Theological term
Typology
392 sermons · All terms
2 Samuel 23:8-39
2 Samuel 23:8–39 catalogues the mighty men who served David, and this exposition draws out four interlocking themes: the power of Yahweh standing behind every human exploit, the costly sacrifice of unnamed warriors who broke through a Philistine camp for a bowl of water, the particular exploits of Abishai and Benaiah as models of courage and resourcefulness, and the sobering placement of Uriah the Hittite at the list's end as a reminder that David's reign rested entirely on sovereign grace rather than personal virtue. The passage ultimately functions as a pointer toward David's greater Son, who will administer judgment and justice in utter perfection where David fell short, and the congregation is called to be faithful, courageous, and sacrificial in the kingdom of Christ.
The Olivet Discourse, Part 2
Jesus' Olivet Discourse opens not with a timetable for the end of all things but with two commanding exhortations: 'Take heed that no one deceives you' and 'See that you are not troubled.' Expounding Matthew 24:4–8 within a preterist framework, this sermon argues that Christ's description of false messiahs, wars, famines, pestilences, and earthquakes depicts the conditions preceding the Roman destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70 — the covenant curses of Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28 falling at last upon an apostate people who rejected their Messiah. The practical burden is twofold: guard theological sanity by submitting to the Word rather than to prophecy speculators, and guard emotional stability by resting in God's sovereign governance of history rather than panicking at world events.
2 Samuel 23:1-7
David's final official words in 2 Samuel 23:1–7 are not a backward glance at his own reign but a forward-looking messianic prophecy concerning the Lord Jesus Christ, identified as 'the anointed of the God of Jacob' and 'the favorite of the songs of Israel.' The passage discloses the Trinitarian agency behind the words, the comprehensive and just nature of Messiah's reign, the everlasting Davidic covenant that grounds the hope of a perfect king despite David's own failures, and the exclusion of the unrepentant from that kingdom. Believers are called to take comfort in Christ's just and universal rule, to proclaim the terror of divine judgment honestly, and to worship the one to whom all the Psalms point.
2 Samuel 20
Second Samuel 20 continues the unrelenting sequence of trials that mark the consequences of David's sin: no sooner does David return to Jerusalem after Absalom's rebellion than Sheba the son of Bichri, a Benjamite opportunist, exploits inter-tribal tension to launch a fresh secession against the Davidic throne. The chapter traces five movements — Sheba's rebellion, the reminder of David's sin through the fate of the concubines, Joab's cold-blooded murder of Amasa, the wise woman of Abel-Beth-Maacah who ends the revolt, and the list of David's officers — each illuminating how God preserves His kingdom despite the sinfulness of its human participants. Typologically, the chapter anticipates the rejection and vindication of David's greater Son: the worthless rebel who rises against God's anointed receives a mortal head wound, echoing the protoevangelion promise of the seed of the woman crushing the serpent's head.
2 Samuel 19:9-43
Second Samuel 19:9–43 narrates David's return to Jerusalem after Absalom's failed rebellion, exposing both the political complexity of restoring a dethroned king and the deeper spiritual condition of those who surround him. Three figures — Shimei, Mephibosheth, and Barzillai — are studied as contrasting portraits: pragmatic self-interest, costly loyalty, and contented faithfulness. The passage closes with a petty tribal quarrel between Israel and Judah that foreshadows Sheba's rebellion in chapter 20, illustrating that division in the covenant community is driven by the craving for position and prestige rather than submission to God's king. The application is direct: examine whether your allegiance to Christ is a matter of genuine conviction or merely policy, and cultivate the decreasing posture of John the Baptist.
Free Grace Baptist Church - July 24, 2016 PM
Matthew 4:1-11 is not primarily a moral example but a substitutionary act: Christ enters the wilderness as the second Adam and the true Israel, undergoing probationary testing in order to render the perfect covenantal obedience that Adam and Israel failed to render. Seven interlocking theological observations — divine sovereignty, the Spirit's ministry in Christ's life, the hypostatic union, the probative nature of the episode, Christ's fulfillment of Old Testament types, the seed-and-serpent motif, and the substitutionary character of his obedience — are drawn from the text to show that this wilderness battle is a prelude to Calvary's victory. The primary application is not moralism but adoration: Christ did all these things for his people, and his imputed obedience is the ground on which sinners may confidently rest.
