The Dual Authorship of Scripture

Written and compiled by Gary Kukis

These studies are designed for believers in Jesus Christ only. If you have exercised faith in Christ, then you are in the right place. If you have not, then you need to heed the words of our Lord, Who said, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten [or, uniquely-born] Son, so that every [one] believing [or, trusting] in Him shall not perish, but shall be have eternal life! For God did not send His Son into the world so that He should judge the world, but so that the world shall be saved through Him. The one believing [or, trusting] in Him is not judged, but the one not believing has already been judged, because he has not believed in the Name of the only-begotten [or, uniquely-born] Son of God." (John 3:16–18). "I am the Way and the Truth and the Life! No one comes to the Father except through [or, by means of] Me!" (John 14:6).

Every study of the Word of God ought to be preceded by a naming of your sins to God. This restores you to fellowship with God (1John 1:8–10). If we acknowledge our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1John 1:9). If there are people around, you would name these sins silently. If there is no one around, then it does not matter if you name them silently or whether you speak aloud.

Introduction: The Doctrine of the Dual Authorship of Scripture states more than, the Bible was written by men and by God the Holy Spirit. This doctrine asserts that sometimes the human author means one thing in a passage, but God the Holy Spirit uses these exact same words to mean something else. This will clear up a great deal of confusion on many passages of Scripture.

This is primarily a collection of related doctrines which are taken out of Psalm 51 (HTML) (PDF) (WPD). However, this is a revolutionary doctrine which will help to interpret and explain many passages from the Old Testament. This is a new doctrine, as of October 2011. Updated December 12, 2021.

Charts, Graphics and Short Doctrines
The Co-Authorship of God the Holy Spirit and David	What Did David (and Other Saints) Know About God's Forgiveness?	What Satan Did not Understand
The Dual Authorship of the Holy Scriptures	The Holy Spirit in the Old Testament	Doctrinal Teaching Available to King David
The Man-ward and God-Ward Interpretation of Psalm 51:16	The Man-ward and God-Ward Interpretation of Psalm 41:9	David's Suffering in Psalm 22 Parallels Jesus Christ on the Cross
The Shadows of Hebrews 9	Psalm 51:16 Summarized	The Testimony of Caiaphas, the High Priest
Addendum
Additional Examples	Benjamin is a Type of Christ	Two Approaches to

Psalm 91:9–12
The Abbreviated Doctrine of the Dual Authorship of Scripture	Definition of Terms	Bibliography

Preface: An area of difficulty for New Testament pastors is, how do we really explain Gen. 22 (HTML) (PDF) (WPD), Psalm 22 (HTML) (PDF) (WPD), or Isaiah 53. Did the writers of these passages fully understand Jesus Christ, that He would come and die for our sins? From our standpoint, post-crucifixion, post-resurrection, this has been the popular explanation. To us, nearly 3000 years after the fact, Isaiah 53 could be talking about nothing other than Jesus Christ going to the cross and dying for our sins. But is that what Isaiah understood? Did he really look through the windows of the future, see Jesus on the cross, and write about it circa 700 b.c.?

Let me propose to you a different interpretation—Isaiah understood one thing, and wrote about that; God the Holy Spirit understood something other than that, and conveyed this other information using the exact same words as the human author Isaiah. Where this is often most apparent is in the psalms. David, in Psalm 51:16, wrote: You [God] do not want a sacrifice, or I would give it; You are not pleased with a burnt offering. Was David here telling us that God was not interested in an animal sacrifice because Jesus would die on the cross? I don't think so. David both understood that God must forgive him totally and completely for his heinous sins (Psalm 51:1–2, 9) and he understood that God did not forgive David on the basis of animal sacrifices. God the Holy Spirit, 1000 years before Christ, knows that God will forgive us because Jesus Christ will go to the cross and die for our sins. So, we have the exact same set of words used to convey two related but different concepts. From David's point of view, he knew that God would not forgive him and cleanse him simply based upon offering up a burnt offering; and from the point of view of the Holy Spirit, God would forgive us based upon the spiritual death of Jesus Christ on the cross. The same words gives us two ways of understanding this verse—we can see it from David's point of view or from God's.

