旧约研究6——他赐给我们先知 HGP——第三课   圣约的子民

• 目录

• 一、引言

• 二、约中的子民

• 关注焦点

• 亚当

• 挪亚

• 先知的依靠

• 列邦的罪

• 列邦的救赎

• 三、约中的以色列人

• 亚伯拉罕

• 关注焦点

• 先知的依靠

• 摩西

• 关注焦点

• 先知的依靠

• 大卫

• 关注焦点

• 先知的依靠

• 新约

• 四、约中的救恩

• 约以外的群体

• 约中有形的群体

• 约中无形的群体

• 五、总结

一、引言

你一定听过牧师常说的这句玩笑话：「这份工作如果没有人的因素存在就太好了。」可是，生活中的各个层面就是有人的因素存在。如果我们不需要处理人际关系，那么我们的生活将会是十分美好的。但是，事实上我们不可能避免跟人的接触。生活是由我们周围的人所组成的。旧约先知的生活也是这样。他们也需要处理人际关系的问题。

因此，我们称这一课为：「圣约的子民」。我们将要看三个观念：第一是人和约的观念，旧约先知究竟是怎么看神和人之间约的关系呢；其次，我们要看以色列和约的观念，以色列民透过立约的关系进入了什么特别的角色呢；最后，我们要看救恩和约的群体的观念。我们首先看看先知是怎么理解人与神立约的方式。

二、约中的子民

如果我们说我们了解人类，我们一定能确切的说出一点，那就是人与人彼此之间是有分别的。我们来自不同的文化背景，也有不一样的个性。可是，同时我们也知道人是有共同点的。我们都会肚子饿，我们都需要友谊，我们都要交税。先知也知道实际情况就是这样。他们明白神以不同的方式对待世界上不同的国家，因为神拣选了以色列民成为他的选民。但是，先知也知道神与世界上所有的国家都进入了约的关系。

在本课的这一个部分，我们要探索普遍契约，并要看看先知是如何在万国中作这些约的代表。虽然不同的基督徒群体以不同的方法去处理约这个题目，但是我们还是可以有把握地说，许多基督教的传统是在旧约中看到五次主要的立约事件。这些事件对《圣经》历史的塑造具有重大的意义。神五次透过代表人在他自己和子民之间订立契约。这些代表人是亚当、挪亚、亚伯拉罕、摩西和大卫。

关注焦点

旧约的头两份契约是神与亚当和挪亚所立的约，这两份约比别的约突出，因为这两分约是普遍契约。这是神和全人类所订立的约，这两个约章不是单单为了一个特别的民族订立的，而是为了全人类订立的，是神和世界上每一个人订立的永久性条款。旧约先知担当神契约的使者，普遍契约为他们提供了重要的神学立场。现在我们来探索一下普遍契约的两个不同问题。首先，我们要看普遍契约所关注的核心问题是什么。第二，先知的工作是如何倚靠这些契约的。我们首先看神与亚当和挪亚的约所关注的核心问题。

亚当

《圣经》中第一份约是神与亚当所立的约。这约章传统上被称为工作的约。今天部份神学家认为我们不应该称此约为约，更坚持『约』一字并没有使用在创世记1章到3章之中，因为，与亚当所立的约中所涉及到的远远超过工作这个范围。也许把这个约称为神和亚当之间订立的『安排』会比较恰当。神在亚当的时代竖立了几个支撑点，这些支撑点在《圣经》整个历史过程中仍然保留着它们的有效性。

神在亚当的时代至少竖立了三支撑点，这三点在整个《圣经》历史中持续出现。这三个支撑点是人的责任、人的堕落，和人的救赎。第一，神在亚当的时代分派责任给人类。神照着他的形像在世界中创造了人类。当神在创世记第1章26节中第一次讲到人类的时候，他这样说：

「我们要照着我们的形像...造人，使他们管理(大地)。」（创世记第1章26节）

所有人都是照着神的形像造的，因此，有责任在这个世界里作为神王权的代表。人类要在地上每一个角落过荣耀神的生活。当我们把这一点与《圣经》其它部份互相对照之后，我们看到先知明白各个国家的各个民族，都领受了亚当时代的神圣责任。

除此之外，神与亚当所作的安排也确认了所有人都是堕落的。整个《圣经》历史清楚地说明了这一点，创世记第3章中所发生的事，并不是单单发生在亚当和夏娃身上的个别事件。正如在罗马书第5章中所教导的：「因为亚当的过犯，众人都被定罪了，并且要站立在神的审判之下。」先知不需要深究就能够看到世界各国都背叛了创造他们的神，他们没有肩负起作为按照神形像所造的人所要负的责任。

还有，神与亚当的安排坚立了人类得到救赎的希望。在创世记第3章15节中，神诅咒诱惑亚当和夏娃的恶蛇。他在那里应许有一天夏娃的后裔要伤蛇的头。旧约先知了解到战胜邪恶和死亡的最后胜利，必定要临到地上每个民族当中。人的责任、堕落和救赎这些基本的支撑点，建立了神和人在整个历史过程中互相沟通的结构，这些支撑点是延伸到全人类的。

挪亚

现在让我们转向第二份普遍契约所关注的核心问题，这契约就是神和挪亚所立的约。简单地说，神更进一步地加强了与亚当之间所安排的结构，增加了宇宙本身的稳定性。在洪水之后，神在云彩中安置了彩虹，用以证明他不会在人犯罪之后立刻惩罚他们。神反而应许赐予新的秩序，在这新秩序当中，他要耐心地对待我们的罪。就如神在创世记8章22节中宣称的：

「地还存留的时候，稼穑、寒暑、冬夏、昼夜就永不停息了。」（创世记第8章22节）

神为什么作出给大自然稳定性的应许呢？他核心关注的问题是什么呢？至少有两个主要原因解释了神为什么在挪亚的日子赐下宇宙稳定性。首先，神在表明他对人类的耐心。在新美国标准《圣经》的翻译中，这个目的就说明得更清楚了，在创世记8章21节中，这个翻译本是这样说的：

神对自己说：『我不再因为人的原故而咒诅地，人从小时候开始心中就怀着恶念；我也不再象我先前所做的，毁灭各种生物。』（创世记第8章21节）

这节经文告诉我们神顾及到人类终极的堕落，又决定以耐心对待我们，不会在我们每次犯罪的时候就毁灭世界。

在挪亚的约里为大自然提供稳定性的第二个目的也是非常明显的。神给我们井然有序的世界，好叫我们能够履行人预定要过的生命，活出人作为他的形像的生活。创世记第9章第1节告诉我们在洪水之后，神与人类之父挪亚讲这些话：

「你们要生养众多，遍满了地...一切我都赐给你。」（创世记第9章1节）

我们可以从神第一次与亚当在创世记第1章中所说的话引伸说，神再次肯定万国是有责任去活出我们作为他的形像的生活。我们在这里就看见了神应许要有耐性，为人类提供稳定的世界，好叫万国能够活出我们作为他的形像的生活。

《圣经》最初两份约主要关注的问题非常相似。神与亚当奠定了责任、堕落和救赎三个支撑点。他与挪亚的约继续持守了这些原则，又加上对我们的耐心和重申我们作为神的形像的事实。