Free Grace Baptist Church - July 24, 2016 AM
Matthew 4:1-11 presents the wilderness temptation of Christ not merely as a moral battle against sin but as a divinely ordained probationary test in which the Son of God proves himself the obedient Israel where the first Israel perpetually failed. The sermon traces each of Satan's three assaults against the backdrop of Israel's wilderness failures in Exodus and Deuteronomy, showing Christ as the covenant-keeping second Adam whose steadfast obedience secures a righteousness his people could never produce. The post-victory report — angels ministering to Christ — fulfills the very promises Satan had twisted, vindicating God's timing against all satanic shortcuts to glory. Hearers are called to find their exclusive champion in this Christ and to answer every temptation as he did: with the word of the living and true God.
The Day of Atonement
Leviticus 16, the Day of Atonement, stands at the literary and theological center of the Pentateuch, resolving the tension left at the close of Exodus 40 where God dwells among Israel but cannot be approached. The ceremony instructs Israel — and the church — in four realities: the holiness of God, the pervasive power of sin, the necessity of blood for atonement, and the blessing that flows from expiation. Every element of the ritual — the high priest's own sin offering, the two goats, the blood sprinkled on the mercy seat, and the scapegoat driven into the wilderness — is a type pointing forward to the once-for-all sacrifice of Christ, whose atoning work alone renders sinful men fit for communion with a thrice-holy God.
2 Samuel 17
Second Samuel 17 narrates the competing counsel of Ahithophel and Hushai during Absalom's rebellion against David, but the narrator's own theological commentary in verse 14 reveals that the decisive factor is neither military strategy nor political cunning — it is the sovereign purpose of Yahweh. God defeats good counsel to bring disaster on His enemies and preserve His anointed king, and He does so through entirely ordinary, hidden means. The sermon draws out the hiddenness of divine providence, the certainty of judgment upon all who oppose God's kingdom, and the comfort that the kingdom of Christ will never be destroyed.
2 Samuel 16
When David flees Jerusalem, he encounters three enemies — Ziba the manipulator, Shimei the curser, and Ahithophel the treacherous counselor — yet his response to each reveals a man who trusts the sovereign hand of God rather than the sword of his own men. This study of 2 Samuel 16 traces how David's suffering under divine chastisement, provoked by his own sin in 2 Samuel 11–12, fulfills Nathan's prophetic word and demonstrates a practical faith in God's comprehensive sovereignty over the wicked acts of men. David's refusal to retaliate against Shimei and his hope that God might 'repay him with good' prefigures Christ, who when reviled did not revile in return but committed himself to him who judges righteously. The study closes by urging believers to read the Psalms in light of their historical background, to embrace God's sovereignty over trials, and to cast themselves upon divine mercy when waves of affliction come together.
2 Samuel 15
Second Samuel 15 records Absalom's carefully orchestrated conspiracy to usurp David's throne and David's subsequent flight from Jerusalem. The chapter is expounded against the backdrop of God's word of judgment through Nathan in 2 Samuel 12, showing how divine sovereignty works through the wickedness of responsible human agents without excusing that wickedness. David's submission to God's sovereign will in sending the Ark back to Jerusalem, his prayer against the counsel of Ahithophel, and his use of Ittai, Zadok, and Hushai as instruments of providence together model a robust, active faith that casts itself entirely upon God rather than upon religious superstition or human cleverness. The passage closes with typological overtones, as David's weeping ascent of the Mount of Olives anticipates his greater Son's own rejected kingship and lament over Jerusalem.
2 Samuel 13:23-39
2 Samuel 13:23–39 narrates the premeditated murder of Amnon by Absalom, the flight of Absalom to Geshur, and David's paralysis as father and king. The passage exposes how unaddressed sin compounds — David's failure to punish Amnon's rape of Tamar creates the conditions for Absalom's vigilante vengeance, fulfilling Nathan's prophetic word that the sword would not depart from David's house. Absalom's two years of nursed hatred illustrate Paul's warning in Ephesians 4 that unresolved anger gives place to the devil, and the passage ends by pointing the faithful forward to the promised Messiah, the son of David who will reign with the righteousness and justice no merely human king can sustain.