This will be difficult for many New Testament pastors. We know what happened. The cross is an historical event to us. The theology has been fully developed. We understand that our salvation is based completely and totally upon our Lord's sacrifice on our behalf on the cross. We know that God the Father poured out our sins on God the Son and judged those sins; and, therefore, we are both forgiven and cleansed. However, revelation is progressive;1 so what we know now is not what David knew then. So, for a complete and total understanding of Psalm 51 (along with many other passages of Scripture), we must be able to place ourselves in David's sandals and see life as he did and understand that there were limitations on him when it came to understanding Bible doctrine and the Lord to come.

Subsequent to putting this doctrine together, I discover this quotation by the Pulpit Commentary, which is about the latter section of Prov. 8 On the one hand, Prov. 8 is clearly about wisdom; but, on the other, it seems so clear that the author is speaking of Jesus Christ: If we confine our inquiry to the question What was in the mind of the author when he incited this wonderful section concerning Wisdom? we shall fail to apprehend its true significance, and shall be disowning the influence of the Holy Spirit, which inspires all Scripture, which prompted the holy men who spake to utter words of which they knew not the full spiritual significance, and which could only be understood by subsequent revelation. There is, then, nothing forced or incongruous in seeing in this episode a portraiture of the Second Person of the blessed Trinity, the essential Wisdom of God personified, the Logos of later books, and of the gospel. This interpretation obtained universally in the Church in the earliest times, and has commended itself to the most learned and reverent of modern commentators.2 They were right on the verge of stating the Doctrine of the Dual Authorship of Scripture. See also Proverbs 8 (HTML) (PDF) (WPD)

In their introduction to the book of Proverbs, the Pulpit Commentary writes: The language used in such passages as Prov. 8:23–31 adapts itself to the idea of a representation of the Son of God, an anticipation of the incarnation of Jesus our Lord; and though we cannot suppose that Solomon had any clear notion of the Divine personality of Wisdom (for which, indeed, the stern monotheism of the age was not ripe), yet we may believe that it was not alien from the mind of the Holy Spirit that the Christian Church should see in these Solomonic utterances prophecies and adumbrations of the nature and operations of the Son of God made man, of him whom St. John calls the Word. It is of Wisdom as communicated to man that the Book of Proverbs chiefly treats, indicating the only way of obtaining and securing possession of her, and the incalculable blessings that attend her acquisition and usance.3 So, Even though I am the first to delineate the Doctrine of the Dual Authorship of Scripture, I was not the first person to think about it.