先知的依靠

现在我们要问第二个问题。旧约先知的工作是如何依赖普遍契约的呢？我们必须承认旧约先知没有常常明确地提到亚当和挪亚。在很大程度上，旧约先知所说的话是建立在从亚当和挪亚的约所引伸出来的神学立场之上的。也许先知最依赖约的地方，是他们给外邦国家的关注。

旧约先知作为神契约的使者，把大部分注意力集中在以色列国，但是，他们也是万国的使者。正如神第一次呼召耶利米侍奉的时候，在耶利米书第1章第5里神是这样对耶利米说的：

「我派你作列国的先知。」（耶利米书第1章5节）

先知频繁地对列国讲话，因为他们是亚当和挪亚普遍契约的使者。

列邦的罪

预言对列国有两方面的关注。首先，先知通常会指出列国的罪，并且为了神要给他们的审判作出警告。例如，俄巴底亚书整卷书都致力于暴露以东的罪和宣告神的审判。约拿书记载了先知约拿在尼尼微城的服侍。那鸿宣称神对亚述的审判。其它先知书也主要集中于神对其他国家所发的烈怒，这并非只针对以色列国而发的。许多段落清楚说明了先知相信所有人都是有罪的，都要受到神的审判。

列邦的救赎

虽然审判是先知对列国所宣告最突出的主题，我们必须记住第二个主题。这个主题就是对万国的救赎。先知经常谈到地上万国将来要得到莫大的祝福。他们的立场是每个种族和每个语言群体将来都有得赎的盼望。神的计划不是只把一个国家从罪和死亡的主权下拯救出来。相反，为了实现他对人类原来的计划，神一直想要从万国中把人民救赎出来。

因此，先知不仅仅盼望以色列从被掳中得赎，领受祝福，许多外邦国家的人民也要加入从被掳中得到救赎的行列。例如，在以赛亚书25章第6到8节中，先知这样宣布将来要出现的一天：

万军之耶和华必为万民用肥甘设摆筵席....他又必在这山上除灭遮盖万民之物和遮蔽万国蒙脸的帕子。他已经吞灭死亡直到永远。（以赛亚书25章6-8节）

在耶利米书第3章17节里也出现了相类似的题材：

万国必到耶路撒冷，在耶和华立名的地方聚集。他们必不再随从自己顽梗的恶心行事。（耶利米书第3章17节）

许多先知宣告，有一天甚至连外邦人也要悔改他们对神的叛逆。他们要来到以色列，从神的审判中寻求救恩。我们作为基督徒的当然都知道这个应许的实现，是在于把基督的福音传到地极。当基督差派他的门徒到万国去的时候，他是在实现旧约先知对地上万国所存的积极盼望。

如此，我们看见了在亚当和挪亚的日子，神进入了普遍契约中，这契约是普及万民的。旧约先知作为世界之王，神的使者，他们注意到万国是如何严重地叛逆了神。可是，先知也宣布有一天神要赎回地上各国各族的人民。

我们看见了神透过亚当和挪亚与万民立约。现在我们转而看看以色列，作为神特别契约的子民。神与以色列国立了什么约呢？

三、约中的以色列人

我经常邀请神学院的学生来我家聚会，可是有时候邀请的名单太长了，我们不能够一个一个地打电话作出邀请。于是，我们会选出几个关键的学生，请他们通知其他人。神对以色列所做的从许多方面看来也是这样。他们是神的关键子民，他以特别的约呼召以色列到他那里去，好叫以色列能够服侍万民，呼召万民来到神面前。

你记得神与以色列立了三份主要的约。他通过亚伯拉罕、摩西和大卫与以色列立约。每一分约都以特别的方式叫以色列作好预备，这不仅仅是为了以色列本身的救赎，更是为了全地所有宗族的救赎作预备的。我们首先看神与亚伯拉罕所立的约。

亚伯拉罕

神与亚伯拉罕立的约十分特别，因为这是第一个约去确认以色列民族的身份，这身份就是他们要负责向世界宣告神给世界的救赎恩典。他们是怎样成就这个责任呢？他们要过一个在神救赎契约中的生活。我们应该首先看看亚伯拉罕的约的核心关注问题，然后我们就能够探索旧约先知如何依靠亚伯拉罕的约。

关注焦点

我们也许可以这样总结亚伯拉罕的约，这约是神拣选特别国家的约。以色列成为神的选民，其中包括了神给这个国家的两个主要祝福。神应许给亚伯拉罕繁多的后裔和一片特别的土地。在创世记第15和17章之中，神与亚伯拉罕所立的约显示了以色列的后裔如何增多，又如何得到一片土地。人数的增长和拥有特别的土地，是神国度延伸到全世界的起始点。从这点开始，亚伯拉罕的后裔和土地在《圣经》历史的舞台上占有中心的位置。

先知的依靠

我们看见了给亚伯拉罕的应许是他要有许多后裔和拥有一片特别的土地，现在我们要问：旧约先知是怎么依靠亚伯拉罕的约呢？他们相信这约章中的哪些方面呢？旧约的先知重覆地引用神和亚伯拉罕所立的约的原则。所有先知书中都假设了这约持续不变的重要性。他们经常谈到土地的应许和后裔增多的应许。

例如，在以赛亚书第41章第8节里，先知以赛亚提到以色列国的时候说了这样的话：

我朋友亚伯拉罕的后裔。（以赛亚书第41章8节）

以赛亚认为当时以色列国是亚伯拉罕的约的合法继承人。同样地，何西阿也暗示了亚伯拉罕的约。在何西阿书第1章第10节中，他说：

在被掳之后以色列的人数必如海沙，不可量、不可数。（何西阿书第1章10节）

这样的暗示表明了先知非常依靠亚伯拉罕的约。每当他们谈论到神赐土地给他的子民，或者使他们数目增加的时候，他们总是回想到神与亚伯拉罕的约。亚伯拉罕的名字在旧约先知书中只被提到过七次，但是，亚伯拉罕的约的神学却渗透了他们的服侍。

摩西

亚伯拉罕的约是第一份与以色列国立的约，后来再有第二份约，就是神与摩西所立的约。今天我们总以不积极的角度看摩西的约，但是，这跟事实相距很远。摩西的约对人类的救赎扮演了重要的角色。我们应该再次看一看摩西的约的核心关注问题，然后考虑旧约先知是怎样依靠这份约的。

关注焦点

神与摩西之间的安排集中于神的律法。神的律法为以色列提供了管理约中生活的规定。此约明确地出现在出埃及记19至24章之中，在这段《圣经》中，约章和十诫带动了这份约。这约也出现在利未记的敬拜规定中。申命记记录了以色列在摩西去世之前怎样更新了约。简单地说，摩西的约集中于约中生活的规定，这规定就是律法，要带来神这位大君王的祝福和诅咒。

先知的依靠

这样，先知如何依靠摩西的约呢？旧约先知深深地感激摩西和他的律法，因为他的律法为先知提供了批判以色列国的主要准则。先知检控约的方式是提醒以色列有责任去遵从摩西的律法。我们在下一课中会看见，先知对神子民所宣布的特别祝福和咒诅，主要是由摩西的约而来的。摩西的律法成为了先知工作的时候所使用的主要工具。