2 Samuel 12:15-31
David's sin with Bathsheba and the murder of Uriah bring severe temporal consequences even after divine forgiveness is granted: the infant son dies, and the Davidic household faces ongoing judgment. Yet grace appears most strikingly in the very aftermath of these crimes — God loves Solomon, names him Jedidiah, and advances the Davidic Covenant despite David's catastrophic failure. The sermon draws from 2 Samuel 12:15–31 to show that forgiven sinners still bear temporal chastisement, that sovereign grace is not undone by human wickedness, and that faithful worship — not withdrawal — is the proper response of the suffering saint.
The Kindness Shown to Mephibosheth
David's covenant with Jonathan, sealed decades before 2 Samuel 9, drives him to seek out Mephibosheth — a lame, fearful descendant of his enemy Saul — and lavish upon him protection, restored inheritance, and a permanent seat at the royal table. The Hebrew word hesed (covenant faithfulness, steadfast love) names a kindness that goes far beyond bare duty, and David's exercise of it toward an unworthy enemy typifies the grace that Christ, David's greater Son, bestows upon helpless, ungodly sinners. The sermon presses two practical conclusions: covenant promises are perpetually binding regardless of changed circumstances or the passage of time, and the grace received from God must become grace poured out toward others.
2 Samuel 10
2 Samuel 10 records David's embassy of covenantal kindness to Hanun of Ammon, its shameful rejection, and the subsequent wars with the Ammonite-Syrian coalition. The chapter functions as the literary backdrop for the David-Bathsheba-Uriah narrative of chapters 11–12, while also foreshadowing David as a type of Christ in his kindness to enemies and in the nations' rebellion against the Lord's anointed. The theological high point comes unexpectedly from Joab, whose battle-cry — 'May the Lord do what is good in His sight' — models sovereign-trust that holds together confident faith in God's promises with humble uncertainty about the specific means of His providence, a pattern the sermon applies to the Christian life through Romans 8:28.
2 Samuel 8:1-18
2 Samuel 8 records David's military conquests as the God-ordained stabilization of Israel's land in preparation for Solomon's temple-building, rooted in the promises of the Davidic covenant in 2 Samuel 7. The chapter is expounded under three headings: the advancement of the kingdom through David's campaigns from north to south, the stability of the kingdom seen in the dedication of spoils to Yahweh and the administration of judgment and justice, and the power behind the kingdom — not David's military skill, but Yahweh's faithful preservation of His servant wherever he went. David's reign is treated as typologically anticipatory of Christ's kingdom: conflict precedes conquest, the wealth of the nations is consecrated to Israel's God, and the Son of David exercises universal dominion in judgment and justice as promised in Psalm 2 and Isaiah 9 and 11. The study closes with a call to recover the church-militant posture, trusting the same God who gave David victory to bring victory to the new covenant church through the weapons of prayer, preaching, and faithful witness.
Free Grace Baptist Church - March 27, 2016 PM
The Davidic covenant of 2 Samuel 7 is not merely an episode in Israel's history but the foundation upon which the kingship of the Lord Jesus Christ rests. God's refusal to let David build a temple is not a rejection but a reversal: before Israel can build a house for God, God himself will build a house — a dynasty — out of David, culminating in the Son who would construct the true temple of God's dwelling. The sermon traces that promise from its initial revelation to Nathan, through its perpetuity secured against death, sin, and time, to its New Testament fulfillment in Christ's resurrection-enthronement at the Father's right hand and his building of the church. Believers are called to recognize their saving interest in this covenant and to read the Old Testament as the unfolding of the glory, majesty, and beauty of Jesus Christ.
2 Samuel 5
2 Samuel 5 presents a 'kingdom collage' — a non-chronological collection of episodes illustrating David's consolidation of rule over all Israel. The chapter traces David's anointing by the northern tribes, his conquest of Jerusalem as both a political and theological watershed (the first mention of Zion), and God's defeat of the Philistines through David as the divine leveler and warrior. Throughout, David functions as a type of Christ: a shepherd-king whose greatness rests entirely on the presence of Yahweh with him, yet whose moral failures point forward to the one perfect shepherd-king, the Lord Jesus Christ.
