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How Christ Builds His Kingdom Through Appointed Means | Jonathan Edwards · Reformed Thinking

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Welcome to Reformed Thinking and welcome back to the Deep Dive.
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Our whole mission here is to take what can be some pretty
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dense source material, crack it open, and really show you the
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architecture of the ideas inside.
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And today we're doing a really interesting deep dive into the
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mind of Jonathan Edwards. We're focusing on a really
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pivotal moment in history, the time right after Christ's
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resurrection. Our source for this is Edward's
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big work, a history of the work of redemption.
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And we're not looking at the whole thing.
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We're zeroing in on one section he calls the established means
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of success. What he's doing here is laying
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out the structures that he believes were divinely put in
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place to make sure the Christian Church would, well, succeed and
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keep succeeding all over the world until the end of time.
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So for you, the listener, the goal is to get past just a
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simple timeline of what happened in the book of Acts.
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Edwards doesn't see this as, you know, just one thing after
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another. He sees 9 distinct purposeful
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actions of Providence and these actions, or dispensations as he
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calls them, they established the permanent stable machinery of
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grace for the Church. The big question we're tackling,
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the one Edwards is really asking, is this How did God
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actually organize and set up the means by which the gospel would
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go on to conquer the world? And what's just so fascinating
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about it is the systematic way he approaches it.
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For Edwards, the post resurrection period isn't chaos.
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It's a phase of, you could say institutionalization.
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When he uses that word dispensation, what he's talking
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about is a divinely ordered period, an economy.
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It's a specific way that God administers his plan of
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redemption in a particular slice of history.
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And in this final great era of redemption, the one that he says
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stretches from the resurrection all the way to the end of the
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world, he identifies these nine non negotiable structural
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elements. And these aren't just, you know,
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little historical footnotes for him.
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They are the fixed means of grace that in his framework stay
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unaltered. They're sufficient for the
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entire success of the gospel movement until Christ returns.
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So our job is to connect those 9.
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Dots. That's it.
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We'll go from abolishing the old regional structures of the old
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Covenant all the way to sealing the final authority of the
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written word. And the goal is to show why each
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piece was absolutely necessary. You know this whole structure,
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it addresses the need for theological clarity, but also
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for global practicability and spiritual authority all at the
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same time. OK, let's get into it.
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Let's unpack this structural plan.
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And the very first step, interestingly, wasn't adding
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something new. It was about taking something
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away, Edward says. The first action of Providence
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was completely foundational, the abolishing of the Jewish
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dispensation. Right, it's a clearing of the
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ground before you can build. And he says it was a gradual
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process, but functionally it was over the moment Christ was
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resurrected. The old system, the Jewish
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dispensation, it has served its purpose, right?
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It was for a particular people in a particular place to point
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forward to Christ. And once Christ came, the system
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just became, well, obsolete. But it was still a huge hurdle
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for that very first generation of Christians.
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A massive. One.
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So what was the problem exactly? Why did it have to go?
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Well, the first problem Edwards points out is purely logistical.
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I mean, it's just practical. The old Constitution, the Law of
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Moses, it required all the men to travel to Jerusalem three
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times a year for the main feasts.
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Which works if you all live within a few days journey.
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Exactly. But if the church is going to be
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scattered throughout the whole world, if you have Christians in
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Rome, in North Africa, in India, that system just completely
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breaks down. It's not workable.
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It's physically restrictive. You know, it was designed for a
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localized agrarian people. OK, so logistically it's a non
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starter for global expansion, but the source material and
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Edwards, they point to a much deeper barrier, a theological.
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10 Absolutely. And this is the real core of it,
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the ceremonial law with all its rules and rituals.
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It created what he calls a wall of partition between Jews and
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Gentiles. A wall built out of rules.
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Yes, a wall built out of things like circumcision, dietary
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restrictions, all the detailed purity laws, who could go where
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in the temple. These were all identity markers
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for the Jewish nation. They were designed to keep them
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separate. And so for a gentile to come in.
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It would have been incredibly difficult.