例如，当以赛亚想表明神的子民没有忠于神，他持定摩西的律法作为权威的标准。就如他在以赛亚书5章24节里说：

因为他们厌弃万军之耶和华的训诲。（以赛亚书第5章24节）

象这种对摩西和他的律法的参照在先知书中出现了无数次，因为旧约先知是神的使者，要使以色列为违反摩西律法的行为负责。

大卫

旧约中给以色列国最后的契约是与大卫的约。亚伯拉罕的约集中于后裔和土地。摩西律法集中于居住在那土地上的时候要遵守的律法。在摩西以后，神与以色列的王大卫立了一个特别的约。我们要看这份契约的核心关注问题，然后再看先知是怎么依靠这个约的。

关注焦点

大卫的约的核心关注问题是什么呢？大卫的约集中在把神的子民建立成为一个超级大国。大卫的约出现在撒母耳记下第7章、诗篇89篇和132篇。这些经文中清楚地谈到这约的一个重点，就是大卫家创立的目的，是要作为永远掌管神子民的王国。没错，大卫家有它的麻烦和失败的地方，但是神拣选了这个家作为永远掌管他子民的王国。大卫的后裔有一天要建立救恩的全球性王国。不用多说，这约为神的子民在地上提供了光明得胜的未来和主权。今天我们作基督徒的，也跟随我们的王耶稣，因为他是大卫子孙中最后一位伟大的子孙，是大卫完美的后裔，他的王权永不终结。

先知的依靠

现在我们必定要问另一个问题：先知是怎么依赖与大卫的约呢？旧约先知在服侍以色列的时候经常引用大卫的约。先知认为神应许大卫的国要最终成为一个壮大、全球性的王国。他们对这概念深信不疑，预言说有一天这一切都要实现。例如，在阿摩司书第9章11节里，先知是这样描述被掳后复兴的日子：

「到那日，我必建立大卫倒塌的帐幕，堵住其中的破口，把那破坏的建立起来，重新修造，像古时一样。」（阿摩司书第9章11节）

旧约的先知们多次这样谈到大卫的约。他们提及大卫的名34次之多，可见大卫的约对他们来说是多么的重要。

新约

可是，如果我们不提到旧约先知们也留意到将来的约，那么我们就是疏忽了。我在这里所说的，是神透过基督所立的新约。新约的核心关注问题是什么呢？新约可以用「成就」一词去描述其独特性。神给人的所有应许，早期与亚伯拉罕、摩西和大卫所立的约，到了新约期间都要成就。神的子民要大大增加，他们要继承全地作为他们的土地。摩西的律法要被写在心上，他们要一心一意地遵行诫命。大卫的子孙，大卫伟大的后裔要永远在宝座上掌权。

新约是怎么影响先知的呢？旧约先知期盼这盛大的约出现的一天。例如，耶利米在耶利米书31章31节里说：

耶和华说：「日子将到，我要与以色列家和犹大家另立新约。」（耶利米书第31章31节）

耶利米预言在以色列被掳以后，神要戏剧性地更新他的约。先知以西结也谈到这未来的约。在以西结书34章25节中，我们读到这些话：

「我必与他们立平安的约，我也必使他们...成为福源。」（以西结书第34章25节）

旧约先知以神使者的身份服侍，他们期待末世之约的来临。我们越认识旧约先知，就越清楚看见他们一次又一次地期望新约《圣经》中的约的来临。

神与以色列所立的约引导着旧约先知的工作。他们明白到神要以色列国扮演一个特别的角色，神与亚伯拉罕、摩西和大卫所立的约，甚至是新约，都在引导着以色列去完成这特别的角色。所以先知是在这些独特的约的范围内去服侍神的子民。

这一课我们讨论约的子民，到了这里，我们看见先知是神与以色列和人类之间的约的使者。全地的人都是神与亚当和挪亚所立的普遍契约的对象，然而，以色列人和改信他们信仰的外邦人与神之间是有特别的约的。他们从其余的人之中被分别出来。在这里，我们要看看约的子民的另一方面。先知是怎么了解约的群体的救恩呢？

四、约中的救恩

现代基督徒经常不了解约里的救恩，因为我们把这两者作了区分，那是先知们没有的概念。在灵命复兴主义的影响之下，我们很多时候把全人类简单地划分成两类：得救的和不得救的，或者是重生的和没有重生的。可是，旧约先知们却不是如此分类的。

一个了解先知怎么理解救恩的最佳方式，就是把全人类划分为三类：第一类是那些在以色列约的群体以外的人；第二类是那些在以色列约中有形的群体；第三类是那些在约中无形的群体。

约以外的群体

我们首先考虑在约以外的群体。事实上，这群体是先知最密切关注的一类。这些人站在神与以色列所立的约以外。当神拣选以色列国，透过摩西、亚伯拉罕和大卫给以色列特别的约的时候，就意味着地上其他国家的人并不是选民。除了罕见的例外如路德和拉合等，外邦人与神的子民是分离的，因此也是在以色列国的特别契约之外。就如我们所看见过的，先知相信外邦人是受到亚当和挪亚的普遍契约所约束的。契约中审判和救赎的基本结构也应用到所有国家身上。但是，在旧约的时期中，那些在约以外的群体，或者是那些在以色列与神之间特别的约的关系以外的群体，都断然没有得到救恩的可能性。他们的罪把他们留在没有希望的世界中。

保罗在以弗所书中就是这样谈到外邦人的。在以弗所书2章11和12节里，他说了这些话：

所以你们应当记念，你们从前按肉体是外邦人...那时你们与基督无关，在以色列国民以外，在所应许的诸约上是局外人，并且活在世上没有指望，没有神。（以弗所书第2章11-12节）

这是外邦国家在旧约时期的光景。他们是在约以外的。除了非常罕见的例子之外，他们与通过以色列的约而来的救恩完全拉不上关系。

约中有形的群体

大多数基督徒对于了解在约以外的外邦人这个类别都没有什么困难，但是我发现当我们转去看先知理解中的第二个类别的群体的时候，困难就开始出现了。这个类别就是在以色列约中有形的群体。当我们谈到约中有形的群体，我们印象中就是所有在旧约中属于以色列国的人。这个类别包括了真正信神的人和那些不是真正相信的人。也许介绍这个类别最好的方式，是回到古代的新教神学里去。

虽然古代的新教徒与先知们采用不同的名称，可是以前的新教徒神学家描述教会的方式与先知脑海中想象以色列约的群体的方式是相似的。我在这里说的，是传统上称为的『有形教会』的群体。不幸地是，今天我们很少用这个名词，所以，我们需要看一看古代新教徒所指的『有形教会』是什么意思。在《威斯敏斯特宣言》第25章第2段里是这样描述有形教会的：

有形的教会是大公的、普世的，为凡承认真实宗教者，以及彼等之子女所构成。这教会是主耶稣基督的国度，上帝的家族，在此以外是没有得救常例的可能性。

有形教会的描述提醒了我们约的群体的两个特点。第一，有形教会所包括的不单单是真实的信徒。许多走进教会的人只在嘴里说跟随基督，不是真心相信的，但是这些不信的人因为与基督信仰的联系，与世界分别开来了。他们把自己看成为教会中的一员，可是，他们仍然没有从罪中得到永恒的代赎。

我们也要特别注意给有形教会的特殊称呼。这说法听起来很奇怪，但是，根据传统新教徒神学，信徒和非信徒混合的有形教会是可以确实地被称为『教会』、『国度』和『上帝的家族』。在当代基督徒词汇中，我们通常把这些名称保留给那些我们相信是真正重生了，必定会回到天家的人。但是根据传统神学，这些名词只是一般的名称，包括了所有在有形教会之内的人，不管他们是真正得赎了还是没有得赎。当我们读旧约先知书的时候，我们不难看到他们是用相似的方式去看以色列有形的国。