One of the amazing things which will become apparent in Psalm 51 is the co-authorship of God the Holy Spirit and David.
The Co-Authorship of God the Holy Spirit and David
There is another topic which we will cover in this psalm which is fundamental to understanding prophecy, but has never been fully explained—the co-authorship of God the Holy Spirit and the human author (David, in this case). David is a man of limited knowledge. Now, he possibly knew more about the plan of God than anyone else during his day, but that knowledge was limited. I am of the opinion that he did not fully understand that the Messiah would come and die for our sins. In fact, I don't know that any Old Testament saint understood this to be God's plan. Old Testament believers did know that Messiah was coming, and they knew that He would restore all things, and they knew that He would rule over the earth—but they did not fully understand what Jesus would do in His 1st advent. They did not know that Jesus would die for our sins. I say this because I am unaware of anywhere in the Talmud of the Mishna where any ancient Jewish rabbi suggests such a thing. Even John the Baptizer did not fully understand Who Jesus was or what He would do (Matt. 11:1–3). Therefore, let me propose to you that David did not fully appreciate what Messiah would do. David understood enough to realize that there had to be more to it than the offering of animal sacrifices to cleanse him, yet, he knows that he is fully cleansed of his sins. In fact, David knows that he can demand complete cleansing from God.
Here is what will be amazing to you in this psalm: David will take us as far as he is able to take us, and tell us as much as he is able to convey. However, God the Holy Spirit is the co-Author of Psalm 51, so His complete knowledge of what is to come will be conveyed by the same words that David uses to convey his incomplete knowledge. We will be able to see this psalm from the perspective of two parallel tracks, both of which use the exact same words. We will view this psalm from David's perspective, which is one of incomplete knowledge; and from God's perspective, which is one of full and complete knowledge.
What has been mistakenly taught by many excellent Bible teachers is, David or Isaiah or Abraham understood the gospel fully when they wrote Psalm 22 or Gen. 22 or Isa. 53—but they did not. They were writing about things which were pertinent to their own lives at that time. They did not have the full picture. God the Holy Spirit had the full picture, so that we, often coming to these passages from having learned the gospel in the New Testament, understand them in that light. Now, this is fine, because that is the understanding of God the Holy Spirit, Who understands all things. However, if we step into the sandals of David, Abraham or Isaiah, our perspective is suddenly limited. They did not fully comprehend that Jesus would come to this earth, fully God and fully man, and die for our sins. This was outside of their frame of reference.
How were they saved? Exactly the same way you and I are saved—they believed in Jehovah Elohim (or, Jesus Christ in the New Testament). Many of us had barely a thimbleful of knowledge of soteriology when we were saved. For me, all I knew was Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved. I knew nothing about the resurrection, the ascension, nor did I fully understand His sacrifice on the cross. I only knew those words and I depended upon those words—I depended upon Jesus Christ for my salvation many decades ago, and later, had the gaps filled in—after I had been saved. Not too long after I was saved, I began to study the Bible and I began to understand that Jesus died for me on the cross, that God the Father poured out my sins upon Him and judged these sins; and that God later raised Jesus from the dead, as a clear testimony that His sacrifice was efficacious. I did not know all of this stuff when I was saved; I did not study for months, begin to develop some understanding of soteriology and then was really saved. I was saved the moment I put my faith in Jesus Christ, even though what I knew about Him was minuscule. It is the same for all Old Testament believers; they were saved through faith in Jehovah Elohim, the Revealed Member of the Godhead. They placed their faith in Him, knowing very little about Him, and God saved them. God made their non-meritorious faith efficacious.
There will be more on this topic to come; but what is key is, David will reveal his limited knowledge and God the Holy Spirit will reveal His complete knowledge, both using the same exact words.
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As an aside, one of the things which ought to be striking is, so much of the Bible has never been fully exegeted, word by word, phrase by phrase, so that, when you step away from such a study, you understand most of what God the Holy Spirit intends for you to know. I read through a number of commentaries while working on Psalm 51 (HTML) (PDF) (WPD), and they had very little to offer. Even R. B. Thieme, Jr.'s treatment of this psalm was far too brief. For those of you who recognize the importance of the Word of God and have a desire to study and write about it, realize that there are great portions of the Bible which have never been fully laid out and explained. For one or two who might be reading this, you ought to feel like a hiker standing before Mount Everest. Explaining all that is found in the Old Testament is a great and marvelous challenge. For me, if God permits, I might be able to complete the historical books, up to a point; and maybe the writings of David and Solomon. However, as much as I desire, I know that it is highly unlikely that I will be able to put any sort of a dent in the prophets—and no one has ever fully explained all of Isaiah, Jeremiah, or Ezekiel. There is so much ground yet to be plowed.

David, in Psalm 51:1, writes: Show grace to me, O Elohim, according to Your graciousness; according to the abundance of Your graciousness, blot out my transgressions. David knows that he deserves death for what he has done. He took Bathsheba, the wife of one of his soldiers, and then he had her husband killed. Both murder and adultery were punishable by death, and, even though David is the highest court in the land, he fully understood that God could take him out at any time.

You will note that David is not simply asking God to show him some grace; David is demanding that God be gracious to him. He uses the imperative mood here.

God is abundantly gracious and merciful. He is able to be merciful because Jesus Christ would die on the cross for all of David's sins. David, on the basis of his knowledge of the Word of God, demands that God be merciful to him; he demands that God show him grace. With doctrine in your soul, you can demand that God treat you in grace—not because you deserve it (that would not be grace), but because Jesus Christ deserves it and we are in Christ.

It is unclear just exactly how much David understood about this. Old Testament believers understood that they were saved by faith in Jehovah Elohim. They understood that God is abundant in graciousness and would forgive their sins. David understands that he can demand God's graciousness here; and he demands that God blot out his sin. However, I do not recall seeing much discussion of, how much did Old Testament saints know about why God is able to forgive them. After all, when you and I were saved, we have a very limited understanding of soteriology. I had never heard of limited versus universal atonement; in fact, at that point of my salvation, I did not even understand that Jesus was God. All I knew was, the Bible told me to believe in Him, and I did, and so I was saved.