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Edwards argues that the sheer burdensomeness of it, and the
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great peculiarity of some of its rights, would have just stopped
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Gentiles in their tracks. It wasn't just that it was a lot
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of work, it was that it was so culturally specific.
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So to become a Christian back then would have meant first
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becoming, for all intents and purposes, culturally Jewish.
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That's it. It would have required total
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assimilation into Jewish culture.
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But God's plan, as it's revealed in the New Testament, wasn't
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about assimilation. It was about unification in
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Christ. So that structural barrier had
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to be demolished. Edwards even quotes Ephesians
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saying Christ is the one who tore down that middle wall of
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partition. But let's just pause for a
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second on the huge theological shift that this implies.
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We really have to. The entire Jewish system was one
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of types and shadows the whole structure.
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You know, the priesthood, the sacrifices, the temple itself.
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It was this massive living object lesson pointing forward
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to the person and work of Christ, the shadow, the shadow,
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and once the reality Christ arrived.
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The shadow wasn't just unnecessary, it was kind of
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misleading. To keep it around to continue
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practicing the ceremonial law would have been in fact, to deny
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that Christ had fulfilled it all.
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That's a strong way to put it. It is, but it's the logical
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conclusion. So the abolition wasn't just a
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historical event, it was a theological declaration.
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It declared that the covenant of grace was now fully revealed.
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Access to God was no longer through an earthly altar,
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through a temporal high priest. It was now directly through the
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resurrected Christ. Without that, the Church just
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stays a sect. It would have remained a Jewish
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sect, probably confined to the Mediterranean, and all the other
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8 dispensations we're about to talk about would have been
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completely bottlenecked by rules about ritual cleansing and
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animal sacrifice. It had to go.
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That makes perfect sense. You clear the ground, you remove
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the old localized structure that clears the path both
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geographically and theologically.
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So with that old rhythm gone, Providence immediately
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establishes a new universal one, which is the second major
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institution, the appointment of the Christian Sabbath.
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Right. And what's so critical here is
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how this new rhythm is tied directly to the very center of
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redemption, the resurrection. The source is clear that the
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revelation of God's mind on this started right on the day of
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Christ's resurrection. You see it in John 20 when he
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appears to his disciples that evening.
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And then he does it again a week later.
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A week later, on the same day of the week, he appears to them
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again. It's setting a pattern.
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And then it's confirmed later on.
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Isn't it the sending of the Holy Spirit of Pentecost that also
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happened on the first day of the week?
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Yes, Edward sees that as the divine seal on the whole thing.
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The practice was then directed for public worship.
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You see it in Acts 20, the early church meeting on the first day
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to break bread. Paul gives directions for the
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collection in First Corinthians on that day.
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And then John in Revelation just calls it the Lord's Day.
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He does. It's an established name by that
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point. OK, but why is this so critical
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for the success of the Gospel? I mean, on the surface it can
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look like a minor calendar change moving from Saturday to
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Sunday. Why does Edward see it as a
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foundational institution? It's anything but minor.
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It's really central to the church's new identity and its
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global structure. Think about it.
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The old Sabbath commemorated the original creation, God's rest
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after his work. The new Sabbath, the first day
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of the week, commemorates the new creation, which was
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completed by Christ's resurrection from the dead.
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So this shift constantly reminds believers that their true rest,
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their life, is found in the finished work of Christ.
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So it's a theological reminder built into the week it.
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Is. But it's also intensely
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practical. Functionally, it establishes a
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uniform, global and sustainable rhythm.
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It creates a day for holy rejoicing and for stated public
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worship that goes beyond anyone culture or language or
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geography. Every church in any corner of
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the world can observe this day. You don't need to travel to
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Jerusalem. You don't need to follow
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specific agricultural cycles. It standardizes corporate
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faithfulness, and it provides the necessary space, the pause
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for the means of grace, the teaching, the sacraments to be
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delivered consistently. It was the heartbeat.
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It's the essential heartbeat of the global church.
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Without it, worship would be chaotic and fragmented.