约中有形的群体这个类别能够帮助我们了解先知书中的许多段落。例如，何西阿书开头的好几章中在描述约中有形的群体的时候，出现了一些用语上明显的对比。在第1章3到9节里，何西阿宣布将有大诅咒临到北国以色列。他作宣告的方法是给他三个孩子取名，他所取名字都是大诅咒的预言。他为第一个孩子取名为耶斯列，为的是要唤回耶户家在以色列行毁坏的日子，这个孩子是象征神威胁要毁坏以色列。何西阿为第二个孩子取名为罗路哈玛，她名字意思是『不被神所爱』。爱在这里所描述的是神祝福他子民的正面的立约关系。这个孩子象征神很快将会收回与这个国家立约的祝福。何西阿的第三个孩子叫做『罗阿米』，或称为『不作我的子民』。这象征神威胁要断绝他与他的子民之间的关系，他要撤回他与以色列国立约的祝福。

然而，何西阿同时也把希望传给这些将要面对神的审判，快要亡国的人。先知保证以色列国有一天要得回被夺去的土地。为了传达这希望的讯息，何西阿又再次使用他给孩子取的可怕名字。在1章10节里，他说耶斯列要再次发生。但是这一次他不再指神要与他的子民为敌；相反地，神要与以色列的敌人为敌。还有的是，根据2章1节，当神在以色列人被掳之后领他们回到他们的土地的时候，他要改称他们为『路哈玛』，就是『被神所爱』的意思。在那天，那些曾被称为『不是我的子民』的人将成为『阿米』，『我的子民』。

看见何西阿用这样的对比去谈论约中有形的群体是十分重要的。其余的经文清楚地显示何西阿并没有说这些人得了救恩，失去了救恩，然后又再得回救恩。相反地，这是约的用语。何西阿用这些特别的名字宣布神要取回立约的祝福，可是有一天他要更新他的约，以色列又要再次领受神的祝福。

我们通常保留了许多词汇去谈及真信徒，先知却把这些词汇应用到以色列约中有形的群体上。当我们用『拣选』这个词语的时候，我们通常指在救恩中被拣选出来。但是先知很多时候并没有这个意思。相反地，他们使用『拣选』去描述约中有形的群体，无论他们是相信神或者是不信神的。因此，在以赛亚书第14章第1节里，我们读到这些话：

耶和华要怜恤雅各，必再拣选以色列。（以赛亚书第14章1节）

注意看以赛亚在这里说以色列要再次被拣选。以下的话听起来虽然很不舒服，但是在先知的词汇中，神可以拣选他的子民、拒绝他们，然后又再拣选他们。这是因为神的拣选在先知书的词汇中的意思不是被拣选到救恩里，而是被拣选到约的祝福中。选民是那些在约中有形群体中的人，这个群体包括相信神和不相信神的人。就是在新约中，拣选这个词语也是这个用法。当耶稣在约翰福音6章70节中说：

「我不是拣选了你们十二个门徒吗？但是你们中间有一个是魔鬼。」（约翰福音第6章70节）

耶稣在这里谈到的是呼召犹大和其他使徒进入到一个特别的约的关系的祝福中。他并不是在说永恒的救恩。

约中无形的群体

现在我们来到先知要处理的第三个类别，就是约中无形的群体。传统新教徒神学在这方面又再为我们提供了一点帮助。在有形教会之内，有一个特选的群体，这个群体被称为『无形教会』。在《威斯敏斯特宣言》第25章第1段里是这样说的：

无形的大公教会或普世教会为过去、现在与将来在教会的元首基督之下所召集合而为一的选民总数所构成。这教会就是主的配偶、身体和那充满万有者所充满的。

这宣言是从神的角度来描述无形教会的，无形教会是从永恒的角度来作定义，那就是所有持有得救的信心，又将要在神的祝福中渡过永恒的人。

从无形教会的描述看来，我们能够看到至少两种基本概念。第一，无形教会中只有真信徒，真信徒是在有形教会之内的，但是他们行使得救的信心。因此，他们进入到无形教会这个比较小的群体当中。第二，我们看到无形教会有救恩的终极保障。由于这些人全心全意地服侍基督，他们的救恩能够持定到最后的日子。

使徒保罗指出，就是在以色列国中，也有约中有形的群体和约中无形的群体的分别。在罗马书9章6和7节里他这样说：

因为从以色列生的，不都是以色列人；也不因为是亚伯拉罕的后裔，就都作他的儿女。（罗马书第9章6-7节）

保罗的想法是这样的：作为亚伯拉罕的肉身后裔也许会把你带进以色列国，但是这不足以带来救恩。亚伯拉罕的真后裔必须象亚伯拉罕那样有得救的信心。因此，我们可以说这是在以色列国中的以色列国，是无形的，是被赎的神的子民的群体，这群体是在神子民有形群体之中的。

无形教会这个想法与旧约先知的想法相似。旧约先知观察以色列国，相信其中有一个无形的约中群体。以色列国中的一部份人总是忠心的。他们是忠实的余民，因为他们行使得救的信心。即使全国整体上有经历神可怕的审判的时间，但是他们的终极永恒是有保障的。在约中有形群体当中得赎之民的区分在先知书的好几个段落中看得很清楚。

先知们一次又一次地区分那一批仅在外表上看起来属于约中有形群体的人，和那些真正悔改了，在真实信徒无形群体之中的人，这些人的终极永恒是已经确定的了。例如，在耶利米书第4章第4节里，我们读到对犹大国有形的国的宣告：

犹大人和耶路撒冷人的居民哪，你们当自行割礼归耶和华，将心里的污秽除掉，恐怕我的忿怒因你们的恶行发作，如火着起。（耶利米书第4章4节）

在耶利米服侍犹大国期间，所有以色列的男人都已经受过割礼。因此，这些人和他们的一家都是在约中有形群体当中。然而，耶利米知道大多数犹大人的心没有归向神。所以他嘱咐他们要透过真正的信心从心里受割礼，这样才能够从神的忿怒中被拯救出来。

先知以西结也非常清楚地说明了这个分别。在以西结书18章31节里他这样说：

你们要将所犯的一切罪过尽行抛弃，自做一个新心和新灵....以色列家啊，你们何必死亡呢？（以西结书第18章31节）

以西结对以色列有形的后裔讲话，但是，这并不代表他们是必有永生的得赎子民。因此，先知呼召他们要深切诚恳地悔改。

每当我们读旧约先知书的时候，我们必须常常记住他们对救恩的理解是与约连在一起的。在约里并不等同于得赎或永远得救。当旧约先知把人分类的时候，他们首先想到外邦人，就是在有形的以色列国以外的人。除非这些人来到以色列当中，在以色列的神里面寻找救赎，不然的话，他们是迷失的，是没有盼望的。

先知知道有形的以色列国在神眼里是很特别的。因为其中包括了所有生来属以色列的后裔，和任何自愿与以色列信仰有密切联系的外邦人。约中有形的群体包含真实的信徒和不信的人，但是这个群体仍然被分别出来，去享受神与亚伯拉罕、摩西和大卫所立的约里存有的祝福和责任。这是人寻找救恩的场所。