2 Samuel 4:1-12
Second Samuel 4 narrates the assassination of Ish-bosheth, the last surviving rival to David's throne, by two Benjamite officers who expected royal reward but received capital punishment. The passage raises the perennial question of divine providence and human responsibility: God works through the wicked acts of men to accomplish His decreed purposes, yet this in no way legitimises those acts or excuses the men who commit them. David's response — swearing by the God who redeemed his life from all adversity and executing the murderers — models both gratitude for sovereign faithfulness and the administration of justice that foreshadows the kingdom of Christ. Believers are exhorted to live by God's revealed, preceptive will rather than by self-serving interpretations of His secret will, and to resist the temptation to mask sin or unkindness behind theological language.
Sola Scriptura: The Bible Alone
Hebrews 1:1–3 opens with the declaration that God has spoken — a claim the author of Hebrews treats not as background noise but as the controlling fact of redemptive history. This sermon works through six attributes of Scripture drawn from those opening verses: its divine source, its authority, its finality in the Son, its intended beneficiaries, its perspicuity, and its sufficiency for faith and life in the new covenant community. The Reformation's sola scriptura is shown to be not a negative protest but a positive testimony: Scripture alone is God's last, best, and sufficient word, complete in Christ, requiring no supplement from tradition, continuing prophecy, or moralistic self-help.
2 Samuel 3:22-39
The assassination of Abner by Joab in 2 Samuel 3:22–39 exposes the destructive power of envy and selfish ambition, contrasted with David's careful maintenance of covenant integrity and political innocence. Joab's murder of Abner — motivated not only by a desire to avenge his brother Asahel but by fear that Abner's rise would diminish his own standing — illustrates Calvin's warning that ambition is the most mortal evil that can befall the church. David's public mourning, fivefold curse upon Joab, and lament over Abner are examined as covenantal and diplomatic acts flowing from genuine righteousness rather than self-interest. The passage calls believers to guard their own hearts against the same envy and selfishness visible in these ancient figures, and to take encouragement that God builds his kingdom through and despite such human wickedness.
2 Samuel 2:12-3:1
The civil war ignited by Abner's aggression against David's kingdom in 2 Samuel 2:12–3:1 exposes the anatomy of pride, hypocrisy, and discord among the covenant people of God. Working through three sections — the battle at Gibeon, the pursuit of Abner, and the truce between Joab and Abner — the study shows that Abner's rebellion against David was ultimately a rebellion against the living God who had decreed David's reign. The passage closes with a summary verdict: 'David grew stronger and stronger, and the house of Saul grew weaker and weaker' — a pattern the study applies typologically to Christ's kingdom and practically to the church's calling to preserve unity rather than sow discord.
2 Samuel 2:1-11
David's ascent to the throne in Hebron, narrated in 2 Samuel 2:1–11, unfolds as a tale of two kingdoms: one established under divine guidance and one inaugurated by human ambition. The passage exposes the sharp contrast between David's humble dependence on God's direction and Abner's self-serving rebellion against the declared will of Yahweh, a rebellion that constitutes open defiance of God himself, not merely of David. David as a type of Christ illuminates the characteristic marks of the kingdom of God — its apparently insignificant beginnings, its ethic of kindness, and the relentless opposition it faces in every age. Kingdom citizens today are called to constant dependence on Scripture, confident expectation in the kingdom's ultimate victory, and a conscious rejection of the self-ambition that characterises those who oppose God's rule.
David's Lament over Saul and Jonathan
David's lament over Saul and Jonathan in 2 Samuel 1:17–27 is examined as a carefully crafted literary and theological act, not merely an outburst of emotion. The lamentation reveals David's paramount concern for the glory of Yahweh, his unbitter spirit toward a sworn enemy, and his covenantal grief over the loss of Jonathan. The study draws out practical instruction on the role of lament in the Christian life, the ethics of speech about the dead, and the priority of God's honor in prayer.
