blessed when God's favor

rests upon him ,

and

when the Lord

delights in him .

[21. The Exalted Motherhood

of Mary (1:43)

Through the supernatural

enlightenment of the Holy Spirit

1

THE

COUNSEL

of

Chalcedon July August 1993

Elizabeth recognizes in Mary the

mother

of

the promised Redeemer

whom she calls, 'my Lord,'Psa. 110:1.

joyfully and wholeheartedly she

acknowledgesthat a much greathonor

has been conferred on Mary than on

her. But Elizabeth shows no sign of

jealousy."-Geldenhuys

Elizabeth,

the godly

]ewess,

descendant of Aaron, married to a

priest, calls Mary, i'the mother of my

Lord." Every other time the name,

"Lord," is used in Luke's narrative thus

far, it refers to

jehovah,

the

covenant Lord of

Israel, the God of

the

Old

Testa-

ment: and Creator

of the world, 1:9,

11,15, 16, 17,25,

28, 32, 38, 46.

Why did she refer

to the unborn child

of Mary as "the

Lord," i.e., jeho-

vah,whichshe did

in f ct when she

addressed Mary

as

"the

mother of

my

Lord?"

AnSwer:

Elizabeth

believed

the prophecies of Malachi 3: If Mal.

4.1, which were used by Gabriel to

define the purpose of the life.of her

unbornson,John.john the Forerunner

would prepare the way for "the

Messenger of the Covenant,"

in

whom

the Lord wouldcome to

His

Temple to

judge His people.

Elizabeth

is the first person

in

the

New

Testament

to give

public

testimonytoJesus Christ as the One

in

Whomjehovahintervened into history

to save

His

people. She is the

first

songstress of the dawning of the

redemptive kingdom of Christ.

To call Jesus, Lord,

is

to

acknowledge His divine authority

and

to submit

to

His will, 5:8; 10:17,40;

11:1; 12:41; 17:37; 22:33, 38, 49.


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Isaiah 9:6, he says that this messianic

child is none otherthan "Mighty God."

Jeremiah says this Davidic sprout will

be Jehovah Himself, Jer. 23:6.

[3]. The Faith of Mary (1:45)

Blessed is

she who believed that there

would be a fulfillment of

what had been

spoken

to

her

by

the Lord, 1:45. Mary

was a woman of ruefaith. She believed

what Gabriel told her, and she was

confident it would come to pass. Notice

it is the Lord who spoke to her in

Gabliel telling her that He, the Lord,

would become incarnate in her womb.

Lenksi observes

in

his commentary,

Interpretation

of

Luke:

"It is wolth

while to note

that

the Holy Spirit

actually filled

an unborn

baby, vs. 15,

and that the baby even responded to

the Spirit'S presence and gracious

power, vs. 44. It

it

unwarranted, then,

to assume that spiritual effects can

be

wrought only when the

mind

is already

developed

so

as

to be able

to

understand to some degree."

(4). The Purpose ofthis Incident

in

the Narrative

and the Celtainty of Faith

The copious use of the title Lord for

Jesus is characteristic of the book of

Luke. This title, "Lord," implies that

"Jesus stood to His disciples for

whatever the title, "Lord," meant

to

them. Thereisinvolvedinit, celtainly,

the recognition of His Messianic

dignity;

and there is included

therefore, the recognition of Him of all

that they saw

in

His Messianic dignity.

- ... He was thought of as "lord" in

contrast to the earthly potentates who

were claiming lordship of men, and

especially

in

contrast with the emperor

of Rome, the "lord"

by

way of

eminence

in

all men's minds.

Jesus is Jehovah

n

our

humanity.

- The simplest thing to say is

that

the term "Lord" was

applied to Jesus by

Luke

obviously with the deepest

reverence and obviously as the

expression of that reverence.

The

Great Reversal

in

Christ about which Mary sings

in

the Magnificat has already

begun in Mary

and

Elizabeth.

Who would have expected that

the testimony of two obscure

women-an

older barren

The full height of this reverence may

be suggested

to

us by celtain passages

in which the term Lord occurs in

citations from the

O.T.,

where its

reference

s

to Jehovah, though in the

citations

it

seems to be applied

to

Jesus

... "-Warfield. Hence, the

conclusion:

Jesus is Jehovah

in

our

humanity

This strand of belief hat the

Messiah

would be God Himselfin human flesh

has been the hope of God's people

all

the way back

to

Eve, the wife ofAdam.

In Genesis

4:

1, when Eve found she

was pregnant with Abel, she said,

believing the promise of Genesis

3:

15

that her seed would tr iumph over

evil:

"I have gotten a manchild, even

Jehovah." Edward Mack of old Union

Seminary, Richmond Va., has shown

that this is the most accurate way of

translating Eve's statement

from

the

Hebrew. He points out that

it

is the

same construction

as

is found

in

verse

two, where we read that "she

gave

birth

to his brother

even Abel.

Furthermore,

in

lsaiah 7: 14, we

see

Isaiah's

hope

that

the virgin-born

Savior would be Immanuel; and in

(3). The Response of Unborn John

to the News of the Incarnation

"WhenMarysalutesher, Elizabeth's

unborn baby leaps for joy, through the

incomprehensible working of he Spirit

of God, to salute the Son of God who

has been conceived

in

the virgin's

womb by the power of that same

Spirit." -Geldenhuys. This "leaping for

joy" meant that the unborn infant

forerunner

in

Elizabeth's womb had

suddenly become aware of the presence

of the unborn infant messenger of the

covenant, the

MeSSiah,

who was in

Mary's womb. Commenting on verse

44

Dutch commentator

S.