第三个类别在先知立场中占了重要的位置。先知知道在以色列国内有一个无形的群体。这是神子民中公义的余民，就是那些忠心地真正相信神的人。虽然他们也要经历困难的时期，他们也并非完美，可是，他们仍然象亚伯拉罕那样信靠神，他们唯独因为信心而得称为义。

五、总结

每当我们读先知书的时候，我们要记住这些区别：在约以外的人，约中有形的国家，和无形的约的群体。如果我们记住这些区别，我们就能避免混乱，更能够从先知的讯息中得到更深的领悟。

在这一课里面，我们讨论了一些有关先知如何理解约中子民的主题。我们看见先知们相信所有人都透过亚当和挪亚的约而与主相连。可是，以色列与神有一个特别的关系，因为神与亚伯拉罕、挪亚和大卫立了约，甚至也是因为神在基督里所立的新约，而使以色列与神有特别的关系。我们也注意到先知对人有不同的区分，是我们不经常采用的区分。先知把世界上的人分为三类：在约外的，约中的不信者，和约里的真实信徒。当我们谨记着这些分别，又记住先知是怎么理解神的子民的时候，我们就能够明白预言，又能够把预言应用到我们今天的生活中。

He Gave Us Prophets: People of the Covenant

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INTRODUCTION

I'm sure you've heard the old joke about the pastor who said, "This job would be great if it weren't for the people." Well, that's the way it is in many areas of life. Life would be great if it weren't for the people we had to deal with, but the fact is that we just can't get away from people. Life is made up with others all around us. And that's the way it was with Old Testament prophets. They dealt with people as well. For this reason, we've entitled this lesson, "The People of the Covenant." We'll examine three concepts: first, humanity in covenant, how did the Old Testament prophets see a covenant relationship between God and all people; second, Israel in covenant, what special role came to the people of Israel through covenant relationship; and then, finally, salvation in covenant community. Let's look first at the way the prophets of the Old Testament understood all of humanity in covenant with God.

HUMANITY IN COVENANT

If there's one thing that we know about people it is that they are different from each other. We come from different cultures and we have different personalities. But at the same time, we know that there are certain things that are common among all people. We all get hungry. We all need a friend. We all pay taxes. Well, the prophets knew that this was true about people as well. They understood that different nations of the earth were treated differently by the Lord because God had chosen Israel as his special people. But at the same time the prophets knew that God had also entered into covenant with all the nations of the earth. Although different Christian groups handle covenants differently, it is safe to say that many Christian traditions have seen five major covenant events in the Old Testament. These events significantly shaped the history of the Bible. At five different times, God established covenants between himself and his people through representative heads. These representatives were Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, and David.

Central Concerns

The first two covenants of the Old Testament, the covenants with Adam and Noah, stand apart from the others because they were universal covenants. These were covenants established between God and all of humanity. They were not for a particular people but for all people. They established permanent arrangements between God and every human being that will ever live. These universal covenants provided Old Testament prophets with important theological orientations as they served as God's emissaries. As we explore these universal covenants, we'll look at two different issues. First, what were the central concerns of these universal covenants? And second, how did the prophets' ministries depend on these covenants. Let's look first at the central concerns of the covenants with Adam and Noah.

Adam

The first covenant in the Bible is the covenant that God established with Adam. Now this covenant is traditionally known as the "covenant of works." In our day a number of theologians think that we shouldn't call this a covenant, and to be sure the term "covenant" is not used in Genesis 1–3. And also, there was much more than works involved in this covenant made with Adam. Perhaps it is better simply to speak of this as an "arrangement" that God had made between himself and Adam. But in the days of Adam, God established certain pillars that remain in effect throughout all the history of the Bible. At least three pillars were established in the days of Adam which endure for the entire history of the Bible. These pillars were human responsibility, human corruption, and human redemption. First, God ordained human responsibility in the days of Adam. God created the human race as his image in this world, and when God first spoke about human beings in Genesis 1:26, he said these words:

"Let us make man in our image… and let them rule" (Genesis 1:26).

All human beings are God's image and therefore responsible to represent his kingship in this world. Human beings are to live in ways that honor God throughout every part of the earth. And along with every other portion of Scripture, the prophets understood that all people of every nation received this sacred responsibilities in the days of Adam. Beyond this, the arrangement with Adam also established that all human beings have suffered corruption. As the entire history of the Bible illustrates so clearly, the events of Genesis 3 were not isolated to the lives of Adam and Eve. As the book of Romans in chapter 5 teaches, because of Adam's sin, the entire human race has become sinful and stands under the judgment of God. The prophets did not have to look far to see that the nations of the world had turned away from their Creator, and they had turned away from their responsibilities as his image.

Beyond this, the arrangement with Adam also established a hope of redemption for humanity. In Genesis 3:15, God cursed the evil serpent who tempted Adam and Eve. There he promised that one day the offspring of Eve will crush the serpent's head. The prophets of the Old Testament understood that eventually victory over evil and death would come to every nation on the earth. These basic pillars of human responsibility, corruption, and redemption established the structures of divine, human interaction throughout all of history. They extend to the entire human race.

Noah

Let's turn now to the major concerns of the second universal covenant made between God and Noah. Put simply, God furthered the structures of Adam's arrangement, but added the feature of stability for the physical universe. After the flood, God placed his bow in the clouds to demonstrate that he would not punish human beings immediately every time they sinned. Instead, God promised a new order, an order in which he would be patient with our sins. As God declared in Genesis 8:22:

"As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease" (Genesis 8:22).

Why did God make this promise of natural stability? What was his central concern? Well, there are at least two main reasons for the stability of the universe given in the days of Noah. In the first place, God was demonstrating his patience with the human race. This purpose becomes clear in the New American Standard Bible in its translation of Genesis 8:21:

And the Lord said to himself, "I will never again curse the ground on account of man, for the intent of a man's heart is evil from his youth; and I will never again destroy every living thing as I have done" (Genesis 8:21, NASB).

This verse tells us that God recognized the total depravity of human beings and determined to be patient toward us by not destroying the world every time we sinned. A second purpose for the stability of nature in Noah's covenant is also evident. God has given us an orderly world so that we can fulfill our human destiny to serve as his image. Genesis 9:1, 3 tells us that after the flood God spoke to Noah, the father of all people, and he said these words:

"Be fruitful and increase in number, fill the earth… I now give you everything" (Genesis 9:1, 3).

Drawing upon the words he first spoke to Adam in Genesis 1, God once again affirmed the responsibility of all nations to serve as his image. So we see that God promised to be patient and to provide a stable world for the human race so that all nations of the earth could serve as his image.

The main concerns of the first covenants in the Bible are very similar. With Adam, God has established the pillars of responsibility, corruption, and redemption. With Noah, he continued these principles along with divine patience and reaffirmation of our human destiny as images of God.

Prophets' Dependence

Now we have to ask a second question: how did the ministries of Old Testament prophets depend on these universal covenants? Now, we have to admit that the prophets of the Old Testament do not explicitly mention Adam and Noah very often. For the most part, the theological perspectives derived from the covenants with Adam and Noah lie implicitly behind what Old Testament prophets said. Perhaps the most important way in which prophets depended on these covenants is in their attention to Gentile nations. As God's covenant emissaries, Old Testament prophets focused most of their attention on the nation of Israel, but they were also emissaries to the nations of the world. As God told Jeremiah when he first called him to minister in Jeremiah 1:5:

"I appointed you as a prophet to the nations" (Jeremiah 1:5).

