About This Course:

The Principle of Selectivity

Here we do well to acknowledge what Scripture is not. In the biblical record of history we do not have a book that informs us of everything that happened in the ancient world. However, we must recognize that while Scripture is not a detailed history of every part of humanity, its selection and narration of key historical events is aimed at benefiting all of humanity.

John 20:30-31 These things are written so that you may believe ... and may have life. This is the hallmark example of the selective nature of the Bible.

The purpose of the Bible is to record and relate the things that are necessary to your salvation. It is not exhaustive, world history; it is the history of God's plan and God's work in bringing about the salvation of human beings. It is a selection of material designed to lead the reader to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, because by believing, one may have life in his name.

Not everything about human history is included in the Bible. Not even everything about Jesus is written in the New Testament. There was selective shaping done by God through the human writers so that real history, factual history was recorded as it related to the plan of salvation which God was accomplishing in human history.

The Prophetic Nature Of History-Pointing to Christ

Not only do we see selectivity in the real happenings recorded in the Bible's historical timeline, but also as later Scripture reflects back on its record of previous history it interprets that history as Prophetically pointing beyond itself to the reality of Jesus Christ. In the constant connection made between past history and the later fulfillment in Christ we see, not only God, s ultimate purpose in recording the events Of Scripture, but also his mastery over history. The Scripture's Own interpretation of past history as fulfilled in the reality Of Christ leads us to define

"Prophetic history" as: a record of persons events, and institutions that are capable Of being fulfilled' in a greater way in the reality of Christ. In the words of Jesus himself we hear, "All things written about me in the Law of Moses, and the Prophets and the Psalms must be filled" (Luke 24:44)