Greijdanus

writes: "The statement concerns an

operation of the Holy Spirit which

caused Elizabeth's child to feel,

experience, and know that the mother

of the Lord, and within her the Lord

himself, was present here and now,

and which caused that child to leap

forward toward the Lord with a dance

of joyful jubilation. - By means of

this action Elizabeth's child also

acknowledged his inferiority to

MalY's

Child." -quoted by Hendriksen.

women, married to one

of the

many, many priests ofthat day,

and

a

young

woman from

a

small

insignificant country

village-would

be the basis of understanding of the

incarnation, the most

im

POltant event

in

history. We might have chosen

someone of fame

and

reputation.

But

God has chosen the

foolish

things of the

world

to

shame

the

wise,

and

God has

chosen the weak things of the world to

shame the things

which

are strong,

and

the base things of the world and the

despised,

God

has

chosen the things that

are not, that

He might

nullify the things

that

are,

that

no

man

should boast before

God,

I Cor. 2:27-29.

b. (1:56) The Depalture

of Mary for Home

While they were together Mary and

Elizabeth surely sang

prayed

meditated

and

discussed

the

miraculous things promised to them

and already coming to pass. Surely

they also informed Zacharias, vs. 67-

68. Mary left Elizabeth before the

bil th ofJohn the Forerunner, because

this event would draw a large crowd of

people, and being a virgin, pregnant

July August 1993 " TIlE COUNSEL of Chalcedon "


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with the Messiah, which no one but

she and Elizabeth knew, she would

naturally prefer

not

to be there and

have

to

answer all their questions and

face all their looks.

2. The Nature

and Purpose

oj

The

Magnificat

({46-55)

a. The Poetry and Music of

The

Magnificat

. .it does

not

surprise

us

that in the

twilight of the Old Testament

dispensation

and in

the morning

splendor

of

the

New .Testament

dispensation

we hear

various persons,

favored by God,

burstingfonh

n song.

- Luke, the artist, bas

gathered

and

coUected,

under the guidance of

the Holy Spirit,

the

stories which reveal the

fact thatwhenJesus came

into the world poetry

expressed

itself and

music was

reborn.'

(Morgan) - No one

but

the sensitive

and

syritpathetic physician,

Luke,

was

so obviously

the right person to collect

the data written down

in

1:5-2:52. -Geldenhuys

A

regal majesty reigns throughout

this

hymn

of praise.-Geldenhuys

The Maguificat, named such

because that

is

the first word of the

song in Latin, is a beautiful lyrical

poem, almost wholly'made up of Old

Testament quotations. It is comprised

offourstanzaS, 46-48, 49- 50, 51-53,

and 54-55. It isnota reply to Elizabeth,

nor

is

it

addressed to

God

. It

is

a

meditation,

a

Spirit-inspired

expresSion of

personal

emotions,

expressions, faith andhope. It is more

calm and majestic than the song of

Elizabeth. This

hymn is

modeled after

the Psalms and the Song

of

Hannah in

lSamuel2:1-10. Prom childhood the

Jews knew many

of

the O.T.lyrics

by

hean; ...50 Mary would naturally

fall

back on the familiar expressions of

Jewish Scripture in this moment of

intense exultation. -Plummer

The Magnificat shows an intensive

study

on

the

pan

of the Virgin Mary of

the whole of the Old Testament, and

an imaginative and perceptive fusion

of its prophecies into a faithful and

unified summary. -Rushdoony,

Law

and Society, pg. 601.

b. The Old Testament Flavor of

The Magnificat

The Old Testament flavor of Mary's

Magnificat is most clearly seen when it

is compared with O.T. passages:

(1).

[1:46-481 The First

Stanza

ISam. 2:1; I Sam. 1:11.

(2).[1:49-501 The Second

Stanza

-Gen.

30:13; Deut. 10:21;Psa. 111:9;

Psa.l03:17.

(3).[1:51-531 The Third

Stanza

-Psa.

98:1; Job 12 :19; 5:11; I

Sam.

2:7; Psa. 107:9.

(4). [1:54-551 The Pourth Stanza-

sa

.

41:8; Psa. 98:3;

Mic.

7:20;

II

Sam. 22:51.

c. The Purpose and Theme of

The Magnificat

Mary's Magnificat is the

contemporary revelation of God

explaining the meaning of the binh of

Jesus.

(See

sermonentitled, Revelation

and HiStory in the Gospel. )

12 THE COUNSEL

of

Chalcedon

July/ August 1993

It declares that tlie birth of the

Messiah is the sign of victory. The

King, God incarnate, comes to claim

His Kingdom, to dethrone all His

enemies, reverse all the priorities of

men to establish in their stead is

priorities and will, and to rule in

strength, mercy and

grace.

Mary

put

together the various promises

of

the

O.T. in a joyful hymn of triumph. -

Sheechoes the Song

of

Hannah, I Sam.

2:

1,

the Psalms, Malachi, 3:12, Genesis

17:7, the whole spirit of the Torah,

(the Law), Isaiah, and much more.

However, she

sees

the meaning

of

these prophecies, not in te.

rms of

herself, orIn terms ofher

Son as u ~ h but in terms

of

the world

and

its

histor

y:

A

m.

ighty

reversal

of

all things is

marked

by

the

birth of

her

Son. sees the

whole of Christ's future

accomplishment,

the

finished historical work,

in

a joyful summing

up

of its implications.

Mo

reover, not for a

moment is she thinking

in

her songaboutheaven,

or the new creation

after

the Last Judgment. Her attention is

entirely focused on history, .

on Wllat

shall happen before the end ofhistory

becauseher childis born. I tis not that

she doubted the reality of heaven,

but

heaven was already heaven whereas

the world, created to be God'sparadise

for man, was now a wilderness of sin.

It was

in

this wilderness ofsin that the

Messiah was to work, making it once

again into God's paradise of

righteousness and

obedience.