Prophets frequently addressed foreign nations because they were emissaries of the universal covenants with Adam and Noah.

Sins of the Nations

The prophetic concern for the nations went in two directions. First, the prophets usually pointed out the sins of the nations and threatened God's judgment against them. For instance, the entire book of Obadiah is devoted to exposing the sins of Edom and announcing divine judgment. Jonah reports that the prophet ministered to the city of Nineveh. Nahum declared God's judgment against Assyria. Large portions of other prophetic books focus on the wrath of Yahweh coming against the nations other than Israel. Many passages make it clear that the prophets believed all people were sinful and subject to the judgment of God.

Redemption for the Nations

Although the theme of judgment was prominent in the prophets' addresses to the nations, we must also remember a second theme: the theme of redemption for the nations. The prophets often spoke of a future time of great blessings for the nations of the earth. From their point of view, the future held a hope of redemption for every tribe and language. God's plan was not that only one nation would be saved from the dominion of sin and death. Instead, in fulfillment of his original design for the human race, God always intended to redeem people from every nation. For this reason, the prophets not only looked forward to a day of great blessing when Israel would be redeemed from exile; instead, many people from the Gentile nations would also participate in this great redemption. For example, in Isaiah 25:6-8, the prophet announced that one day in the future:

The Lord Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples… On this mountain he will destroy the shroud that enfolds all people, the sheet that covers all nations; he will swallow up death forever (Isaiah 25:6-8).

In Jeremiah 3:17 a similar theme appears:

All nations will gather in Jerusalem to honor the name of the Lord. No longer will they follow the stubbornness of their evil hearts (Jeremiah 3:17).

Many prophets announced that the day would come when even Gentiles would repent of their rebellion against God. They will come to Israel and find salvation from divine judgment. Now, of course, as Christians we know that this promise is fulfilled in the spread of the gospel of Christ throughout all the world. When Christ commissioned his apostles to go to all nations, he was fulfilling the positive hopes that the Old Testament prophets had for the nations of the earth.

So we see that in the days of Adam and Noah, God entered into universal covenants which extend to all people. As emissaries of God, the King of all the world, Old Testament prophets drew attention to the severe violations of the nations against God. But they also announced that one day God will redeem a people from every tribe and nation of the earth.

We have already seen that God made covenants with all people in Adam and in Noah. But now we're going to turn our attention to Israel as the special covenant people of God. What covenants did God make with the nation of Israel?

ISRAEL IN COVENANT

Often my family gives parties for seminary students, but sometimes the list is so long that we don't call every single one of them ourselves. Instead, we select a few key students and they call the others. Well in many respects, this is what God did with Israel. They were his key people, and he called Israel to himself with special covenants so that Israel then could minister, or call all peoples to God. You will recall that God made three major covenants with Israel. He made covenants though Abraham, Moses, and David. Each of these covenants prepared Israel in special ways, not only for her own salvation, but for the salvation of all the families of the earth. Let's look first at the covenant with Abraham.

Abraham

God's covenant with Abraham was special because it was the first to identify Israel as the one family chosen to bear God's gracious redemption to the entire world. How were they going to do this? By living in a redemptive covenant with Yahweh. We should look first at the central concerns of this covenant with Abraham, and then we'll be able to explore the ways in which Old Testament prophets depended on the covenant with Abraham.

Central Concerns

We may summarize the Abrahamic covenant as one in which God chose a special nation. The establishment of Israel as God's chosen people involved two major blessings from God to this nation. God promised Abraham many descendants and a special land. In Genesis 15 and 17, God's covenant with Abraham showed the way for Israel to multiply many descendants and to take possession of a bit of land. Now, this multiplication and possession of a special land was to be a starting point for extending God's kingdom throughout the world. From this point on, the descendants and the land of Abraham took center stage in the history of the Bible.

Prophets' Dependence

We have seen that Abraham was promised many descendants and a special land. And now we must ask, how did Old Testament prophets depend on this covenant with Abraham? What did they believe about this covenant? Time and again the prophets of the Old Testament draw upon the principles of the covenant between God and Abraham. The abiding importance of this covenant is assumed throughout all the prophets. They spoke frequently about the promise of land and the promise of a multitude of descendants.

For example, in Isaiah 41:8 the prophet Isaiah refers to the nation of Israel in this way:

O seed of Abraham, my friend (Isaiah 41:8).

In Isaiah's thinking the nation of Israel, even in his own day, was the rightful heir of Abraham's covenant. In a similar way, Hosea alludes to the covenant with Abraham. In 1:10 he says:

After the exile the number of the sons of Israel will be like the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured or numbered (Hosea 1:10).

Allusions like these demonstrate that the prophets depended heavily on the covenant with Abraham. Whenever they spoke about God giving land to his people or multiplying their numbers, they recalled the covenant God made with Abraham. Abraham was mentioned by name only seven times in the prophets of the Old Testament, but the theology of Abraham's covenant permeated their ministries.

Moses

Abraham's covenant was the first one with the nation of Israel, but it was followed by a second covenant, the covenant with Moses. In our day, the Mosaic covenant is not always seen in a positive light, but nothing could be further from the truth. Moses' covenant plays a vital role in the positive redemption of the human race. Once again, we should take a look at the central concerns of Moses' covenant and then consider how Old Testament prophets depended on this covenant.

Central Concerns

The arrangement with Moses focuses on the law of God. The law of God provided the regulations that govern covenant life in Israel. This covenant appears most explicitly in Exodus 19–24 where the covenant was initiated with the book of the covenant and the Ten Commandments. It also appears in the worship regulations of the book of Leviticus. The book of Deuteronomy records Israel's covenant renewal near the time of Moses' death. Put simply, the Mosaic covenant focused on the regulations of covenant life, the laws which would lead to blessing and curse from the great divine Suzerain.

Prophets' Dependence

Well, how did Old Testament prophets depend on Moses' covenant? Old Testament prophets were deeply indebted to Moses and his law because his law provided the main standards by which prophets critiqued the nation of Israel. Prophets prosecuted the covenant by reminding Israel of her responsibility to be faithful to the law of Moses. As we'll see in the next lesson, even the specific blessings and curses which the prophets announced to the people of God, even these came largely from the covenant with Moses. The laws of Moses became the primary tools of a prophet's trade.

For example, when Isaiah wanted to indicate that the people had been unfaithful to the Lord, he appealed to the Mosaic Law as an authoritative standard. As he said in Isaiah 5:24:

They have rejected the law of the Lord Almighty (Isaiah 5:24).

This kind of reference to Moses and his law appears innumerable times in the prophets because Old Testament prophets were emissaries of God, calling Israel to account for the ways she had violated the covenant with Moses.

David

The final Old Testament covenant given to Israel as a nation was the covenant with David. Abraham's covenant focused on descendants and land. Moses' gave attention to laws for living in the land. Following Moses, God made a special covenant with David, the king of Israel. Once again, we should look at the main concerns of this covenant and then how the prophets depended on it.

Central Concerns

What were the main concerns of the covenant with David? David's covenant focused on building God's people into an enormous empire. The Davidic covenant appears in 2 Samuel 7, Psalm 89, and Psalm 132. These passages make it clear that one vital aspect of this covenant was the establishment of David's family as the permanent dynasty over God's people. David's family certainly had troubles and failures, but God chose this family to be the dynasty over his people forever. David's descendants would one day establish a worldwide kingdom of salvation. Needless to say, this covenant offered the people of God a very bright future of victory and dominion over the earth. And even as Christians today, we follow Jesus as our King because he was the last great son of David, the perfect son of David, whose kingdom will never end.