The Cleansing of the Temple, Part 1
Matthew 21:12–17 records Jesus entering the temple and driving out the buyers and sellers — an act that is neither impulsive nor isolated but stands as a prophetically scripted portent of divine judgment on apostate Israel. Drawing on Haggai 2, Zechariah 14, and Malachi 3, the sermon establishes that Christ's entrance into and cleansing of the temple fulfils the office of prophet-king-priest announced across the post-exilic writings, and that the glory of this latter temple infinitely exceeds Solomon's because Christ himself is the temple. Three ecclesiastical implications follow: the purity of divinely authorized worship is a primary concern of God; the church must pursue faithful obedience over popularity; and hypocrisy — living in sin while invoking the covenant — is precisely what the temple cleansing condemns.
An Enemy Worse than the Philistines
The silence of God toward King Saul in 1 Samuel 28 is a more terrifying reality than any Philistine army, and this sermon exposes why. Working through verses 3–25, the exposition traces Saul's apostasy from covenant member to enemy of Yahweh — a man who seeks a word from God through forbidden necromancy because God will no longer answer him through lawful means. The sermon draws a sharp contrast between Saul's utilitarian, self-serving religion and David's practice of strengthening himself in the Lord through the knowledge of God, the rehearsal of His promises, and the use of the means of grace. The congregation is exhorted to reckon honestly with remaining sin, to refuse the deceitfulness that masks spiritual defection, and to find in Christ's darkness on the cross the guarantee that no elect soul will ever be abandoned by God.
Free Grace Baptist Church - November 1, 2015 PM
Acts 7:44–8:4 presents the Christ of Stephen — the Christ that the proto-martyr sees, preaches, and dies gazing upon. Working through five headings drawn from Stephen's speech and vision, the sermon establishes that Christ is the scope of all Scripture, was foretold by the prophets, is perfect in his righteousness (in nature, conduct, and obedience), was betrayed and murdered by determined divine purpose, and is now risen and exalted as both helper and judge. The sermon is delivered as a Lord's Supper meditation, calling believers to a burning remembrance of Christ's substitutionary death and exaltation, and warning unbelievers that the same exalted Son of Man who is joy to his people is dread to all who reject him.
The Stephen of Christ
Acts 7:44–60 records the martyrdom of Stephen, the church's first martyr, whose death rather than ending Christianity only advanced it — fulfilling Christ's promise in Matthew 16:18 that the gates of Hades would not prevail against his church. The sermon examines Stephen under three headings: his constitution as a Christian (full of faith and power, possessing spirit-wrought wisdom, and confirmed by divine favor), his characteristics as a preacher (zeal tempered by patient control, thorough knowledge of Scripture, and Christocentric proclamation), and his Christ-likeness as a martyr (exercising wholesome severity, refusing to revile in return, and committing himself to him who judges righteously). The congregation is called to imitate Stephen's faith, scriptural depth, and Christ-like endurance in the face of opposition, and unbelievers are summoned to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins.
1 Samuel 25
First Samuel 25 sets David's near-catastrophic act of vengeance against Nabal within the larger narrative of God's providential establishment of the Davidic kingdom. David, who rightly restrained his men from killing the Lord's anointed in chapter 24, immediately loses that self-possession when personally affronted by a foolish and godless landowner, drawing his sword to execute a man who did not deserve death. God sovereignly intervenes through an unnamed servant, a wise woman named Abigail, and ultimately the direct stroke of divine judgment upon Nabal himself — demonstrating that the advance of God's kingdom depends entirely on divine providence, not human vengeance. The practical lesson is that believers must praise God not only for deliverance from suffering but for restraint from sinning, trusting that God himself will repay wickedness in his own time.
The Escape from Saul
God's provision for David during his flight from Saul — through bread at Nob, deliverance at Gath, fellowship at Adullam, safety for his parents in Moab, and a prophetic word at the forest of Hereth — is the controlling theological theme of 1 Samuel 21–22:5. The narrative exposes both the reality of severe trial in the life of God's people and the sovereign grace that meets them in and through their own failures. David's response of praise, crystallised in Psalms 34, 56, 57, and 142, rebukes a health-and-wealth theology and models the only fitting reply to affliction. The gathering of the distressed, indebted, and discontented to David in the cave of Adullam functions as a type of Christ, who bids weary sinners come to him as captain and lord.