Numerous strides have been made in homiletical circles over the past several years on how to preach Christ from the Old Testament. Indeed, one of my joys in teaching a second-year preaching lab at a seminary is helping students connect Old Testament law, narratives, poetry, prophecies, and so forth to their “fulfillment” (broadly conceived) in Christ—and through him to us.
There are several ways to do this: typology, redemptive-historical trajectories, prophet-priest-king, and messianic prophecies, to name a few. What unites all of them is a certain directionality, so to speak: from the Old Testament forward to Christ. From shadow to reality; from type to antitype; from promise to fulfillment. From back then to now.
And all that is great and true and, thankfully, is becoming Homiletics 101 in many circles.
But are we missing another tool in the toolbox? I want to reflect briefly on whether and how the preexistence of Christ could impact the preaching of the Old Testament.
A BRIEF PRIMER ON PREEXISTENCE
“Preexistence” refers to the real, personal, pre-incarnate existence of the Second Person of the Triune God, before his taking on flesh. It’s a foundational part of the orthodox Christian confession that the Son is fully
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