Prophets' Dependence

Now we must ask another question: how did the prophets depend on this covenant with David? Old Testament prophets frequently drew upon David's covenant as they ministered to Israel. As far as the prophets were concerned, God promised that eventually the kingdom of David would be a magnificent, worldwide kingdom. They believed this very strongly and predicted that it would happen one day in the future. For example, in Amos 9:11, the prophet describes the days of the restoration after the exile in this way:

"In that day I will restore David's fallen tent. I will repair its broken places and restore its ruins, and build it as it used to be" (Amos 9:11).

Old Testament prophets speak this way about the Davidic covenant many times. His covenant was so important to them that they mention David by name thirty-four times.

The New Covenant

Of course, we would be remiss if we do not mention that Old Testament prophets were also aware of a covenant that was still in their future. I have in mind here the new covenant, which God made through Christ. What were the main concerns of this new covenant? The new covenant may be characterized by one word: fulfillment. All the promises given to God's people in the earlier covenants with Abraham, Moses, and David, were to be realized in the period of the new covenant. The people of God would be numerous and inherit the entire earth as their land. The law of Moses will be written in the heart and obeyed from the heart. The Son of David, the great Son of David, would reign on the throne forever. How were the prophets influenced by this new covenant? Well, the Old Testament prophets longed for the day of this grand covenant. For example, Jeremiah spoke of the new covenant in Jeremiah 31:31:

"The time is coming," declares the Lord, "when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah" (Jeremiah 31:31).

Jeremiah predicted that in the days after Israel's exile, God would renew his covenant in dramatic ways. The prophet Ezekiel spoke of this future covenant as well. In 34:25, 26 we read these words in Ezekiel:

"I will make a covenant of peace with them, and… I will bless them" (Ezekiel 34:25, 26).

Old Testament prophets ministered as God's emissaries in anticipation of the great end-time covenant to come. And as we learn about Old Testament prophets, we'll see them anticipating this New Testament covenant time and again. The covenants that God established with Israel guided the Old Testament prophets in all that they did. They understood that God had a special role for the nation of Israel, and that the covenants with Abraham, Moses, and David, and even the new covenant, guided Israel in that special role. And so when prophets ministered to God's people, they ministered within the confines of these special covenants God had made with his people.

So far in this lesson on the people of the covenant we've seen that Old Testament prophets served as emissaries of God's covenants with humanity in general and with Israel. All the people of the earth were subject to the universal covenants with Adam and Noah. But the Israelites and Gentiles who converted to their faith were in very special covenants with God. They were separated from the rest of humanity. At this point, we need to look at one other aspect of the people of the covenant. How did the prophets understand salvation in the covenant community?

SALVATION IN COVENANT

Often modern Christians have a hard time understanding salvation in covenant because we make distinctions that the prophets did not follow. Under the influence of revivalism, many times we divide the human race into two tidy groups — those who are saved and those who are not saved, or the regenerate and the unregenerate. Now, don't get me wrong, that distinction is very important because people are either saved or not saved, or, regenerate or not regenerate. But at the same time, these are not the categories that Old Testament prophets thought in terms of.

One of the best ways to understand how prophets understood salvation is to make distinctions between three different kinds of people in the world: first, those outside of the covenant community of Israel; second, those who were in the visible covenant community of Israel; and third, those who were within the invisible covenant community.

Outside Covenant

Consider the first category of those who were outside of the covenant. In reality, this is the most obvious category of people that the prophets followed. These are people outside of the covenants God made with Israel. When God chose the nation of Israel and gave her special covenants in Abraham, Moses and David, this choice of Israel meant that other nations of the earth were not among the chosen people. With rare exceptions of people like Ruth and Rahab, Gentiles were separated from God's people and therefore outside of these special covenants with the nation. As we have seen, the prophets believed that Gentiles were bound to the universal covenants of Adam and Noah. The basic structures of judgment and redemption in those covenants applied to all nations. But at the same time, during the days of the Old Testament, those outside of the covenant community, or outside of Israel's special covenant relationship with God, these people were cut off from the possibility of salvation. Their sin had left them without hope in the world. Paul spoke this way about Gentiles in the book of Ephesians. In Ephesians 2:11-12 he says these words:

Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth… remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of promise, without hope and without God in the world (Ephesians 2:11-12).

This was the condition of Gentile nations during the Old Testament days. They were outside of the covenant and, with rare exception, very distant from the possibility of salvation which came through the covenants with Israel.

Visible Covenant

Most Christians have little trouble understanding the category of Gentiles as outside of the covenant, but I have found that difficulties begin to arise when we move to the second category of people in the prophetic outlook — people within the visible community of Israel. When we speak of the visible covenant community, we have in mind all of those in the Old Testament days who were a part of the nation of Israel. This category included both true believers and those who were not true believers. Perhaps one of the best ways to introduce this covenant category is to reach back into older Protestant theology. Although older Protestants used different terms than the prophets did, Protestant theologians from the past have described the church in ways that parallel the prophets' way of thinking about the covenant community of Israel. I have in mind here the traditional designation of the "visible church." Unfortunately, this terminology is not used much today so we need to take a look at what older Protestants meant by this term, the "visible church." The Westminster Confession of Faith describes the "visible church" in this way in chapter 25, paragraph 1:

The visible church consists of all those throughout the world that profess the true religion and of their children; and is the kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ, the house and family of God out of which there is no ordinary possibility of salvation.

This description of the visible church alerts us to two features of the visible covenant community. First, the visible church includes more than true believers. Many people who come to church simply claim to follow Christ, but these unbelievers have been separated from the world by their association with the Christian faith. They have placed themselves in the membership of the church, but they are still not eternally redeemed from their sins.

Beyond this, it is important to notice the special titles given to the visible church. It sounds strange to our ears, but according to traditional Protestant theology, the visible church, mixed with believers and unbelievers, may rightly be called the "Church," the "Kingdom," the "House of God," and the "Family of God." In contemporary Christian vocabulary, we normally reserve these terms for people we believe are truly regenerate and those who are irrevocably heaven-bound. But according to traditional theology, these terms are general titles embracing everyone who is within the visible church whether they are eternally redeemed or not. When we read Old Testament prophets it's not difficult to see that they thought in similar ways about the visible nation of Israel. This category of the visible covenant community helps us understand many passages in the prophets. For instance, the first chapters of Hosea present a striking contrast of terms used to describe the visible covenant community. In 1:3-9, Hosea announces great curses to come upon northern Israel. He does this by giving his three children names that predicted tremendous curses. He named one child Jezreel, recalling the destruction that took place in Israel in the days of Jehu. This child symbolized that God was threatening to destroy Israel. Hosea named his second child Lo-Ruhamah; her name meant, "not loved by God." And in this context, love was a term describing a positive covenant relationship of blessing between God and his people. This child symbolized that God's covenant blessings would soon be withdrawn from the nation. Hosea's third child was called Lo-Ammi; "not my people." This child symbolized the threat that God would disown his people by withdrawing his covenant blessings from the nation of Israel. At the same time, however, Hosea also gave hope to those who were about to fall under God's judgment of exile. The prophet assured the nation of Israel that restoration to the land would take place one day. To convey this hope, Hosea recalled the terrible names that he gave his children once again. In 1:10, he says that Jezreel will take place again, but this time he does not mean that God will fight against his people. Instead, God will fight against the enemies of Israel. Beyond this, when God returns the Israelites to their land after exile, he will rename them "Ruhamah," "loved by God," according to 2:1. In that day, those who were called "not my people" will become "Ammi," "my people." It's important to see that Hosea speaks of the visible covenant community in contrasting terms. The rest of Scripture makes it plain that Hosea was not talking about these people as having salvation, then losing it and getting salvation again. Instead, this is covenant language. With these special titles, Hosea is announcing that God will withdraw His covenant blessings but then one day renew his covenant, and Israel will receive God's blessings again.