Most believers today believe that spiritual giants, like David, understood the cross and what to expect when it came to the Messiah. I don't think that he did. This should not be a difficult thing to understand. You know more today than you did a year ago; you have more Bible doctrine in your soul than you did a year ago. Throughout your Christian life, you came to understand this or that doctrine, this or that concept, which you did not understand before.

Theology speaks of progressive revelation, which means that, as time went on, more and more was revealed in the Bible. We know that progressive revelation speaks of our own lives. We certainly know much more today than we knew at salvation. Therefore, there is no reason to think that David fully understood all that he wrote or that he understood it in exactly the same way. We know that God is abundant in grace and that He will blot out the transgressions of David; furthermore, we know exactly why. We understand the doctrine of soteriology. There is no reason to assume that David personally, despite his spiritual maturity, understood all theological concepts.

The verb to blot out is mâchâh ( ) [pronounced maw-KHAWH], which means, to wipe [out], to [completely] blot out, to [completely] obliterate, to exterminate; completely remove [something]. Strong's #4229 BDB #562. The imperative mood means that David demands that God blot out his sins. This is quite a bold statement for someone who has taken the wife of one of his soldiers and ravished her, and then had her husband killed. This is the very same verb that is used when God promised to blot out man, whom He had created, with the flood (Gen. 6:7 7:4, 22–23). We have Moses and God using this word, when talking about Israel fashioning false golden gods in Ex. 32:32–33 and Deut. 9:13–16. However, David uses this word twice in this psalm calling for God to blot out his sins (Psalm 51:1, 9). Isaiah speaks of this as well in Isa. 25:8 43:25 44:22. This word is also used to refer to blotting one's name out of the Book of Life (Psalm 69:28).

The blotting out of our sins, as David calls for here, is updated in Col. 2:13–14 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with Him [Christ], having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This He set aside, nailing it to the cross. It is because of the cross that God can set these sins aside—this great debt which is against us.

Psalm 51:2 reads: Thoroughly wash me from my iniquity [or, depraved action]; and, from my sin, cleanse me. We understand all of the reasons behind this cleansing. Jesus Christ died for our sins on the cross and it is upon this basis we are forgiven for the many sins we have committed and will commit. David depends upon the same basis for his forgiveness—Jesus Christ died for his sins and David could demand that God forgive him of even these most heinous sins, because it is based upon the cross. However, it is not clear that David understand this basis. It is not clear that any Old Testament saint clearly understood the basis of God's abundant graciousness. In fact, to be quite frank, there are a considerable number of believers today who do not get it—who think that, when it comes to obtaining the forgiveness of sins, that they have something to add to this process—great welling tears of repentance and a sincere heart. However, our sins are forgiven eternally and in time based upon our Lord taking these sins upon His Own body on the cross and taking the punishment which we so thoroughly deserve.

God provides us with salvation for free—we simply trust in Him, in Jehovah Elohim, in Jesus Christ, the 2nd member of the Trinity. There is no merit in this trust, because anyone can believe anything. All of the merit is in Jesus Christ and His substitutionary death.

There are simple mechanics for forgiveness of sin in time, which puts us back into fellowship. David clearly understood the means of salvation and he clearly understood the means for temporal forgiveness of sins. I know my transgressions; and my sin is ever before me. Against You, You only, I have sinned (Psalm 51:3–4a). In time, David is restored to fellowship with God by admitting his sins to God (2Sam. 12:13 Psalm 32:5 51:3–4). He understood this, just as he understood that he was saved by means of faith in Jehovah Elohim (Psalm 2:12 5:4 13:5). However, there was a lot that David did not understand. We have the full picture, from where we sit, having the completed canon of Scripture. David's Bible was perhaps 300 pages, to which he added a hundred pages or so himself. So, even though we can study Gen. 22 and see that this is all about Jesus going to the cross, it is quite another story to say that David understood this in the same way.

David obviously understood that God would completely and thoroughly cleanse him from all unrighteousness, to the point that, David thrice demands that God completely separate him from his sins; that God completely and thoroughly wash him of his filth. Therefore, in the light of progressive revelation, just how much of that did David fully understand?
What Did David (and Other Saints) Know About God's Forgiveness?
1.	All Old Testament saints understood that, they were saved by believing in Jehovah Elohim. They understood this from Gen. 15:6, where Abram had believed in God, and that was credited to him as righteousness.