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So with the rhythm of worship now established, the next
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structural piece has to be about leadership and expansion.
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How does this thing actually move and grow?
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And that brings us to Dispensation 3, Christ's
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appointment of the Gospel ministry.
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And this is all powered by the Great Commission in Matthew 28.
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The Great Commission is the engine, it's the charter for the
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entire enterprise. Edwards sees Christ's final
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command go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing
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them and so on. He sees that command as
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establishing 3 specific things all at once.
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OK, let's break that down because I think this is where
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people can sometimes get confused, conflating the role of
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the apostles with the role of, say, a pastor today.
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So what are the three things Edwards identifies?
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OK, so first there's the appointment of the Ordinary and
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perpetual office of the Gospel Ministry.
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Edwards really stresses that the essential command to teach all
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nations and teach them to observe all things belongs to
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all ministers and elders throughout all of time.
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So that's the part that continues.
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That's the part that continues. It established A continuing
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office for teaching and ruling in the church, an office that he
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says will last until the consummation of the age.
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OK, so that's the ordinary continuous role.
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What? What was the second part?
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The part that was temporary? That was the extraordinary
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Apostolic Commission, and this, he says, was peculiar to the
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apostles. It was unique to them.
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They were given a unique authority to launch the whole
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movement to go out from one nation to another and establish
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the Church everywhere. So they had a kind of authority
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that no one after them would have.
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Right. An extraordinary, infallible
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authority in their teaching and in their ruling that extended to
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all all the churches, both the ones that existed then and the
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ones that would come later. And This is why Edwards refers
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to the apostles as being, you know, insubordination to Christ,
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the very foundations of the Christian Church.
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He's pulling that language right from Messisians.
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And the point is, you only lay a foundation.
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Once they had the initial temporary revelatory authority
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that was needed to launch the ship, subsequent ministers have
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the continuous authority needed to steer it.
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And for a Reformed understanding of the Church, that distinction
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is just absolutely vital. That separation of the founding
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authority from the continuous office that makes perfect sense.
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It gives you stability without creating this need for a
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continuous line of inspired, infallible individuals.
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Exactly. And what was the third thing
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established by the Great Commission?
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The third is the establishment of Christian baptism as an
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ordinance. The Lord's Supper had been put
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in place just before Christ's death, but the Commission
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formally establishes baptism as the right of entrance into the
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New Covenant church. It's to be upheld until the end
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of the world. So with the Lord's Supper, that
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completes the set, so to speak. It completes the essential
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rituals, the sacraments, the means of grace that ministers
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are authorized to administer. OK, so Dispensation 3 gives the
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Church its governing structure, its perpetual teachers, its one
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time founding agents, and its initial ordinance.
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It moves the whole thing from being a regional identity to a
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global Commission body. But a global body, as it grows,
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needs practical support. It needs material support to
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show that it's real. Which brings us a little out of
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order, but logically to Dispensation the six the
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appointment of deacons. Right, and this office, which is
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instituted in Acts chapter 6, was created to relieve the
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apostles so that they could focus on the Word and on prayer.
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This is the next structural component for Edwards, and the
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need for it arose really quickly, which just highlights
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that the spread of the gospel is going to create practical
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material burdens. In this case, it was the care
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for the Hellenistic widows who are being overlooked.
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So the purpose of the diaconate then?
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The purpose was to take care of the outward supply of the
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members of Christ's church. It was to make sure that this
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great Christian virtue charity was actually being exercised
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properly and fairly. This appointment ensures the
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church doesn't just talk a good game, but it actually takes care
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of the practical needs of its members.
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But why does Edwards lift this up to the same level as the
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other dispensations? Why is the office of Deacon and
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organized charity and established means of success
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right alongside something as big as the ministry or the Sabbath?
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Because for him, the spiritual can't be separated from the
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practical. You have to remember the
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context. The early church was spreading
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this good news in a brutal, cynical Roman world.
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A world that didn't have a lot of social safety Nets.
