Soteriology — Noordzij b9
Bread and Wine
The New Covenant in Christ’s Blood
Noordzij begins with the significance of Passover in the old covenantal economy. The sacrifice of the lamb protected Israel from the death of the firstborn in Egypt (Ex. 12). But for Noordzij, this is not merely a historical commemoration — it points to a soteriological reality fulfilled in Christ.
When Jesus instituted the supper, He laid a new soteriological foundation:
This is the new covenant in My blood (1Cor. 11:25)
For Noordzij, this is a radical substitution. The old Passover was
perfect in foreshadowing the new, like a photo album (Heb. 10:1)
Christ is the actual lamb, and His blood truly sets free — not symbolically, but spiritually:
He is the Way to the true Promised Land, the Kingdom of Heaven (Heb. 10:19-23)
Redemption is not, for Noordzij, primarily a juridical transaction (though he does not deny forgiveness), but a liberation from slavery. This distinction is crucial for Noordzij’s soteriology: Passover was about
liberation from Egypt
not forgiveness of sins. Jesus, the Passover lamb, offers the same liberation — now from
the slavery of the flesh (Rom. 7:24)
Egypt as Slavery to the Flesh
Noordzij employs allegorical hermeneutics to understand slavery to the flesh in terms of Egypt. This is not arbitrary typology, but a spiritual recognition of what redemption truly means. God desires:
our redemption, our liberation from the power of the flesh, to serve Him in spirit and truth
This brings Noordzij to a core claim: redemption is not merely guilt-removal, but a radical reorientation of human will and nature. The “flesh” in Pauline terminology stands for the self-directed, self-provisioning life that operates apart from God. For Noordzij, redemption means we are freed from this slavery so that we can follow God in “spirit and truth” — not out of obligation or guilt, but from a wholly reoriented orientation.
Christ’s Body and Blood: Life and Soul-Life
Noordzij makes a subtle distinction between Christ’s “body” (flesh) and “blood” in the soteriological context.
For the body: Jesus said:
Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you (John 6:53-56)
Noordzij does not interpret this as cannibalism or even physical transubstantiation, but as spiritual participation in Christ’s life:
Jesus gives life. Whoever eats Him is raised from the deadly sphere of the flesh
Thus redemption is participatory — we eat Christ, that is, we take His life into ourselves.
For the blood: Noordzij makes a remarkable distinction here:
Blood points to the soul-life with its desires and longings
This is not physical blood, but soul-life — the affective, desiderative dimension of Christ Himself. Jesus:
poured out His soul-life in death (Isa. 53:12)
What does this mean for redemption? For Noordzij, it is this: Christ refused to be led by human needs; instead He focused Himself:
so completely on God that He could experience His Father’s feelings
This is what Noordzij offers: we drink His blood — that is, we take His God-directedness into ourselves.
Peter supports this line:
we are to commit our souls to a faithful Creator while continuing to do good (1 Pet. 4:19)
Redemption means we pour out our own soul-life and:
drink in the new blood of Jesus
— that is, the desires and longings that proceed from God, not from ourselves.
Passover as Daily Spiritual Reality
An important strand for Noordzij is that Passover was not replaced by the Lord’s Supper, but fulfilled by Jesus and elevated to something greater:
daily spiritual experience to be lived (Col. 3:4, John 6:57-58)
This is the heart of his soteriology — redemption is not once-for-all, but continuous.
The first Jewish believers lived in a time of transition and could not immediately think radically “new”. But Paul sets the answer:
Let no one disqualify you in matters of food and drink, or with regard to a festival… These are a shadow of what is to come, but the substance belongs to Christ! (Col. 2:16)
For Noordzij, this means redemption is not bound to rituals — those were shadows. The reality is the continuous, spiritual union with Christ Himself.
Unleavened Bread and Sincerity
Noordzij concludes his soteriological analysis with the meaning of unleavened bread. Paul writes:
Let us therefore celebrate the feast, not with old leaven, or with leaven of wickedness and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth (1Cor. 5:6-8)
Here Noordzij sees not merely a moral call, but a soteriological transformation. Old leaven stands for
base, earthly religiosity with old rites and tradition, as the Pharisees practised it
Redemption thus requires not the setting aside of legal obedience — it requires the abandonment of
every old, base interpretation and custom
and
learning to eat anew
in sincerity and truth.
This aligns with the liberation theme. Redemption means not only that we are freed from guilt, but that we are freed from false forms of religiosity, so that we can reach God in the truth of Christ Himself.
Summary
For Noordzij, soteriology is the story of liberation from slavery into spiritual reality. Christ is the Passover lamb that truly sets free — not from juridical guilt alone, but from the dominion of the flesh. His body and blood, spiritually received, give us participation in His life and God-directedness. This redemption is not once-for-all or ritual, but a continuous spiritual reality experienced daily.