Rushdoony, Law and Society, pg. 601.

Jehovah would accomplish this

through

His incarnate Son, Jesus

Christ.

(1). In Christ, God's redemptive

mercy will

be

bestowed on them that

fear

him

from generation

to


4/10

generation: Lk. 1:50. "God, in telms

of His covenant mercy and promises,

brings forth Hissalvationin the person

of His Son, born to redeem man from

the consequences of the Fall, from the

power of sin and death. The emphatic

emphasis

of

the covenant is on God's

grace and mercy." - Rushdoony,

pg.

602 .

(2). In Christ, God's electing grace

is magnified and applied to God's

chosen people,

ie

1 46-48.

(3).

Mary'sblessedness

is the staning-point and

foundation of a world

wide change, 1:49. "She

was blessed indeed, and to

be called such, but we

cannot isolate the blesSing

to Mary:

Mary

declares

that all generations will

call her blessed because

all generations shall know

the grace

andmercy ofGod

through

her

Son. -

Rushdoony, pg. 603.

Mary

recognizes that

because

she

has been blessed, the

whole world is to be redeemed and

blessed through her Son Mary

was

blessed because the incarnate Lord

whom she carried

in

her womb was

blessed, yea, the source of

all

blessing.

As Calvin writes: "Mary was Blessed,

because, embracing in her

hean

the

promise of God, she conceived and

brought forth aSavior to herselfand to

the whole world."

"Mary

does

not say that all

generationsare going to considerher a

Mediatrix and as such a legitimate

object of

Hyperdulia

i.e., veneration

of

the

Virgin Mary as holiest of

creatures. What she means is that all

generations are going

to

praise God

because of the marvelous manner in

which he has honored her. -

Hendriksen

(4).

The

consequences

of

the

blessing of Mary to be the mother of

the Lord are the over-turning of all

things by her Son, the great reversal of

everything,promised by God in Ezekiel

21:27. "The world of politics, social

orders, and the realms of thought will

beinc1uded in this radical ovenurning,

Lk. 1:51-55."-R.].R., pg. 603.

Mary's Magnificat clearly echoes

Hannah'sSong on the

binh

of Samuel,

I

Sam.

2:1-10. A comparison of the

Song ofHannah with the Magnificat of

Mary

makes clear that Mary saw the

meaning of her pregnancy in terms of

Hannah's prophecy. ''In the birth

of

her

child, given

to

God before bilth

to

be a Nazirite from birth, Hannah saw

a type of the birth of the Messiah, and

the greatovenuming tobeinaugurated

by Him. She predicts total victory:

'The adversaries

of

the Lord shall be

broken to pieces,'and Marysang of he

glorious beginning of this world-wide

victOlyinherwomb. - All who share

in that victOlY must indeed call the

Virgin Mary 'blessed,' because she

witnesses,

first

to

the

greatness

of

electing grace

in

her

own person,

and second because through

her

came

He who

is

accomplishing

the

mighty

reversalofall things, and God's work

of restoration. To have a part

in

the

life

of the Son is to have a part in the

work of restoration." -Rushdoony, pg.

604-605.

tllxpll13itinn llf

~ a ~ l 3

~ a s n i f i a t t

(Luke 1:46-55)

1.(1:46-48)

The

First Stanza:

The

Gratitude of the Heart

for

the Lord

and Savior

A. The Soul-Full Magnifying

of the Lord

1. The Lord Mary Praised

In a restful, dignified,

and

informed

tone, Mary magnifies

in

praise

and

adoration the

greatness

of

the Lord,

Whom

she

had

worshiped,

about

Whom

she had read

in the Old Testament,

Who

had

dealt mercifully with

her, Who

had

spoken to

her in Gabriel, and Who

was about to visit the earth

through her virgin womb.

Remember she is the

mother- of the humanity of

the Lord.

2. The Lukan Motif of

Praise

This "singing gospel" is dominated

by

ecstatlcjoy and exuberant praise

that the Kingdom and Salvation

of

God have dawned in]esus Christ,

and

that having begun, they will advance,

until they are fully consummated. The

cause of this joy and praise in Luke's

Gospel is God at work bringing

salvation to people in Christ.

B. The Spirit-Ful Rejoicing

in

God

y avior

From the depths of her heart she

praisesGod for being"God my Savior.

"Soul"

and

spirit are

used

synonymously emphasizing the fact

that Mary is singing

with her

entire

healt and inner life. From the depths

of her being she is magnifying and

glorifying her God.

1. The Need of Mary for Salvation

When she calls God, "God

my

July August 1993 THE COUNSEL of Chalced,on 13


5/10

Savior," she is identifying herself as a provides salvation by sending His Son

sinner

who

stands in

need

of the and through Him, the Holy Spirit, Lk.

salvation from sin, objectively and ' 1:47,67; I Tim. 2:13; 4:10; Tit. 3:4"6.

subjectivelYiWhich the God of he Old TheSonwas born to save God'speople

Testament

had

promised

in

Christ, from thei r sin

and

their enemies, Mat.

and

which

was now being realized

in

1 21; Lk.

1:

71, 77, and that was the

Jesus,

the

Savior. This verse rules out aim of His entire ministry, Lk. 19:10;

Rome's

myth

of

Mary's immaculate

In.3:17.

conception. "Mary speaks of God as As Savior,Jesusheals, Mark. 5:34;

her

Savior because the angelic promise 1052' 'fi T'

213

3

67

h ds

: ,Just es,

I t :

;: ea

of

the

birth

of the

Son of God to

her

is

the

church, Eph.

5:23 and

gives

proof

that God has already begun to deliverance

and

blessing, Phil. 3:20;

act 'and that

His

saving purpose Tit. 2:13.