There are many terms that we normally reserve in our vocabulary for true believers that the prophets applied to the visible covenant community of Israel. When we use terms like, "elect" or "chosen," we usually mean elect for salvation. But the prophets did not mean this very often. Instead, they used the term "elect" or "chosen" to describe the people who are in the visible covenant community whether they were true believers or not. For this reason, in Isaiah 14:1 we read these words:

The Lord will have compassion on Jacob; once again he will choose [elect] Israel (Isaiah 14:1).

Notice that Isaiah said Israel would be chosen once again. As strange as it sounds to our ears, in the vocabulary of the prophets people can be chosen by God, rejected, and then chosen again. This is because God's election in the prophetic vocabulary is not election to salvation but election to covenant blessing. The elect are those who were in the visible covenant community, and that community included both believers and unbelievers. Even in the New Testament, sometimes the term elect is used in this way. When Jesus said in John 6:70:

"Have I not chosen you, the Twelve? Yet one of you is a devil!" (John 6:70).

Jesus speaks of calling Judas and the other Apostles to a special covenant relationship of blessing. He does not speak of eternal salvation.

Invisible Covenant

Now we come to the third category of people with whom the prophets dealt — the invisible covenant community. Once again, traditional Protestant theology gives us some help in this area. Within the visible church, there is a select group known as the "invisible church." In the language of the Westminster Confession of Faith, chapter 25, paragraph 2, the invisible church:

Consists of the whole number of the elect, that have been, are, or shall be gathered into one, under Christ, the Head thereof; and is the spouse, the body, the fullness of Him that filleth all in all.

In this confessional statement, the invisible church is described from God's perspective. It's defined from an eternal perspective as the full number of human beings who will come to saving faith and will spend eternity in the blessing of God.

From this description of the invisible church, we can see at least two basic ideas. First, the invisible church is made up of true believers only. These true believers are within the visible church, but they have exercised saving faith, and as a result they enter into the smaller community of the invisible church. Second, we can see that the invisible church has a secure destiny of salvation. Because these people have given their hearts to the service of Christ, their salvation will be kept sure until the end. The apostle Paul pointed to this kind of distinction between the visible and invisible covenant community even within the nation of Israel. In chapter 9 of Romans, verses 6 and 7, he says these words:

For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel. Or because they are his descendants are they all Abraham's children (Romans 9:6-7) .

Paul's idea was this — to be a physical child of Abraham may bring you into the nation of Israel, but it was not enough to bring salvation. A true child of Abraham must have saving faith, like Abraham. For this reason, we may speak of an Israel within Israel — an invisible, redeemed people of God within the visible community of the people of God. This idea of the invisible church parallels the thinking of Old Testament prophets. They looked at the nation of Israel and believed that there was an invisible covenant community. Some people within the nation of Israel were always faithful; they were the faithful remnant because they had exercised saving faith. Their eternal destinies were secure even when the nation as a whole went through times of terrible judgment from God. This distinction of a redeemed people within the visible covenant community becomes clear in a number of passages in the prophets. Time and again, the prophets distinguished between Israelites who were merely externally in the visible covenant community from those who genuinely repented and were among the invisible, true believers whose destinies were eternally fixed. For example, in Jeremiah 4:4 we read these words addressed to the visible nation of Judah:

Circumcise yourself to the Lord and remove the foreskins of your heart, men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, lest my wrath go forth like fire (Jeremiah 4:4).

When Jeremiah ministered to the nation of Judah, all the men of Israel had been circumcised. For this reason, they and their families were in the visible covenant community. At the same time, however, Jeremiah knew that the hearts of most of the people of Judah were not right with God. So, he exhorted them to be saved from God's wrath by circumcising their hearts through true faith. The prophet Ezekiel also illustrates this distinction very clearly. In Ezekiel 18:31, he said this:

Rid yourselves of all the offenses you have committed, and get a new heart and a new spirit… Why will you die, O house of Israel? (Ezekiel 18:31).

Ezekiel spoke to people who were physical children of Israel, but this did not mean that they were redeemed people, bound for eternal life. For this reason, the prophet calls for deep sincere repentance of heart. Whenever we read Old Testament prophets we must always remember how they understood salvation in relationship to the covenant. To be in covenant was not the same as being redeemed or eternally saved. When Old Testament prophets categorized people they thought first of the Gentiles, who were outside the visible nation of Israel. These people were lost and without hope, unless they came to Israel and found salvation in her God.

Now the prophets knew that the visible nation of Israel was very special in God's eyes. It consisted of all the physical children of Israel and any Gentiles who had closely associated themselves with the religion of Israel. This visible covenant community had both true believers and unbelievers, but still, it was a community chosen to enjoy the blessings and responsibilities of the covenants with Abraham, Moses, and David. This was the arena within which the people would find salvation.

Beyond this, a third category also dominated the prophets' thinking. The prophets knew that within the nation of Israel was an invisible community. This was the righteous remnant of God's people, the faithful who truly believed, and although they would go through difficult times and although the remnant was often far from perfect, still they had trusted Yahweh like Abraham and they had been made righteous by their faith alone.

CONCLUSION

Whenever we read the prophets we must keep in mind these distinctions: those outside of the covenant, the visible covenant nation, and the invisible covenant people. We can avoid much confusion, and we can gain tremendous insights into the message of the prophets if we never forget these distinctions. In this lesson, we've touched on a number of themes related to the way that prophets understood the people of the covenant. We've seen that they believed all people were bound to the Lord though covenants with Adam and Noah. But then, Israel had a very special relationship with God because of the covenants with Abraham, Moses, David, and even the new covenant in Christ. And then we've also noticed that the prophets made distinctions that we often don't make. They thought in terms of three kinds of people in the world: those outside the covenant, those unbelievers in the covenant, and then those who were true believers within the covenant. As we remember these distinctions and how the prophets understood the people of God, we will be able to understand and apply the prophetic word to our day as well.

Dr. Richard L. Pratt, Jr. (Host) is Co-Founder and President of Third Millennium Ministries. He served as Professor of Old Testament at Reformed Theological Seminary for more than 20 years and was chair of the Old Testament department. An ordained minister, Dr. Pratt travels extensively to evangelize and teach. He studied at Westminster Theological Seminary, received his M.Div. from Union Theological Seminary, and earned his Th.D. in Old Testament Studies from Harvard University. Dr. Pratt is the general editor of the NIV Spirit of the Reformation Study Bible and a translator for the New Living Translation. He has also authored numerous articles and books, including Pray with Your Eyes Open, Every Thought Captive, Designed for Dignity, He Gave Us Stories, Commentary on 1 & 2 Chronicles and Commentary on 1 & 2 Corinthians.