2.	Believers today understand, to whatever degree, that faith in Christ results in their salvation. Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.

3.	Just as believers today have an incomplete knowledge of soteriology (the doctrine of salvation) at the point of salvation, believers in the Old Testament also had an incomplete knowledge of soteriology for their entire lives (obviously, this can be true of believers today, who choose not to grow spiritually).

4.	How much David knew is closely related to the topic of progressive revelation. Progressive revelation means that, each additional truth builds upon, expands, and better explains that which was already taught. New revelation does not supercede, replace or nullify previous revelation, but builds upon that which is past and that which is foundational.

5.	The question I am asking is, what did David know at the time that he wrote this psalm?

6.	David knew enough here to demand that God cleanse him of his sin and purify him of his iniquity. He demanded that God blot out his wrongdoing. This is very strong. However, this knowledge requires some Bible doctrine. That is, a person could do nothing more than believe in Jehovah Elohim in that day and be saved, and yet not fully understand that he could demand God remove his sin from him.

1)	As an aside, this can be true of a believer today. Believers today commit sins which shock them, throw them completely off their game, and they spend the rest of their lives nurturing a guilt complex.

7.	God said through Isaiah: "Come now, let us reason together," says the LORD: "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool." (Isa. 1:18). This should sound like a thorough cleansing to you, just as Psalm 51:1–2 describe a complete and thorough cleansing.

8.	So, believers in the Old and New Testaments—particularly new or immature believers—may not fully grasp just how completely separated God will make us from our sins or why He is able to do this (apart from the fact that He is God).

9.	David and Isaiah are mature believers and so, they obviously understand this to a limited degree. Not every believer fully gets it, however.

10.	When Jesus Christ died for our sins, only John the Apostle and a few others actually stood beneath the cross. The rest of the disciples scattered in fear.

11.	Even John did not fully understood that Jesus had died for his sins on the cross and would be raised from the dead at that time. When he went to the tomb of our Lord, a few days later, he was excited to find the Jesus had been raised from the dead.

12.	Since the other disciples scattered when Jesus was taken, it was clear that, even if they understood that Jesus was going to the cross, and that this was an integral part of God's plan (which Jesus taught), they either did not believe it or they did not understand it.

13.	Although it is difficult to get into the minds of 10 disciples, it seems apparent by Peter's denials that Jesus dying on the cross for our sins did not enter into his thinking. He never seemed to stop to entertain this theological point, even though Jesus taught that His going to the cross was inevitable and a part of God's plan. Matt. 16:21–23

14.	So, in the case of the disciples, this theological point was not believed by 11 of them, and so, this did not enter into their thinking when Jesus was taken.

15.	Subsequently, in later years, John began to recall the things that Jesus said and to put them all together (see, for instance, John 2:22).

16.	Therefore, if the disciples, who were with Jesus day and night for over 3 years; who listened to Him prophesy concerning His death and resurrection, did not get that He would die for our sins and then be raised, then who in the Old Testament fully understood this?

17.	Therefore, we can reasonably assume that few, if anyone, in the Old Testament understood all that the Savior-Messiah would do.

18.	No one standing below Jesus at the cross, said, "This is just like Isa. 53!" This was understood later.

19.	Therefore, David certainly understood that he was saved by faith in Jehovah Elohim; and he understood that he could demand, from God, a cleansing of sin. However, it is doubtful that David fully understood that Jesus would come and die for our sins.

20.	Many in the Old Testament—believers and unbelievers alike—understood that Messiah would come. However, it is not clear that Old Testament believers understood much more than this about the Messiah to come.

21.	In the Old Testament, the 1st and 2nd Advents of our Lord were often portrayed as one event. See the Doctrine of Intercalation (HTML) (PDF) (WPD).

22.	Therefore, when Jesus the Messiah came in His 1st Advent, this confused many people who expected that, if He came at that time, He would throw off the yoke of the Romans as a conquering hero.

23.	I don't believe that anyone of the Old Testament fully understood the suffering Servant passage of Isa. 53 (or Psalm 22 or Gen. 22). In retrospect, we as believers see how these passages and the 1st Advent of our Lord fit together like a glove. However, I do not think Old Testament saints fully understood this. For further parallels of Psalm 22, see David's Suffering in Psalm 22 Parallels Jesus Christ on the Cross.