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None at all. And if the spiritual leaders,
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the ministers, were constantly distracted by logistics and
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arguments over food distribution, or if the church
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itself failed to care for its own poor and vulnerable, its
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message would lose all credibility.
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It would have looked like any other philosophical club.
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So the charity becomes a form of witness.
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A powerful one. Charity, when it's
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systematically organized through the diaconate, becomes a
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tangible public demonstration of the Gospel's power to change
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people. It testifies that this faith is
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real because it demonstrates love in action.
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It also prevents scandal. And it ensures that the
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ministers are free to do what they were primarily called to do
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focus on doctrine. Without that structured material
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care, the spiritual success of the ministry would just be
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severely Hanford by internal fights and external accusations
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of hypocrisy. It's a support structure that's
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essential for the main mission. OK, now we move into what you
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could call the Divine acceleration phase.
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The launch dispensation defeat is probably the most dramatic
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one in doing the apostles and others with extraordinary and
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miraculous gifts of the Holy Ghost.
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And this wasn't some secret private thing.
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The Spirit of God was poured out in this great public, abundant
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way. You have gifts like speaking in
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tongues, healing, prophecy. And Edwards really stresses the
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scope of it. It was incredibly wide.
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It wasn't just for the ministers or a few special people, he
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says. A very great part of Christians,
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old and young, officers, servants, handmaids, they all
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receive these gifts. This was the fulfillment of
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Joel's prophecy that Peter quotes in his sermon in Acts 2.
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That's right, and this high degree of gifting is what
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defines the Age of Miracles. Edwards thinks it continued to a
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considerable degree right to the end of the Apostolic age.
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So for about the 1st 100 years and the sheer public spectacle
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of the supernatural confirmation, it was essential
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for overturning these deeply entrenched Pagan traditions and
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philosophies. You needed something dramatic to
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get people's attention. But here's the challenge.
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I think for a lot of us today, the age of miracles ended.
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So if Edwards is claiming that these gifts were so central to
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the success of the Gospel, doesn't their Abscess today mean
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that the church is somehow diminished, or that we're
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lacking A vital tool for continuing that success?
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That is absolutely the right question to ask.
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And Edwards, looking at this through his reformed theological
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lens, he gives a really sophisticated answer.
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He connects the temporary nature of the gifts to their permanent
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results. So they weren't for all time,
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they were for a specific purpose.
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Exactly, he argues, the gifts were essential not for the
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continuance of the Church, but for its establishment, and their
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effect remains permanent in three specific ways.
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OK, what other First, the public miracles established
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Christianity throughout the known world.
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The initial launch had this irrefutable divine proof.
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People saw things they couldn't explain, and once it was
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established on that footing, the faith was, as he puts it, more
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easily continued. By tradition and historical
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record, The foundation was set in stone with verifiable public
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signs. So it's like a rocket booster,
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you need it for take off but not for the whole journey.
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That's a great analogy. And 2nd, and this is probably
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the most critical point for the permanent structure of the
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church, these extraordinary gifts enabled the apostles and
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those around them to write the New Testament.
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Without the supernatural inspiration and the authority
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that was provided by the Spirit, the written rule would just be a
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collection of human letters. The gifts were the divine
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validation of the author's authority.
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They proved that these men had the right to compose what would
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become the infallible and perpetual rule of faith and
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manners to the Church. So the gifts authenticated the
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writers, who then created the permanent text.
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That's it. And 3rd, the miracles that are
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recorded in those writings, the Acts of Christ and the Apostles,
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they serve as a standing proof of the truth of Christianity to
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all ages. So even though the public
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demonstration of those gifts ceased after the foundation was
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laid, the written record of them remains forever as a means of
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convincing the world the temporary power resulted in a
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permanent written authority. That transition is a huge
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structural pivot point, moving from this explosive temporary
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power to a permanent, settled authority.
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And that leads us perfectly into Dispensation V, which is all
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about the intellectual and theological shift, the revealing
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of glorious doctrines fully and plainly.
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This is the age of light replacing shadows.