Althoughjesusneverused

includes her

and

is to be wrought the noun SOTER ofhimself, the people

through her.""I.H. Marshall, Luke: of Samaria recognized Him as the

Histolian

and

TheolOgiim. SOTER of the world, jn. 4:42, and

2. The Emphasis of Mary on Paul freely used that title, Tit. 2:13;

Salvation (as a Lukan motif) 3:6. Mostuses ofSOTER occur

in

the

'

Aswehaveseeninourintroduction

pastoral

and

general epistles.

to 'Luke's Gospel, salvation is a major God mySavior brings a salvation

emphasis throughout the book,

whidt

to the whole

man in

his whole world,

focuses

on THE DMNE HUMAN

involving:

(1).

deliverance from the

SAVIOR OF THE WORLD, who came guilt, tyranny and punishment of sin;

to seek

and

save those who are lost. (02).victoryoverevil'sdominioninthis

The opening'reference to salvation

in

life; and (3). total deliverance and

Luke's Gospel is found in Mary's blessing in perfection at the second

description of GodasherSavior , 1:47. physical coming of Jesus.

In her

beautiful

and

moving hymn, It is significant tha t Mary refers to

she praises God for His saving mercy God as God my Savior in direct

revealed to is people in the promised reference to the birth of]esus, which

binh of the

lylessialt,

who

,

would

enter means "The Lord is Savior," because

the world through

her

human womb, Christ jesus came into the world to save

as her son. In Him, who is to be called

..

I 1 5 B B W fi ld'

sinners,

Tim. :1 ar .e s

]estl$,

God

will be faithful

in

fulfilling comments

on

this verse are powerful

all His covenant promises. Jesus is and to the point:

~ r y s $avior.

He

is "God my Savior"

in ourhumll-nity. . "Christ

esus

came to

SAVE

sinners.

' Not, then, merely to prepare salvation

3.

The

Significance

of

"Saviour" ,forthem; to open to them a pathway to

(SOTER-in ,Greek) salvation; to remove

the

obstacles in

The Greek

O.T

. declares that God the way

of

their salvation; to proclaim

is the

O1;lly

SOTER, lsa. : ? ; ~ 3 : ; as a teacher a way of salvation; to

Psa. 61:2 , becauseSalvationoffered

by

in1:toduce as

a

ruler conditions of life

man is empty, Psa. 59:11; 107:12. ,in which dean living becomes for the

God the Father

and

Christ the Son are first time poSsible; to bring motives t6

both

spoken of as SOTER Christ holy action to bear

upon

us; to break

receivessalvationfromGod,Psa.19:6; '

down

our enmity to

God by an

20:1" 2;

and He t h e n ~ o m e s t o

offer" 'exhibition

of

His seeking love; to

salvation to

the

ends of

the

earth, manifest to'us what sin is

in

the sight

Zech.

9:9; l s ~

49:6, 8.

IIi the

N.T., of God

and

how He will visit

it

with

God the Father is .Savior

in

tha t He His displeasure. All these things He

14

THE COUNSEL

ofChalcedon July/August 1993

undoubtedly does. Butall these things

together touch

but

the circumference

of His work for man. Under

no

interpretationof he nature or reach of

Hiswork can it be trulysaid that Christ

jesus

CAME

to do these things. For

that we must penetrate deeper, and

say with the primitive Church,

in

this

faithful saying commended to

us by

the apostle, that Christ

jesus

came to

SAVE

sinners.

"He did

not

come to induce us to

save ourselves, or

to

help us to save

ourselves, or to

enablt;:

us to save

ourselveS. He came to

SAVE

us. And

it is therefore that His name was called

j eSus--because He should save His

people from their sins. The glory of

our

Lord, surpassing all His other

glories to us, is

just

that He is

our

actualand complete Savior; ourSavior

to the uttermost.

"Our faith itself, thollgh

it

be the

bondofour union with Christ through

whiCh we receive all His blessings, is

not our savior. We havebutoneSavior;

and that one Saviorisjesus Christ our

Lord. Nothing thatwe areand nothing

that

we

can do enters

in

the slightest

measure

into the

groutld

of

our

acceptance with God. je$Us did

it

all.

And by doing

it

all He haS become

in

the fullest andwidest

and

deepestsense

the word can bear-OUR SAVIOR

For this end did He come into the

world-to SAVE sinners; and nothing

short.

of

the actual

and

complete

SAVING

of sinners will. satisfy the

account ofHis work given by His own

lips and repeated from them by all His

apostles::Warfield, pg. 557" 558, The

Person

and

Work of Chlis. .

C.

.The Gratitude

of

Mary for

Her

Divine Election by Grace

Mary rejoices

in

God

her

Savior

because "He has

had

regard for the

humble state

of

His bondslave," I.e.,

Mary. He has chosen

her

of

all

the

women of history to be the only one

through whom

the divine"human


6/10

Savior of the world

would be

born.

Therefore, "from

this

time on all

generationswillcount (Mary) blessed"

and favored ofGod, because of the Son

she delivered

into

the world with

salvation.

Mary is grateful

to

God for nothing

less

than

electing grace,

of

which she

is confident she is a recipient, because

of the direct revelation of God telling

her that she was chosen of God's grace

to be the mother cif

the

Lord. Electing

grace had been applied

to

her

individually, personally and

particularly. God had become Mary's

personal

Savior,

because

He had

chosen her personally to lavish

upon

her the highest of honors, although

she in

no

way deserved

such

salvation,

election

or

honor, because of "the

humble

stateofHishondslave,"caused

by sin

and its effects, making Mary,

and

all mankind, unworthy

and

undeserving of anything from God

except His judgment.