24.	This is great evidence of the divine nature of the Scripture: that human authors could write about things which they knew or had experienced, and yet for the Holy Spirit to give these exact same words a complete other meaning, which is clear 1000 years later, but not to the very author who wrote those words.

25.	Similarly, they did not, in any way, differentiate the 1st and 2nd Advents, which, to them, was just one event.

26.	There is irrefutable evidence of this lack of knowledge in the New Testament.

1)	A year or so into Jesus public ministry, and John the Baptizer dispatches some of his disciples to speak to Jesus and ask Him if He is the Messiah, or if they should look for another. This is sometime after John meets Jesus and baptizes Him. Matt. 11:2–6

2)	Not too long before the cross, after nearly 3 years of intensive teaching, Jesus tells Peter that He is going to the cross, and Peter says, "Don't let this come to pass!" Our salvation is based upon the cross, so no matter how horrendous this event is to human history, it is central to our faith. Matt. 16:21–23

3)	When Jesus went to the cross, most of His disciples scattered, running away from Him. Peter even denied knowing Him and being a disciple. So, within 24 hours of the cross, His disciples did not understand its necessity. Matt. 26:31–35, 58, 69–75

27.	My conclusion here is, even though David understood that God could and would thoroughly cleanse him of his sins, David did not fully understand why God is able to do this, beyond being abundant in graciousness (Psalm 51:1 103:8).
I don't know if anyone has ever taught before what Old Testament saints knew and did not know.
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Clearly, Satan is a super-genius, and 1000X smarter than any of the disciples on their best days. However, it is my hypothesis that he did not understand the function of the cross before it happened.
What Satan Did not Understand
1.	It is my contention, and this is one of the few areas where I depart from many theologians, that even Satan, in his great genius, was not fully able to grasp what the (Roman) cross was all about, despite the fact that Jesus taught his suffering on the cross was inevitable, even calling Peter, Satan, for suggesting that He not go to the cross.

2.	Satan was instrumental in getting our Lord to the cross, but without him realizing that this would be the great victory of the Angelic Conflict. In order for Jesus to be identified, Satan had to enter into Judas and point Jesus out to the religious types who took Him. If Satan understood the cross and how this would break his back, my thinking is, he would do everything to keep Jesus from being crucified.

3.	In other words, Satan, who is a far greater genius than any person who has ever lived, who knew the Old Testament from cover to cover, who heard our Lord teach about his crucifixion, did not get it. He did not understand what the cross was all about.

4.	It is reasonable to pose the question, how can Satan, a super-genius, be aware of all that Jesus taught, and yet be instrumental in getting Jesus to the cross? Hatred. Satan's mental attitude sins were so blinding, that He did not put 2 and 2 together until the cross happened.

5.	At some point during or after all of the trials, Satan may have begun to understand; but at that point, the die had been cast and there was nothing that he could do to stop it.

6.	God brought the thick darkness over the cross for several reasons—to hide the humiliation of His Son but also to retain the continuity of the punishment. This darkness was so thick, even the demons could not penetrate it; even the demons could not see it. Therefore, they were unable to stop God's judgment of our sins while Jesus was on the cross.

7.	Recall that God the Holy Spirit has made spiritual information available to believers which is not available to unbelievers. An unbeliever cannot study the Bible and understand much beyond the basics. An unbeliever can sit in a doctrinal church and not understand much beyond the basics either.

8.	Therefore, why should Satan be any different? Why should we expect him to be able to put Scripture together better than a believer with doctrine?

9.	As a result, God used Satan to seal his own doom. Satan was not smart enough to see this coming.
Again, this is an opinion and, insofar as I know, not only is this opinion not widely held, but I am unaware of any theologian who has ever taught this. This is a tertiary doctrine, and I am unsure as to how this affects a great many other doctrines, and, if presented with proof to the contrary, I would back off from this point of view (which is true of pretty much anything I have written—Let God be true and every man a liar). However, I include this doctrine, which I believe is a reasonable and logical conclusion. That is, in the greatest conflict of all time, Satan himself unknowingly participated in the events of the cross, which is our deliverance from sin and death, and therefore, our deliverance from Satan.
There is an invisible conflict in which we play a part, known as the Angelic Conflict (HTML) (PDF). Angels learn from this, and the lesson they would understand is, despite Satan's great genius, his intelligence is nothing compared to the intelligence of God. Logically, if angels are observing all of this human drama and learning from it, that presupposes that there are things which they do not know about God's character and plan that they learn. Therefore, it is much more logical for a full understanding of Jesus to come with time. So, angels can look over Isaiah's shoulder as he writes Isa. 53 and not fully understand what Isaiah is writing. However, when we come to the cross of Christ, then it all begins to fit together for these angels; and later, for us as men.
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As believers in the Church Age, we have access to everything that we need to know about our place in the Angelic Conflict. It does not come to us all at once, and it is a day-by-day, lifetime of learning. It is the completion of the canon of Scripture which is a part of our individual impact as believers, because, in this stage of human history, we all play a part in God's plan.

