Cees en Anneke Noordzij — Hamartology
b6 — From Passover to Tabernacles
1. Sin as “the flesh” — Egypt as the domain of sin
“Now in an identical way every believer stands at a new beginning when he lets himself be led out of ‘Egypt’. He is then freed from the slavery of the flesh and a ‘new’ life begins for him, as a member of a ‘holy nation’ (Eph.2:5, 2Pet.2:9).”
— Noordzij, From Passover to Tabernacles, §The Passover
“The blood of the Passover lamb shows a different aspect: it serves for the redemption of ‘God’s people’ in ‘Egypt’, the domain of the ‘flesh’.”
— Noordzij, From Passover to Tabernacles, §The Passover
Analytical note: Noordzij defines Egypt typologically as “the domain of the flesh.” Redemption from Egypt symbolizes liberation from the slavery of the sinful fleshly nature. This corresponds to his usage in earlier sources (b1, b5) but is here elaborated as a direct typological equation: Egypt = flesh = the domain of sin.
2. “Old leaven” as a category of sin
“A little leaven leavens the whole lump. Get rid of all old leaven. For Christ our Passover has been slaughtered and we cannot celebrate that with ‘old’ leaven, with leaven of wickedness (evil) and malice (=the low), but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth” (1Cor.5:6-8).
— Noordzij, From Passover to Tabernacles, §The Feast of Unleavened Bread
“‘Old’ leaven refers to earthly-minded religious thinking and acting, to ‘souring’ by ‘old’ doctrines.”
— Noordzij, From Passover to Tabernacles, §The Feast of Unleavened Bread
“On the outside they appeared righteous, but on the inside they were full of hypocrisy and lawlessness, Jesus said” (Matt.23:28).
— Noordzij, From Passover to Tabernacles, §The Feast of Unleavened Bread
Analytical note: Noordzij works out “old leaven” (1Cor.5:6-8) as a two-layered category of sin: (a) in content — earthly-minded religious thinking and “old teachings”, and (b) in practice — the hypocrisy of the Pharisees (doctrine correct, life not). Both forms are “souring” of spiritual life. The internal contradiction — outwardly righteous, inwardly full of hypocrisy — is for Noordzij an archetypal structure of sin.
3. Victory over the flesh — for here and now
“Whoever now eats and drinks Jesus to be freed from the ‘house of slavery’ must immediately set out! He then finally becomes free from the power of the ‘flesh’, redeemed. God does not intend this for later. It is for here and now!”
— Noordzij, From Passover to Tabernacles, §The Passover
“No longer think of the lamb of old, but of Me. I free you from the true ‘Egypt’, from the slavery of the ‘flesh’” (John 6:54, 8:36).
— Noordzij, From Passover to Tabernacles, §The Passover
Analytical note: Noordzij emphasizes the present-tense dimension of victory over the flesh: freedom from sin is not an eschatological promise but a present reality (“for here and now”). The instruction to “immediately set out” connects to his pattern in b1 and b5 where redemption from the fleshly nature is never deferred.
4. Atonement as forgiveness of guilt — the great Day of Atonement
“On the tenth of the seventh month the high priest made atonement for all the sins of all Israel (Lev.16 and 23:27). […] Thus atonement was made for all the sins of the people (Lev.16:34).”
— Noordzij, From Passover to Tabernacles, §The Great Day of Atonement
“God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through his blood to reconcile to himself all things” (Col.1:20).
— Noordzij, From Passover to Tabernacles, §The Great Day of Atonement
“He entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood as the eternal high priest, thus obtaining eternal redemption” (Heb.9:12,14,24).
— Noordzij, From Passover to Tabernacles, §The Great Day of Atonement
Analytical note: The great Day of Atonement functions for Noordzij as the typological focal point of hamartology: all the sins of all Israel — collectively and completely — are atoned for through the blood of the high priest. The application to Christ via Col.1:20 and Heb.9 makes clear that this is not a partial but an all-encompassing forgiveness of guilt. The phrase “all things… to reconcile to himself” (Col.1:20) has universal scope for Noordzij.
5. Humiliation as preparation for the great Day of Atonement
“What had the people of Israel to do before the great Day of Atonement? Humble themselves (Lev.23:27). Now too the people of God must do this in preparation for the ‘great Day of Atonement’.”
— Noordzij, From Passover to Tabernacles, §The Great Day of Atonement
“It is true: through Jesus’ blood we are justified (Rom.5:9). But has that been fully worked out practically in the people of God? Do we know and experience true holiness and purity in thoughts, words and deeds?”
— Noordzij, From Passover to Tabernacles, §The Great Day of Atonement
“But to this day the great Day of Atonement has not yet found its fulfillment in the Church, and there is still a need for humiliation.”
— Noordzij, From Passover to Tabernacles, §The Great Day of Atonement
“We Christians must therefore repent of every dead work, every routine prayer and habitual offering and every idle word (Heb.6:1, Isa.1 and Matt.12:36).”
— Noordzij, From Passover to Tabernacles, §The Great Day of Atonement
Analytical note: Noordzij articulates a tension: Christ has accomplished atonement (Rom.5:9), but the practical outworking of this in the church is still incomplete. Humiliation is the human response to this incompleteness. The call to repentance “from every dead work” (Heb.6:1) implies that sin is not only an act but also a religious posture — routine prayer, habitual offering — that must be relinquished.
Missing sub-topics (not found in this source)
- Original sin as a doctrinal theme: no source material available
- Total depravity: no source material available
- Sin and law as a systematic category: not treated
- Guilt and punishment as a doctrinal pairing: not treated as a separate category (atonement is addressed)