Christ Jesus, the True Israel
Progressive Covenantalism on Israel, Christ, and the Church
Foreword by Stephen J. Wellum
Imprint: Wipf and Stock
448 Pages, 6.00 x 9.00 x 0.90 in
- Paperback
- 9781666730746
- Published: January 2024
$54.00 / £43.00 / AU$82.00
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What is the relationship between the nation of Israel, Jesus Christ, and the church? Pastors and theologians come to significantly different conclusions. The reigning systems of evangelical theology, covenant theology, and dispensationalism answer this question by stressing the continuity of the Israel-church relationship (covenant theology) or emphasizing discontinuity (dispensationalism). In more recent times, progressive covenantalism has emerged as a via media between these two theological approaches by providing a different proposal for unpacking the biblical covenants, and by highlighting that to rightly understand the people of God in biblical theology, the person of Jesus Christ must be the focal point.
In Christ Jesus, the True Israel, Brent E. Parker presents the case for the importance of typology in this debate, arguing that national Israel is a type, not unlike other Old Testament types (e.g., the sacrificial system, the temple, etc.), that reaches its antitypical fulfillment in Jesus Christ. Moreover, the Israel-church relationship is also typological, but only through Christ. Parker demonstrates that the progressive covenantal approach is a viable system of theology that seeks to preserve what the whole Bible says regarding the people of God, from Israel to Christ and from Christ to the church.
Brent E. Parker is assistant editor of The Southern Baptist Journal of Theology and the coeditor of Progressive Covenantalism: Charting a Course Between Dispensational and Covenantal Theologies (2016) and Covenantal and Dispensational Theologies: Four Views on the Continuity of Scripture (2022).
“Brent Parker offers a fresh reading of the Israel-Christ-Church relationship as he reflects on biblical typology and its implications for systematic theology, particularly covenant and dispensational theology. We find here a very helpful discussion of typology along with mature reflection on its relationship to theological formulation. Parker’s book is a necessary part of the conversation as evangelicals attempt to understand the whole counsel of God.”
—Thomas R. Schreiner, professor of New Testament interpretation, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
“Briefly summarized, Brent Parker presents a solid biblical-theological argument in Christ Jesus, the True Israel, demonstrating that throughout the Old Testament, Israel’s prophetic-typological role foreshadows the promised Messiah, the True Israelite, the promised Seed of Abraham, in whom all God’s covenant promises converge establishing the new covenant people of God, the church. Preaching and teaching that addresses (1) the relationship between Israel and Christ’s church and (2) how biblical types function without consulting this book will be impoverished.”
—Ardel B. Caneday, retired professor of New Testament & Greek, University of Northwestern, St. Paul
“Brent Parker assesses new covenant ecclesiology clearly, thoroughly, and convincingly. Defending a classic view of typology and standing against both dispensational and classic covenantal theologies, he shows that the biblical authors viewed Christ as old covenant Israel’s antitype—the substitutionary representative of Israel who fulfills their identity, vocation, prophecies, and promises. Christ is the true Israel, and all those covenantally united to him by faith become God’s new Israel by extension, whether Jews or Gentiles.”
—Jason S. DeRouchie, research professor of Old Testament and biblical theology, Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary
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