Cees Noordzij — Anthropology
b4 — The Inheritance of Jabez
Sonship as Human Telos
Noordzij argues that Jabez’s prayer for enlarged territory refers to spiritual growth toward sonship of God: “Praying like this makes you spiritually mature and leads to sonship of God (Rom.8:14-19).”
The human inheritance is described as “the redemption of all that is bodily-soulish (Rom.8:23). It is to be led by the Spirit of God (Rom.8:14).”
Interpretation: For Noordzij, sonship of God is not a position but a telos — a goal reached along the path of spiritual growth.
Suffering as the Birth Process of the New Man
Noordzij connects the name “Jabez” (= sorrow) to the process of being born into sonship: “Because everyone who is called to the sonship of God is brought forth for the ‘flesh’ with more than normal sorrow.”
Of Jesus he writes: “This made Him perfect through suffering, wholly from above (Heb.2:10, John 8:23).” And: “All who, according to God’s counsel, are destined for sonship, are ‘made perfect through suffering’ (Heb.2:10).”
The discipline has a purpose: “All that discipline seems to bring sorrow, but afterward it produces the fruit of peace (Heb.12:11). They become ‘sons of peace’ (Luke 10:6).”
He cites Heb.12:6: “‘He disciplines every son whom He accepts.‘”
Birth of the New Man (Rev.12)
Noordzij describes the church as the woman in labor in Rev.12: “In the book of Revelation we also read of a pregnant woman (= the Church). ‘She cries out in her labor pains and in her agony to give birth. And she gives birth to a son, a male child, who will rule all the nations with an iron scepter. Those sons are suddenly caught up to God and His throne’ (Rev.12:2-5).”
On the eschatological meaning: “With sorrow, the heavenly Church at the consummation of this age will give birth to sons who will liberate creation from its bondage to decay into the freedom of the glory of the children of God (Rev.12:5, Rom.8:21).”
Interpretation: The ‘birth’ in Rev.12 is for Noordzij not a historical but a present-eschatological process: the collective manifestation of sons of God within the church.
Flesh and Spirit as Two Dimensions of the Human Person
Noordzij describes two modes of life: “By the Spirit to put to death the deeds of the flesh. Walking by the Spirit to become ever ‘richer’ and ‘riper’ (Rom.8:13-14, Gal.6:16).”
And: “Whoever sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but whoever sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life (Gal.6:8).”
The calling is to “rise above the sphere of the visible to come to the higher knowledge of the heavenly (John 3:12).”
Calling and Free Will: Not All Respond
Noordzij acknowledges that the call to sonship is not answered by all: “Unfortunately, it is still only the ‘Judahs’ and the ‘Simeons’ who are serious about taking possession of their inheritance.”
On the distinguishing choice: “But a ‘Jabez’ wants more than merely ‘entering’! He enters the ‘promised land’ to overcome and to grow until he knows the Lord perfectly (cf. Eph.4:13).”
Interpretation: There is a tension between universal calling and particular response — not all believers strive toward the fullness of sonship.
Typological Figures as Models of the Human Journey
Noordzij presents Jabez, Job, Jacob, Joseph, and David as types of the human journey toward sonship.
Job: “We see that Job is abundantly blessed through suffering and that his ‘territory’ is enlarged until he ‘sees’ and knows the Lord (Job 19:25-26, 42:3,5). He came to spiritual maturity, to sonship (Job 42:7-15, cf. Rom.8:17-23).”
David: “David longed for purity of heart (Ps.51:12). He longed to ‘dwell in the house of God all the days of his life’ (Ps.27:4). Therefore he was anointed as king.”
Samuel as a growth model: “Samuel ministered before the Lord, a boy wearing a linen ephod. His mother used to make for him a little robe and she would bring it to him year by year (1Sam.2:18-19). This is how spiritual growth should be. No one wears children’s clothes all their life!”
Interpretation: The typological figures serve not primarily as salvation-history models but as anthropological guides: every human being called to sonship walks a comparable trajectory.