In this episode of Christ the Center, Camden Bucey and Lane Tipton explore Geerhardus Vos's profound treatment of faith in the Gospel of John (pp. 390–392 of Biblical Theology). Vos unfolds faith not as an abstract belief but as a living, continuous union with the incarnate and ascended Truth—Jesus Christ Himself. John's theology binds faith and truth together: the Son comes down from heaven as the true light, true bread, true vine, and the Truth (John 1:9; 6:32; 15:1; 14:6). Faith, therefore, is a Spirit-wrought communion with the heavenly reality revealed in Him.

Tipton and Bucey trace how this Johannine vision lifts believers from the shadowy worship of the old covenant to true, eschatological worship "in spirit and in truth." Faith beholds Christ even now, anticipating the beatific vision. In contrast to philosophical or impersonal notions of truth, Vos insists that truth is personal, Trinitarian, and heavenly—rooted in the self-revealing God. Thus, saving faith is not blind trust but an intimate, knowing participation in the life of the risen Christ, a foretaste of the age to come.

Order Lane Tipton's book, Introduction to the Theology and Apologetics of Van Til

Chapters

• 00:07 Introduction
• 01:44 New Book: Introduction to the Theology and Apologetics of Cornelius Van Til
• 11:11 Faith in the Gospel of John
• 16:19 Defining Truth According to the Son
• 26:49 Heaven and the Truth
• 29:44 The Typological Dimension of Truth
• 34:32 Faith as the Human Relation to Truth
• 37:35 Faith Anticipates the Glorified Christ
• 40:56 Faith, Unbelief, and Knowledge
• 44:25 Faith and Beholding the Lord
• 46:48 Scripture and the Truth
• 52:00 The Need for More Redemptive-Historical Study in John
• 57:40 Conclusion