II. 0:49-50)

The Second Stanza: The

Gratitude oj the Heart

Jor

the Display oj

Divine Peljections in

Salvation

The ultimate purpose of God in

the salvation ofsinners in Christ is the

display

of

the glory

of

His perfections,

Eph. 1:6,12; Rom. 11:36; I Cor. 1:29-

31; Exod. 6:7-8; 9:14-16; lsa. 5:16;

2:19; Psa. 25:7,11; 106:8.

A.

The Display of

Omnipotence

in

Salvation

Salvation is the work of

the

Almighty God, hence, it is the

revelation of His awesome power, His

omnipotence by

which

He

accomplishes all His holy will, without

disappointment. The effecting

force

in

the outstanding demonstration of

covenant salvation

in

the O.T., the

Exodus, was God's almighty power,

Exod. 9:14

.

The gospel itself is "the

power of God for salvation

to

every

one who believes," Rom. 1:16. "The

preaching of the cross is

to

them that

are perishing foolishness, hut

to

us

who are being saved it is the power of

God," I Cor. 1:18. In fact, the two

perfections

in

God

in

which faith

particularly rests, besides God's grace,

is God's faithfulness and God 's

omnipotence, i.e., His limitless power

to

give life to the dead and to call into

being that which does

not

exist, Rom.

4:

17. Paul teaches us

that

we would

remain dead in

our

trespasses and

sins, unable and unwilling

to

believe

in Christ,

were

it

not for God's

Sovereign exertion of

omnipotence

in our lives, spilitually raising us from

the dead and enabling us to believe,

Eph.1:19- andwhatisthesurpassing

greatness of His power toward

us

who

believe according

to

the working of

the strength of His might which He

brought about in Christ, when He

raised Him from the dead." See also

Eph.2:5.

God's awesome power is

miraculously revealed

in

Mary in the

conception

caused

by

the over

shadowing ofMaty by that power, and

through Mary in the salvation her Son

would bring

to

the world.

B.

The Display of the Holy Name

of Jehovah

in

Salvation

In

the midst of

her

praise to God,

Mary asserts:

Holy

is

His Name.

God's

"name" is the revelation of he character

and will of the triune God who is

majestic in holiness, working

wonders." Majestic in holiness is God

as He has revealed Himself through

His prophets, in His Angel, in His

written Word,

and

in His Son, Heb.

1:

1-2.

Holy, Holy,

Holy is

the Lord

God

Almighty. Glory be to Y

DU

Lord Most

High.

May

th

ewhole earth be

filled w ith

Your

Glory.

Infinitely high and lifted

up is the Lord, above all creation

and

above

all creaturely

weaknesses

including sin. See Psa 148

and

Isa.

57:15. For Mary there was never a

greater display of the majesty, awe,

wonder-working

power and

holiness

ofjehovah

than in the conception of

the "holy offspring" , the Son of God,

in

the womb of sinful Mary,

without

allowing that offspring to be tainted

by her sinful nature.

"Let

them

praises giveJehovah,

For His name alone is high,

And

His glory is exalted,

And His glory is exalted,

And His glory is exalted,

Far above

the

earth and sky."

(Trinity

Hymnal,pg.

105.)

Marywas so deeplyim pressed

with

the mighty things God had

done

for

herthatshe

cried

Out,

"Holy, (infinitely

exalted) is His Name'" The miracle of

parthenogenesis

The

astounding

performance of God's omnipotence

In such

a frail

woman without

devastating her Power which caused

her to rejoice Incomparably great is

the displayofHis

powerand

His mercy

in

providing salvation for His people

through Jesus Chlist

C. The Display of

Covenant Mercy

in

Salvation

l The Meaning of Covenant Mercy

a. The Meaning of "Eleos-Hesed"

1n

praiSing God for His "mercy

extending from

generation

t

generation,"Maryprobablybasin mind

Psalm 103:

7

The

10vinghindness oj

the LORD

is

Jrom

everlasting

to everlasting

on those who Jear Him, and His

righteousness

to

children's

children.

The

Greek word

for

mercy, in The

Magnificat, vs. 50, is ELEOS,

denoting

July August 1993

l

TIlE COUNSEL

of

Chalcedon 15


7/10

God's gracious faithfulness

to

rescue

His people from the misery caused by

sin,Lk. 1:58;Eph.2:4;IPet.

1:3;

Rom.

11:30f;

TIt.

3:5. In the

Greek O.T.,

the

Septuagint, ELEOS is

mostly

used

for

HESED,

one of the most imponant

words in the Hebrew

O.T.,

denoting

]ehovah'scovenant-bond-love-Ioyalry

to His people and

God's faithfulness

to

His covenant promises.

Since

that

covenant is based on Divine

grace,

unmerited, uneamedand undeserved,

HESED can be translated 'grace'. God

h s

freely

bound Himself

to His

people

in the Covenant of

Grace

in Chtist.

Those who believe in Christ may

depend on God's HESED-ELEOS to

support, nourish and rescue them

from

'all their sin. God's

HESED

is

His

faithful and merciful

love

which

He

promised to

His

people in Christ.

Hence, the conception ofJesus Christ

is the outstanding display of God's

HESED

to His people. And it

is

for this

HESED- ELEOS that

Mary

praises God.

b. The Meaning of

upon

generation

after generation

This is O.T. language, but more

importantly,itis covenantal language,

for

when God enters into 'a covenant

with a man, that bond of friendship

includes his posterity. God told

Abraham, Iwill establish

My

covenant

between

Me

and you and your

descendants ("seed") after you'

throughout their generations

for

an

everlasting covenant,

to be

God '

o you

and to your descendants

( seed )

after

you, Gen.

17:7. IntheTenComrnand

ments

we

are told that

God will shaw

His

lOvinghindness

to thousands of

generations), to those who 16Ve Me and

keep

y

commandments, Exod.

20:6.