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Edwards constantly contrasts this new clarity with the Old
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Testament, where he says the doctrines about Christ's
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satisfaction, his righteousness, salvation, they were in a great
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measure hid under the veil of types and shadows.
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The whole mosaic system was by design opaque.
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The revelation was indirect. Edwards uses that powerful
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metaphor from Second Corinthians.
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He says Moses put a veil on his face, but now the veil of the
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temple is rent from the top to the.
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Bottom And that metaphor is just so crucial.
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The veil in the temple separated the holy place from the holy of
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holies. It symbolizes limited mediated
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access to God. Only the high priest Only once a
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year. Exactly, and it's tearing from
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top to bottom signified immediate Open Access to God for
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everyone through the death of Christ.
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So Christ, who is the anti type of Moses, now shines without a
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veil. These glarious mysteries, which
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were kept secret since the world began, are now made manifest.
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For Edwards, this period is the moment when the Sun of
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Righteousness, after it is risen, begins to shine forth
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clearly and not by a dim reflection as before.
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For the gospel to succeed on a global scale, its core truths
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had to be universally intelligible.
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They couldn't rely on some esoteric, localized symbolic
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knowledge anymore. So was this clarity just a
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switch that was flipped right after the resurrection, or was
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it more of a process? It was a gradual process, but it
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happened quickly. Christ began the instruction
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right after his resurrection. He spent those 40 days as Acts
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says, Speaking of the things pertaining to the Kingdom.
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He was actively opening their understandings that they might
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understand the Scriptures. That was all necessary prep work
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for the apostles. But the full light came later.
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The clearest, fullest light came principally after the pouring
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out of the Spirit at Pentecost. That Spirit fulfilled Christ's
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promise to guide them into all truth, and it was only then that
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the apostles could really fully grasp and then communicate the
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great mysteries of reconciliation by Christ's death
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and justification by His righteousness.
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And Edwards gives a special place of honor here to 1 author
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in particular who really brought this clarity into focus for the
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church. Oh, absolutely, he says.
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This clear gospel delivery is chiefly delivered through the
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Apostle Paul's writings, and Edwards makes this really
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remarkable observation. He says that because of this
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plain, unveiled teaching from Paul, a child today can know
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more about certain gospel doctrines than even the greatest
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Old Testament prophets knew when they were living under that
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earlier darkness. That's a pretty stunning claim.
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It is, he's saying, the light that first dawned after the fall
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has now finally progressed to the light of perfect day.
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And the structure of the church, it's very existence, depends
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entirely on the clarity of this doctrine.
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You can't build a global movement on shadows.
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You need clear light. So moving beyond the doctrine
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and the structure of the ministry itself, Edwards then
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focuses on a specific agent that was required for this massive
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cross cultural expansion. And dispensation the 7th is all
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about that, the calling, qualifying and sending the
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Apostle Paul. Yeah, Edwards does not mince
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words on this. He identifies Paul's conversion
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on the road to Damascus as one of the single greatest means of
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success that followed. If the gospel was going to move
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from being a largely Jewish phenomenon to reaching the
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Gentile world, especially the intellectual and political
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centers of the Roman Empire, it needed a very specific kind of
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tool, and that tool was Paul. But why Paul?
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I mean, it seems almost disproportionate.
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Edwards credits Paul with more success than all the other
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apostles combined. Paul himself said he labored
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more abundantly than they all. What was it about Paul's
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specific qualifications that made him the indispensable agent
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for this global mission? Well, Paul was just uniquely
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situated. I mean you couldn't have picked
20:54
a better person for the job. He was a Roman citizen which
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many had freedom of travel and certain legal protections.
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He could utilize the Roman infrastructure.
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He had a passport basically. He had the best passport you
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could get. At the same time he was a Jew, a
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Pharisee, trained in Jerusalem under Gamaliel.
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The best of the best. That meant he could debate
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Jewish theology with unimpeachable authority.
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But the key was his connection to the Gentile world.
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That was the key. He was also completely
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convulsing in Greek philosophy and culture.
