Rest in Christ: A Biblical Theology for Mount Vernon Baptist Church in Sandy Springs, GA

Abstract

God’s rest is an eschatological state established archetypically at creation and fulfilled in Jesus Christ. The rest theme introduced in Genesis 2:2–3 lays the foundation for the fourth commandment—but not in the sense that it establishes the Sabbath as an eternal moral norm for humanity. By resting, God entered into the joy of covenant relationship with humanity in the garden-temple of Eden. Hebrews 3–4 presents a historical-redemptive argument presenting the rest theme from creation to the post-exilic era to demonstrate that one of the key functions of the Sabbath was prophetic—pointing to the ultimate rest won for the believer by Jesus Christ.

The Sabbath is no longer binding under the new covenant. This project seeks to demonstrate that it has fulfilled its purpose of pointing to Christ according to the development of the rest theme throughout the Pentateuch, the Psalter, the Gospels, Paul’s Epistles, and Hebrews. The New Testament is the final revelation on the Sabbath’s purpose and function and, therefore, is the binding authority for the church until Christ returns to consummate the kingdom he inaugurated in his first coming.