Know therefore

that

,

the

LORD your

God, He

is

C;;od the faithful God,

who

keeps

His,

covenant and

His

lovingkindness

(HESED) to

a

thousandth generation with those

who

love

Him

and keep His command-

.

ments,

"

Deut.

7:9.

See

Psalm

78; Deut.

5:2; 29:14-15.

Great is the LORD,

and highly to be

praised;

and His

greatness

is

unsearchable. One

generation shall

praise

Thy works

to

another,

and shall declare

Thy

mighty

acts, Psa. 145:3,4.

In Miry's words here in

verse

50, as

well as

in

verses

54-55, we see,

as we

have pointed out in our introduction,

the

covenantal context of

the

Gospel

According

to Luke. In

Luke

1:72 we

are told that

the

Messiah made His

appearance in history and God's

Kingdom began to dawn with His

advent, because

God

remembered His

holy covenant. Funhermore,

these

songs of Christ's advent by

Elizabeth,

Mary, Zadtatiasand Simeon

are

full of

Covenantal phraseology, promises,

presUppOSltlOnS

and

" actions.

Therefore, it is obvious that we cannot

understand the meaning

of

the

incarnation unlesswe understand:

(1).

the covenantal structure of

the

Bible,

tb.e

Gospel

and

the history of

redemption; (2). that there

is a

covenantal continuity, not

dichotomy,

in the Old Testament and

the

New

Testament,.which is culminated

and

administered in]esus Christ; and (3).

that

the

New

Covenant in Christ is

the

fulfillment and application

of the

covenants

of promise

to

precede

it in

the O.T.-withAdam, Noah,Abraham,

Moses

and

David

.

Hence,

it must

be

concluded,

as

Stonehouse has

so ably

pointed out that "the historical

realization of the Kingdom through

the

appearance of Christ by

no means

relaxed

the

authOrity of the law and

the prophets, (Le., the O.T.), Lk.

16:16,17; 24:44; Mat. 5:17f: It must

also be notecl that the transmission of

salvation through the

generations of

those who belong to God continues in

theN.T.era, up to the present day and

to the end orthe world-"generation

after generation:

2.

The

'Recipients of Covenant

Mercy:

those who

fear Him.

16

THE COUNSEL of ChaIcedon f July Angust 1993

It must be pointed out that the

. avor of God is bestowed, not on

everybody

indiscriminately ,bu t

on

His

chosen people, and on them alone,

Dt. 7:9;Psa.25:1O; 103:18; Isa. 55:3,6;

57:15; Mat. 5:1- 12;]ohn 10:11,15,

28; 11:25,26. And God's people are

distingnished

from

the world by

the

fact that they

are

"thosewho

fear Him.

Paul descnbes

the

world as those

who

have no fear of

God

in their heans,

Rom. 3.

To

fear God is to

cherish

reverence and respect for Him not to

be

afraid, but

to

honor

Him lovingly

by avoiding what is contraty to His

will

and by striving after what

pleases

Him. -Geldenhuys

Ill (1:51-53)

The

Third

Stanza: The

Gratitude

of

the Hean

for

the

Great

Reversal

ofl vetything in]esus Christ

A.

The Crescendo of

this

Stanza

The

climax

of Mary's hymn is in

this third

stanza. God has convinced

her that

the

promised

Great Reversal

of Everything has already been

accomplished (decisively and in

principle), is being accomplished '

(progressively), and will be

accomplishecl (perfectly), by the

Intervention of

God

Himself into the

life of the human race in the person

of]esus Chnst. In God's choice of

two persons of humble station in

life, herself and her relative,

Elizabeth, she sees this global

reversal of everything by which

Christ will renew everything, as

already in effect and progress.

This third stanza contaiils six

verbs

in the

aorist tense, signifying decisive

action in

past

time-"has done,"

"has

scattered,"

has

brought down, "has

exalted," "has filled, and "sent away:

What is the point of the aorist teuse of

these verbs?

l They inform us of

the

things

which God's omnipotence, holiness

and covenant mercy nave already

,accomplished in Christ.


8/10

2. In common Hebrew practice, needy andhumble people, e.g.,Moses,

they speak of the future as already Joshua, Gideon, Ruth, Hannah, David,

past, and tell of the effects to be Isaiah, Jeremiah. There is no doubt

produced by the Messiah in history, as that He will continue to do what He

if they

had

been produced. Because has been doing, for God's ways do not

they are foreordained by God, and change,

Mal.

3:6. Moreover, by this

absolutely certain in His mind, they divine revelation coming from Mary's

are absolutely cenain to come to pass lips in the Magnificat, Godis testifying

as He has planned.

3. "Mary is thinking of

the far-reaching effects of

the blessing conferredupon

herself than of past events

unconnected with that

blessing. Ineither case, the

six aorists must be

translated by the English

perfect

(tense)."-Plummer.

They must

e

translated in

such

a way as to indicate

thatwith the birth ofChrist,

these blessing are in effect

and will remain in effect

throughout history.

B. The Significance of the Great

Reversal of Everything in Christ

1. The Old Testament Roots

of this Prophecy

Stanza three is, as the rest ofMary's

Song, saturated

in

the Old Testament,

as 'we have seen. Compare the

following:

Luke 1:51 Psa. 98:1; 118:15

Luke 1 : 5 2 ~ o b 12: 17-21;Job5:

11

Luke 1:

53a Psa .

107:9

Luke 1:53b I Sam. 2:7

Mary knows her Bible.

By

a series

of biblical quotations and allusions,

she build her case. Throughout the

course

of

covenant history, God's

omnipDtence has repeatedly brought

down arrogant people, e.g., Ahab,

Jezebel, Nebuchadnezzar. "He has

dispersed them,

dethroned

them,

deprived them of their riches, and

driven them

away empty.