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That made him the perfect bridge builder to the Gentile world,
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especially in intellectual hubs like Athens and Corinth.
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He could speak their language literally and figuratively.
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So he was simultaneously the Jewish scholar, the Roman
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citizen and the Greek intellectual.
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Yes, that unique combination qualified him to carry the
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gospel beyond the confines of Judea and plant churches across
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Europe and Asia Minor as the self-described Apostle the
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Gentiles. It was primarily through his
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ministry that the Great Commission really began to be
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fulfilled in a global sense. And his contribution, of course,
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didn't stop with his preaching tours.
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No, not at all. His writings are central to that
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doctrinal clarity we were just talking about in Dispensation V.
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He was employed, as Edwards says, more than all the other
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apostles taken together by the Holy Spirit in revealing these
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glorious specific doctrines of the Gospel.
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Justification by faith. The new Covenant.
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The nature of the Church. All of it.
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He provided the Church with its definitive systematic theology
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for all the ages that would follow.
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OK, so with this massive global expansion being driven by Paul
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and others, the church suddenly becomes incredibly diverse.
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It spans dozens of cultures, each one bringing its own
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background, its own perspectives, and its own
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potential for misunderstandings. And rapid growth always creates
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confusion. Which brings us to Dispensation,
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the 8th, the institution of Ecclesiastical Councils.
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Structure has to follow expansion.
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As the church grew, disputes were just inevitable, and the
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most immediate, most serious one was this question of whether
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Gentile converts had to be circumcised and obey the
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ceremonial law, the very law that Dispensation I was supposed
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to have abolished. So the old ways we're trying to
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creep back in. Exactly this cultural clash is
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what's addressed in the 15th chapter of Acts at the Council
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of Jerusalem. But let me ask this If the
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Bible, the revelation of these glorious doctrines, is being
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written at this very moment, and it's soon going to be the
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perfect sealed rule, why does Edwards argue that the church
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still needs human councils to decide controversies?
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Doesn't that risk replacing Scripture with just
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institutional opinion? That's a critical question, and
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Edwards, I think, would argue that the council doesn't replace
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Scripture at all. It provides the structure for
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its unified interpretation and application.
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The council we see in Acts 15 serves several functions that
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are absolutely necessary for success.
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What are they? First, it provides a means for
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resolving disputes that come up from the practical cultural
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application of doctrine. The apostles and elders at that
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council, they didn't introduce new doctrine.
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They applied the already revealed truths of the Gospel,
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specifically the abolition of the ceremonial law, to a
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specific controversy about circumcision.
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So it's about applying the rule, not making a new one.
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That's it. And 2nd, it established a
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recognized, structured process for order.
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This institution ensures that the global Church can maintain
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unity and consistency in its doctrine and practice.
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It prevents factions and local errors from completely derailing
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the overall work of redemption. So the institution of councils
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is really the structure of peace and administrative efficiency
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that you need for long term survival, especially when you're
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growing that fast. OK, so we've come to the 9th and
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final action of Providence in this whole process of
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establishing the means of success, this really feels like
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the culmination of everything that came before.
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The foundation is laid, the doctrine is clear, the structure
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is in place, the agents are at work, and it all leads to this.
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The committee, the New Testament to writing this, is what secures
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the full revelation and makes it accessible and permanent.
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This is the sealing mechanism. All the books of the New
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Testament were written after the resurrection, and mostly by the
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apostles themselves, who had that extraordinary foundational
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authority we discussed earlier. The writers were divinely
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inspired witnesses and interpreters of what had
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happened. The source material takes a
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moment to focus on the co-authors of the Gospels, Mark
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and Luke, who weren't part of the original 12.
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Why does Edwards feel the need to establish their credentials?
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Because the authority of the text has to be absolutely clear,
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he points out that Mark was a close companion of Peter,
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Barnabas and Paul, and Luke was the beloved physician and the
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great companion of Paul, the one who accompanied him on his
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travels. So they were writing with
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Apostolic oversight. That's the point.
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They weren't just composing independent histories.
