Distinctives that Make a Difference: The Whole Counsel of God
by Dr. Edmund P. Clowney

Children love stories. Jesus loved stories too, and told them often. Yet he was never just a storyteller. Jesus, the Son of God, knew the whole story, the story of God’s plan to deliver sinners who had rebelled against him. The wonder of the story is the love of God for those who were his enemies. Before creating the world, God chose lost sinners to be his children.

To save those who hated him, God had to come down from heaven. Our situation was so desperate that only he could help us, and his promises were so great that only he could make good on them. The story of the Bible begins with God’s creation of the world, tells of the sin of our first parents in heeding the words of Satan and of their being driven from the Garden of Eden. In judging the serpent, the Lord also promised the coming of the Son of the woman, who would suffer in order to crush the serpent and the power of evil.

The whole Old Testament is the story of God’s saving work. God chose Israel as his people. He made himself known by name and showed them his power and mercy. It was always the Second Person of the Triune God who revealed the Father. Isaiah, in writing about his vision of God in the temple, was speaking of Jesus (John 12:41). Jesus, the Son of the woman, is the Son of God, true man and true God. The work of Old Testament prophets, priests and kings prepared for the coming of the One who is the Prophet greater than Moses, the Priest forever after the order of Melchizedek and the King whom King David called “Lord.”

Great Commission materials present Bible stories as part of the whole story, the history of God’s work of redemption. They help teachers to keep in mind the context of the whole Bible story. Since the climax of God’s saving work comes with Christ’s coming, presenting the history of redemption means showing children and adults the Bible’s witness to Jesus Christ the Lord.

• Dr. Edmund P. Clowney began his ministry in 1942 and served as a pastor, professor and the first president at Westminster Theological Seminary in Pennsylvania, and then professor at WTS in California. A prolific writer and speaker, he is widely known for his teaching on the redemptive focus and completeness of Scripture. Dr. Clowney is also the author of The Unfolding Mystery: Discovering Christ in the Old Testament (see page 4 for details). Dr. Clowney is one of the leaders who launched Great Commission Publications and helped develop its original curriculum.