Hendriksen. Likewise, throughout

covenant history God has helped His

thatHeWILL "help Israel, His servant"

in Jesus Christ, the lsaianic Se rvant of

God,"who willhelpHischosen people

by laying down His lifeas a ransom for

their sins, Mk. 10:45;

Mat.

1:21.

Mary does not quote or allude to

O.T. passages haphazardly. She does

it

after much thought, deliberately and

systematically, showing that she has a

good understanding of covenant

theology.' More specifically:

a.

Mary read the O.T. covenantally

and messianically. She understood

that there is a covenant stlucture to the

Bible that must

e

kept

in

mind; and

that the focus

of the Bible is Christ, her

Son. She is applyingall these verses to

Him

b.

She read the O.T. as an

authoritativeand prophetic revelation

ofwhatGod would aCLUaUyaccomplish

in

history in the Messiah and His

Church.

2. The Meaning of the Great

Reversal of Everything in Christ

a.

The Explosive Nature of

The Maginificat

There

is nothing

sentimental,

nostalgic

or

other-worldlyaboutMary's

Magnificat. Itis radical, and is anything

but harmless. t is explosive. It speaks

of the total Christian Reconstruction

ofmen

and

nations

on

eanh

in

history.

It is a nuclear

bomb

guaranteeing the destruc

tion of

all

humanistic

cultures and proclaiming

the

victory

of biblical

Christianity over

every

thing- "far as the curse is

found."

b. The Focus of

the Third Stanza

on the Work

Df]esUS

Christ

The point of this third

stanza is this:

Jesus

Christ

is

bringing

a

great

reversal

in

human society

on

earth,

and it has

already begun.

The power

that is accomplishing this global

reversal wasintroduced into history in

the incarnation of Christ. Mary saw a

great reversal of society

in

histDry

because of the

binh of

her Son. To

spiritualize Mary's words, confining

them

to the

spilitual Dr heavenly

realms, is

to

trifle with the

Word of

God.

What she meant

is unmis

takeable. SpirituaIize it

and

you must

spiritualize

the incarnation about

which

she

speaks;

and

then we would

have no gospel. Either the Biblemeans

what it says, or it means nothing

The Dne whD brings this great

reversal about is God

in

Christ. It is

nDt the state, nor the church, nDr the

schoDI,

nor

the scientific establishment,

nor any conspirators, nor theCDmmon

man, nDr cDnservatives, nor liberals;

it

is none other than the Living GDd in

Jesus Chlist, personally, powerfully,

mercifully, magnificently and directly.

c. The Elements of

this Great Reversal

July/ August 1993

THE COUNSEL

of Chalcedon t 17


9/10

(1). It is the over-turning of the

dominionofsin overman and history,

Rom. 5:12f; Heb. 2;Jn. 12:3l.

(2). It is the re-orderlng of all

things under the dOminion of their

King, Jesus Christ, Col. 1and

2;

Heb.

2; psa. 2.

(3).

it

is

the

gathering

up

of

everything in Christ, Eph. 1:10.

(4)Jt is a mighty shaking up of .

the whole world-order, Heb . 12:26f.

(5) , It is the regeneration of the

earth;Mat.19:28, beginningatChrist.

s

resurtection, when He tOok His throne

at God's right hand.

(6). t

is

the

display of

His

Omnipotence, Holiness and Mercy in

such

a way that allmen

will

know that

He is the Lord.

(7). t is the scattering

and

bringing

down ofpeopleand cultures

based on a prindple of revolt against

God, vs. 51-53. Theirdominancewlll

not last and their attempts at unifying

the world

in

its rebellion agalnst God

will not succeed. God will overturn

their efforts as easily as He did at the

Tower of Babel. This is the point of [

Cor, 1:18fI and Cor.,10:lff. The

weapon He will use to accomplish this

scattering

and

bringing down is defined

in

Revelation 12:10 11.

(8):Itisthe exalting and satisfying

of

the h u m l e people of God. The

mighty

and

ungodlywillbe dethroned

arid the blessed meek of the Lord will

be eXalted. the hungry people ofGod

will be'filled and the wicked rich will

be cast Out to

b eg.

Thisreversalwill be as literal and as

radical as Matysaiditwouldbe. Those

who

are n power-politically,

economically, sodally-willsomeday

not be inpower. And those Christians

who are not

in

power, willsomeday be

in

power. Those reprobate who a:Ie

n o w

m i l l i o n a i r e ~ will someday be

paupers;

and thoSe

Christians who are

in

serious need because

Of

the wicked

culture in which they live, willsomeday and can

do

what He pleases with His

be millionaires. Thosewhoareproud personal property.

He

'can and

will

arid

full

ofself-love willbe humiliated;

tum

out

the

ungodly and give the

and those who are full ofGod-love and kingdom to those wh.o obey Him, as

humility will be exalted. But He did with the Canaanites, any time

remember: onlythemeekwillinhertt He pleases. No huinan institutioh has

the earth the right of emineht domain, i.e.; the

So

the Lord, in raising the lowly absolute right of

i,

governmeht to

on high, tums the world's pride to his appropriate private property

for

its

own. triumph, and at the same time own use: That is legalized plunder.

edUCates his own.

in

simpl dty and .

