Page 3 - Christology - Student Textbook

Christology

By Justin Siame, M.A.B.E

Section 1: Christ in the Old Testament Typology

1.1. Connec.t

Have you ever read Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan? It is an amazing book which tells the
story of a young man named Christian who lived in the City of Destruction. Through the
witness of a man named Evangelist, Christian began a life-long journey to travel to the
Celestial City. The entire story was an allegory about what it means to become a Christian and
live a faithful life until God calls us home. In the book, various people and items stand for real truth
in the Bible. For example, Christian had a huge burden on his back which he carried around until he
came to the cross. That burden stood for the sin we carry before salvation. He journeyed with a
man named Faithful, and his name stood for the kind of man he was. The pilgrims ended up visiting
a city named Vanity Fair, which stood for the pleasure the world tries to offer.

In the Old Testament, things or people can represent later people or events. For example, the ark of
God stands for Jesus Christ who brings salvation, but we must be IN Christ. Abraham offered up his
son, Isaac as a sacrifice demonstrating his love for the Lord and God offered up His son as a
demonstration of His love for all men. These stories in the Old Testament point to the reality of
Christ in the New Testament, and we call them “types.” Today, we are going to look at several types
in the Old Testament. Let’s get started.

1.2. Objectives.

1. The student should be able to highlight those events/feasts/people that foreshadow the
coming work, death, and crucifixion of Jesus Christ.

2. The student should be able to analyze Scriptural passages for understanding and note their
purpose to us and all God’s creatures.

3. The student should be able to l draw up principles that can be applied to make us more like Christ.

1.3. Christ in the Old Testament Typology

John F. Walvoord notes that in its nature, typology is more subject to personal view of the
interpreter than commonplace exegesis. It is usually mixed with allegorical interpretation and
is not subject to the corroborating teachings of the other Scripture. Typology is about “the
application of an historical fact as an illustration of a spiritual truth.”
1

What is a Type?
According to Webster, a type is “a figure or representation of
something to come. It is therefore prophetic by its character, and
we may expect a considerable contribution from it to the doctrine

1 John F. Walvoord, Jesus Christ our Lord (Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 1969), 62.

2