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They were writing under the direct guidance and authority of
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the apostles themselves. This ensures that their record
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was validated by the founding body of the Church.
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It reinforces this principle that the written rule gets its
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authority directly from that Apostolic launch.
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So once these books are written, they complete the Canada
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Scripture and Edwards then categorizes them based on their
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purpose within the church's structure.
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He does. He divides them into three
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essential categories that are necessary for the ongoing life
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of the Church. What are those category?
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OK, so first you have the historical books.
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That's the four Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles.
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These cover Christ's purchase of redemption, his life, death,
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resurrection, ascension, and then the initial establishment
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and spread of the church. It's the factual basis of the
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whole Christian faith that what happened.
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Then the teaching. Then you get the doctrinal
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books, which are the epistles. These provide the detailed
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theological instruction that's necessary for faith and for
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life. They ensure clear doctrine.
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And as we noted, these are largely delivered through Paul,
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the intellectual architect of the early church.
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This is the what it all means. And the third category.
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The third is the prophetical book, the Revelation of John.
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This gives the Church an account of the great events by which the
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work of redemption would be carried on from the Apostolic
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age all the way to the end of the world.
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It provides the necessary perspective on the Church's
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future struggles and its ultimate victory, the where it's
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all going. So the foundation is laid, the
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teaching is made clear, and the future is revealed.
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It's a complete package. And this whole process
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culminates with the last living apostle.
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That's right. Most of the New Testament books
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were written before the destruction of Jerusalem in 70
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AD. But the apostle John who lived
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the longest, wrote his Gospel, his epistles and Revelation.
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After that event, it was John who has revealed the things to
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come. And it was John who, in Edwards
27:35
words, put the finishing hand to the nation of Scripture and
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sealed the whole of it. Sealed it.
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That's a final sounding word. It is the Canon of Scripture
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which had begun way back with Moses, is now completed and
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settled, and the finality of this act is emphasized by that
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curse pronounced at the end of Revelation against anyone who
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adds anything to it or takes anything away from it.
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This is the absolute completion of the stated means of grace.
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And this really is the critical take away that ties all nine of
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these points together. Edwards concludes that all the
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stated means of grace were finished in the Apostolic age
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before the death of the Apostle John, and they are to remain
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unaltered to the day of judgement.
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The structural plan is complete. Christ didn't just leave his
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church to figure things out through centuries of chaos or
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constant improvisation. He provided the permanent,
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settled means. He gave it the right day for
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worship, the Sabbath, the right system of governance with
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ministers and deacons, the right structure for doctrinal purity
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with councils, the right agent for expansion and Paul, and
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finally, the fully revealed, clear and complete written
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guide, the Scriptures. And for Edwards, that system
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cannot fail because it was divinely installed.
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So after all that, what does this organizational map really
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mean for you, the learner, looking at the church as it
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exists today? Well, Edwards has given us a
28:53
blueprint of what you might call divine logistics.
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The success of the gospel was never supposed to be seen as
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some contingent historical accident.
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It was planned. It was structured by these nine
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specific acts of Providence. And that structure moved the
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church from a restricted, peculiar ritual system to one of
29:08
full unveiled clarity, all of it anchored in a permanent,
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complete guide, the Scripture. And if you connect this to the
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bigger picture, what Edwards is really establishing is the full
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sufficiency of the resources the church has right now.
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The miracles, he would say we're necessary for the initial
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establishment of the church. They provided the proof and they
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enabled the writing of the Word. But the completed written word
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and the instituted ordinances, preaching, the sacraments,
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prayer, those are the wholly sufficient means for the
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Church's continuation throughout all of history.
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We are operating with the complete and finished toolkit.
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There's nothing missing. Nothing is missing, and this
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raises, I think, a really important question for you to
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consider. If Edwards is right and the
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means of grace are completed, settled, and are going to remain
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unaltered until the Day of Judgement, what does that
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finality suggest about the role of innovation or the pursuit of
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new signs and wonders in the church's ongoing work of
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redemption?