Dear Brothers and Sisters,

A couple of weeks back I offered 16 resolutions for our church in 2016. For those of you who were at the members’ meeting, you may recall that I brought these up again in our meeting this past Lord’s Day. In particular, I mentioned resolution #1, that we should resolve to remember, rejoice, and rest in the whole obedience of Jesus Christ. I want to restate here what I stated in our meeting.

The phrase “the whole obedience of Jesus Christ” is a phrase that is peculiar to systematic theology, and yes I want to use this opportunity to delve into some systematic theology with you. We’re all systematic theologians whether we like it or not. In my judgment, it is better to be a good one than a bad one. I hope that this all too brief discussion on “the whole obedience of Jesus Christ” will not only make you a better systematician, but that it will also encourage your faith.

“The whole obedience of Jesus Christ” is a phrase that summarizes the truth of Christ’s active and passive obedience. The active obedience of Christ refers to all of Jesus’ law keeping (even in the midst of his suffering), and the passive obedience of Christ refers particularly to Jesus’ obedience in his suffering on the cross (but it would certainly include all of the suffering throughout his life). Perhaps this is seen nowhere more clearly than in Philippians 2:8 where we read from Paul’s pen, “he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” Verse 8 is, of course, situated between verses 7 and 9. Verse 7 refers to Christ’s incarnation/humiliation and verse 9 refers to Christ’s resurrection and exaltation. Philippians 2:8 surely encompasses Christ’s obedience from the point of his incarnation up to and through his death, or more simply, the whole of Christ’s obedience.Church History Professor and Westminster Assembly Scholar Chad Van Dixhoorn says this in reflecting on the subject:

“He obeyed the whole of God’s law for the whole of his life. Nothing that he should have done was left undone. And nothing that he should not have done was done. As the Son of Man he obeyed every command that the law required of man. As the Son of God, he honored his Father in coming to this world to save God’s people. Surely it is the whole of this obedience – both Christ’s general obedience to the whole law and Christ’s special obedience in his role as mediator – that is in view in Paul’s letter to the Romans. There he speaks of ‘the obedience of one man’, Jesus Christ, through which many are ‘made righteous’ (Rom. 5:19). So too we must conclude that when our Lord Jesus Christ offered a sacrifice, he must have been doing it for others – for those who are sinners” (Van Dixhoorn, Chad B. Confessing the Faith: A Reader's Guide to the Westminster Confession of Faith. Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 2014. 120).

Let us remember the whole obedience of Jesus Christ to ward off licentiousness. Let us rest in the whole obedience of Jesus Christ to ward off legalism. And let us rejoice in the whole obedience of Jesus Christ because through it we know we are loved by him.

Warmly in Christ,
Mike