Little Known Facts About Tyndale's Theology: The Fatherhood of God-The Blood of Christ

We bring the introduction and conclusion to you. For the whole article, see:

www.churchsociety.org/churchman/documents/Cman_122_3_Werrell.pdf

Little Known Facts About William Tyndale’s Theology: The Fatherhood of God—The
Blood of Christ by William Ferrell

"Introduction

When God created everything He saw that it was very good, and only when man chose to believe the Devil rather than God was the purity of creation marred. In order to restore creation to its pristine state the Persons of the Trinity made a Covenant between themselves that entailed man’s sin and disobedience to be permanently erased. God the Father covenanted to make those he had chosen to be his children. God the Son covenanted to shed His blood so that God’s justice could be satisfied. God the Holy Spirit covenanted to sprinkle the blood of Christ on the elect to cleanse them from all sin and enable them to be children of God. Tyndale’s covenant theology differed from that of all the other Reformers because it was between the Persons of the Trinity and not between God and man.

Paul Laughlin wrote of Tyndale’s ordo salutis: ‘The ordo was of Tyndale’s own devising and contained certain terminology, concepts, and emphases that were unusual for Reformation theology and indeed define a slant on soteriology peculiar to him.’1 Therefore, wrote Tyndale—

The new testament was ever, even from the beginning of the world. For there were always promises of Christ to come, by faith in which promises the elect were then justified inwardly before God, as outwardly before the world by keeping of the law and ceremonies.2

This fact that the Covenant of Salvation, for Tyndale, is between the Persons of the Trinity, and not between God and man, has to be kept in front of us as we read Tyndale’s writings. Equally important is Tyndale’s belief that God’s plan was for the restoration of creation, and our salvation was to renew the part which had caused the damage and to enable creation to return to its pristine state."

Now, for Dr. Ferrell's conclusion:

"Conclusion

We have seen the importance of the Fatherhood of God and the blood of Christ in Tyndale’s theology, an importance that we do not find stressed in other theological positions. Yet both of them have an importance in the teaching of the Bible. The Fatherhood of God is found in the Old Testament on only a few occasions, i.e., Psalm 89:26: but it a clearly portrayed in the New Testament. William Tyndale realised that the New Testament does not introduce a new
relationship between God and man which marks a break between the two halves of the Bible. As we read the Epistle to the Hebrews, we see that the blood of Christ is foreshadowed in the sacrifices of the Old Testament (Heb. 10:1). For the blood of the animals sacrificed before Christ was only effective because it represented the blood of Christ—who died and shed his blood on the cross in time, but the names of the faithful were written ‘in the book of life
of the lamb, which was killed from the beginning of the world’. (Rev. 13:8; see also 1 Pet. 1:19, 20).

Tyndale’s God was the Triune God of Creation, the God of Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, and all who believed and trusted him for their salvation from the beginning of time and would continue to the end of time. God chose his elect in Christ before the foundation of the world; and from the Fall until Christ’s return in glory, God’s people could only have redemption through Christ’s blood.86"

Revd. Dr. RALPH S. WERRELL is a retired clergyman and an Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Birmingham.

We include all the endnotes:

"ENDNOTES
1. Laughlin, “The Brightness of Moses’ Face”, p. 68 (unpub. PhD diss., Emory
University, 1975).
2. Tyndale, Prologue, Exodus, PS1, p. 417 (References from the Parker Society are
referred as PS(vol).
3. Althaus, P., The Theology of Martin Luther, p. 182. Fortress Press, 1966.
4. Luther, Works, vol. 24. p. 59 (Luther’s Works, American Edition).
5. Luther, Book of Concord, p. 354: “God has given me and still preserves my body
and soul....In addition, God daily and abundantly provides” our material and
physical needs, “God protects me... and reserves me....And all this is done out of
pure, fatherly, and divine goodness and mercy.” The Small Catechism Kolb, R. &
Wengert, T. J. (eds.) (Fortress Press, 2000).
6. Luther, Book of Concord, p. 433.
7. Zwingli, Zwingli and Bullinger, p. 349 (Westminster Press, 1953).
8. Stephens, Peter, The Theology of Huldrych Zwingli, p. 80 (Clarendon Press, 1986).
9. Bullinger, Decades, The 4th Decade, Sermon 5. PS4, p. 214, 219.
10. Latimer, Sermons by Hugh Latimer, PS1, p. 340.
11. Tyndale, Answer, PS3, p. 89.
12. Tyndale, Exposition 1 John, PS2, p. 166.
13. Tyndale, Tracy, PS3, p. 282.
14. Tyndale, Obedience, PS1, p. 167.
15. Tyndale, Exposition 1 John, PS2, p. 182.
16. Tyndale, Mammon, PS1, p. 123.
17. Tyndale, Exposition Matthew, PS2, p. 90.
18. Ephesians 2:1.
19. Luke 12:32.
20. Tyndale, Pathway, PS1, p. 18.
21. Tyndale, Obedience, PS1, p. 204.
22. Tyndale, Jonas, PS1, p. 464.
23. Tyndale, Obedience, PS1, p. 204.
24. Tyndale, Pathway, PS1, p. 24.
25. Tyndale, Mammon, PS1, p. 99.
26. Tyndale, Mammon, PS1, p. 96.
27. Tyndale, Exposition Matthew 5-7, PS2, p. 82.
28. Tyndale, Exposition Matthew 5-7, PS2, p. 71.
29. Tyndale, Exposition Matthew 5-7, PS2, p. 47.
30. Tyndale, 1525 Prologe, p. 4.
31. Tyndale, Answer, PS3, p. 111f.
32. Tyndale, Mammon, PS1, p. 77.
33. Tyndale, Exposition 1 John, PS2, p. 199f.
34. Tyndale, Prologue Exodus, PS1, p. 417.
35. Tyndale, Prologue, Romans, PS1, p. 493.
36. Tyndale, Exposition Matthew 5-7, PS2, p. 26.
37. Tyndale, Exposition 1 John, PS2, p. 186.
38. Tyndale, Answer, PS3, p. 34f.
39. Tyndale, Exposition Matthew, PS2, p. 8.
40. Tyndale, Exposition Matthew, PS2, p. 74, 75.
41. Tyndale, Sacrament PS1, p. 353f.
42. Eph. 1:7; Heb. 9:14; 1 Pet. 1:19; 1 John 1:7; Rev. 5:9; etc.
43. Ephesians 2.
44. Tyndale, Exposition 1 John, PS2, p. 199.
45. Tyndale, Pathway, PS1, p. 18.
46. Tyndale, Pathway, PS1, p. 24.
47. Tyndale, Obedience, PS1, p. 278.
48. Tyndale, Pathway, PS1, p. 15.
49. Tyndale, Exposition 1 John, PS2, p. 149.
50. Tyndale, Exposition 1 John, PS2. p. 157.
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51. Tyndale, Answer, PS3, p. 191.
52. Tyndale, Pathway, PS1, p. 8.
53. Tyndale, Pathway, PS1, p. 11.
54. McGrath, Alister, Iustitia Dei, vol 2, p. 99. (Cambridge University Press, 1986).
55. Tyndale, Answer, PS3, p. 196.
56. Tyndale, Mammon, PS1, p.48.
57. Tyndale, Exposition Matthew, PS2, p. 76.
58. Tyndale, Answer, PS3, p. 32.
59. Tyndale, Answer, PS3, p. 32.
60. Tyndale, Prologue Romans, PS1, p. 492.
61. Tyndale, Jonas, PS1, p. 462.
62. Tyndale, “Letter to Frith”, in Foxe, A&M, vol. v pt1, p. 133. (Seeleys, 1857).
63. Tyndale, Practice of Prelates, PS2, p. 242.
64. Tyndale, Answer, PS3, p. 108.
65. Tyndale, 1525 New Testament Prologue (Cologne fragment), p. 14 (Arber facsimile,
1871).
66. Tyndale, Mammon, PS1, p. 96.
67. Tyndale, Mammon, PS1, p. 97.
68. Tyndale, Exposition 1 John, PS2, p. 198.
69. Tyndale, Pathway, PS1, p. 18.
70. Tyndale, Obedience, PS1, p. 298f.
71. Tyndale, Obedience, PS1, p. 299.
72. Tyndale, Answer, PS3, p. 107.
73. Tyndale, Answer, PS3, p. 108 marginal note.
74. Tyndale, Answer, PS3, p. 108f.
75. Tyndale, Obedience, PS1, p. 100.
76. Tyndale, Answer, PS3, p. 56.
77. Tyndale, Tracy, PS3, p. 278.
78. Tyndale, Sacrament, PS1, p. 353f.
79. Tyndale, Sacrament, PS1, p. 354.
80. Tyndale, Sacrament PS1, p. 350.
81. Tyndale, Sacrament, PS1, p. 356f.
82. Tyndale, Sacrament, PS1, p. 365.
83. Tyndale, Prologue Titus, PS1, p. 520.
84. Tyndale, Mammon, PS1, p. 83
85. Tyndale, Sacrament, PS1, p. 374
86. See, for example, Ephesians 1. "