See

Matthew 2L:43 and Isaiah. 14:22-

restraint. Now we grasp the point of 27.jesuscameintohlstory.toremove

M3.t:y's Saying

. it

is

God

who

casts the present world leadership and to

down.lhemightyfrom their

seats,

,nd give this auth.ority and dominion to

.raises

chern

oflow degree. The lesson His Christian people. See Psalm

'is, that the world is

not

tumedand ' 37:18-22.

spun

y t h e b l ~ n d i m p u l S e

of chance, (3). '

Christians must

expect

but the

reversals ' that we

see

are Christ's kingdom to advance, so they

ocaisionedby providence of God, mustbe prepared for thereversal by

and that God himself directs with ' enforclngthekingdom'slaws,living

u t m o s t e q u i t y a U J a w g i v i n g ~ h a t m i g h t its life, .believing

in

its power and

distUrb'lIndoverthrowthewhole order obeying its mandates, Gen . 1:28; Mat.

of the w o r l ~

J . ~ h n

Calvin 28: 19f, confident of victory and

(9). It is the fulfilling of the success, Cor. 10:3"6.

covenantpromi5esofthewholeBible. (4). Through Christ, and His

fyou want to foresee the spedfic body, the Church, Almighty God

.nature of the dfects of this reversal ,will dethrone all His enemies. giving

c ~ u s e d by Christ in human society

His people total victory, I Cor. 15:23f.

study Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy Mary's Magnificat clearly prophesies

28, a magnificent declaration

of

the the totalvictory ofjesus Christ and the

blessings and curses of

th.e

Covenant complete uprooting

of

he

dty

of

Man.

of God, put into effect by Mary's Son. The antl- christians will

be

openly

d. The Implications ofthe Great ' ,confounded and turned out, and the

Reversal of

Everyth.ing

in Christ peopleof

God

openly brought

to

power

(1). The earth Is tlie property of and victory. Faith in this total victory

Jesus

C trist because He is the King

of

Christ throughHis people produces

of the universe. The earth is very and sustains in us a spiritually,

literally Christ's real estate. The fact psychologically; ' and emotionally

that njan has wrongly assumedit is his healthy disposj.tionthat keepsuscalm

to buy and sell and do with as he will, and confident and humble in times of

does

nOt

altet.that great fact. Rather stann . It

also

keeps us

active

and

man is Christ's steward

to

manage His persevering.

creation as He wills. Anything else is (5).

Mail

cannot rob Jesus of His

robbery and rebellion, In the great authority or His property. God

reversal Christ is dispossessing

the

evil always castsrebels out of His vineyard

squatters and giving the

earth

back to 'and grinds His enemies to dust, Mat :

the rightful heirs, those who

are

"heirs 21:33-44:

The

virgin birth'ofJesi:ts 'is '

of God and joint-heirs with Christ." xhe confirmation of God's law and an

(2). Jesus, as king, has the elnphaticassertionClfChrist'sproperty

absolute right of eminent 'domain, .rights over man and the earth: ' .

18 f THE COONSEL

of

Chalcedon jillyl August 1993


10/10

IV.O:54-55) The Fourth Stanza:

The Gratitude of the Heart for the

Wonderful Future of God's

Covenant of Grace

A The Focus of Mary on the Divine

Election of the Covenant Nation

Moving from a testimony regarding

her personal experience of God's grace

in the first stanza, Marynowconcludes

her Hymnwitha reference to the divine

election of a chosen race, a royal

priesthood, a holy nation, a people

for

God's

own possession

"I

Pel 2:9; Exod.

19:6. In this stanza, it is not individuals,

it is a corporate people that is the

object of God's favor- He has given

help

to

Israel His servant. God's

selection of

her

and the gift of the

Child through

her

was for the purpose

of helping that chosen people, the

seedofAbraham, and fonhe fulfilling

of the covenant God made with

Abraham, Genesis 12-17.

Because of the

apostasy

and

rejection of]esus asMessiahby genetic

Israel, God abandoned her

to

judgment, recreating His people into

the new Israel, the seed of Abraham,

comprised of Christ and all those who

belong

to

Him by faith regardiess of

ethnic origin,Gal 3:29. The covenant

people is the church of Jesus Christ,

Ephesians 1:3f;

Philippians 3: If

Hebrews 12:22f. There

is neither

Jew

nor Greek,

there is

neither

slave

nor free

man,

there

is

neithermale

nor

female;for

you

are all onein

ChristJesus.

And i ou

belong to

Christ,

then you are Abraham's

offspring (seed), heirs according

to

promise. -Gal. 3:29

B

The Cause

of

the Incarnation:

Divine Covenant Faithfulness

Mary understo

od

that

God

intervened in histolY through the

incarnation because of the covenantal

promise He had made to the fathers,

viz.

Gen. 3:15; Gen. 17:7; Isa. 7:14;

and especially

to

Abraham,

to

whom

He promised that he would have a

Seed who would bring salvation to

all

the world's families. Paul tells us

clearly that that Seed is Jesus Christ,

Gal 3: 16. Mary knew that her Son

would enter the world to fulfill and

administer all the covenant promises

in the life of the chosen people ofGod

on earth in

histOlY

C The Time-Frame of the Fulfillment

of Covenant Promise in Chlist

MalY ends her Magnificat with the

divine promise that God in Christwill

help His chosen people forever, or

into eternity. Covenant mercy still

flows forth from the throne of grace.

That covenant promise still holds,

1:72,73. It

it

on the basis of this

promise that believing parents have

their children baptized, Acts. 2:38,39.

The substance of the promise- 'I will

be your God'; hence, salvation full and

free-is realized in the hearts of all

those who by sovereign grace

and

through God-given faith embrace

Christ as their Lord

and

Savior.

Hendriksenn

After centuriee of eilence from

Heaven Zachariae praieee od for

once again vieiting Hie people and

revealing Himeelf

to

them

in

Jeeue

Chriet.

n

two eentencee he celebratee

the pereonal and cultural ealvation of

God'e people which hae begun

in

the

incarnation

of

Jeeue,

the

Savior who

bringe and accompliehee

thie

ealvation. uke

1:57 80

July August 1993 THE COUNSEL

of

Chalcedon 19

Documents

1993 Issue 6 - Sermon on Luke 1:39-56 - The Magnificat - Counsel of Chalcedon