There are 2 authors for any passage of Scripture: the human author and the Divine Author, God the Holy Spirit. For this reason, it is not a great leap to reason that, there are times when the human author has one thing in mind when he writes, but God the Holy Spirit has something entirely different in mind.
The Dual Authorship of the Holy Scriptures
1.	The Bible is clearly a book written by man. These authors often affixed their names to what they wrote: Prov. 1:1 2Trim. 1:1–2 Rev. 1:1–2

1)	There are times when we are fairly certain of the authorship of this or that person, e.g., Luke for the book of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles or Moses for the books of Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers. However, in those books, we do not find a phrase like, "I, Luke, wrote this history of Jesus Christ."

2)	There are some books whose authorship is unknown, like the book of Hebrews or the book of Ruth. However, we have accepted these books as canonical.

(1)	As an aside, I suspect that the book of Hebrews was written by a gentile, and therefore, his name was not affixed to the book; and that the bulk of Ruth was written by Ruth (apart from the genealogy at the end) and her name was not given because, men had a difficult time with female authorship.

2.	The other author of Holy Writ is the Holy Spirit. The prophets did not think these things up on their own, but they were guided by the Spirit of God (2Peter 1:21; Contemporary English Version). It was never man's impulse, after all, that gave us prophecy; men gave it utterance, but they were men whom God had sanctified, carried away, as they spoke, by the Holy Spirit (2Peter 1:21; Knox NT). No prophecy ever originated from humans. Instead, it was given by the Holy Spirit as humans spoke under God's direction (2Peter 1:21; God's Word).

1)	See the Short Doctrine of Inspiration (HTML) (PDF).

2)	See the Study of Inspiration (HTML) (PDF).

3)	The Doctrine of Inspiration (HTML) (PDF).

3.	When an author writes something, he often has a purpose for writing. This may not be some high and lofty purpose—it may be for money or for propaganda—but he has a reason for writing what he does.

1)	In Gen. 22, where Abraham nearly offers up his son Isaac as a human sacrifice to God, this incident is recorded either by Abraham or by Isaac, and they were simply presenting the historical event of Abraham's obedience to God in offering up his uniquely-born son to God.

2)	However, God the Holy Spirit writes this passage with the intention of teaching the gospel and providing a shadow image of Jesus dying on the cross for our sins.

4.	Therefore, when we study Scripture—particularly the Old Testament—we must be mindful that, the human author is often saying one thing, whereas the Divine Author is teaching us something else.

5.	As a result, human authors, like David, could write Psalm 22, about a very difficult and painful period in his life, and yet not realize that, this foreshadowed His Savior on the cross.

6.	Related to this is the idea that, David here can demand God's forgiveness and a complete washing away of his sins, yet not fully understand the basis for God's ability for forgive him.

7.	These are doctrines which are built up and progressively revealed throughout the Bible. Again, progressive revelation builds truth upon truth; each additional truth builds upon, expands, and better explains that which was already taught. New revelation does not supercede, replace or nullify previous revelation, but is founded upon that which is past and upon that which is foundational.

8.	This is one reason that dual authorship is so important. Abraham and David, in Gen. 22 and in Psalm 22, respectively, did not fully realize what it was that they were teaching. They were recording events in their own lives. God the Holy Spirit, Who knows the end from the beginning, understood the big picture, and uses these passages to reveal to us our Lord on the cross.

9.	Therefore, not every believer in the Old Testament understood soteriology in its entirety. What they did not know or understand, God the Holy Spirit was still able to reveal.

10.	In fact, this information is revealed so well in Gen. 22, Psalm 22 and Isa. 53, that few theologians look at these passages critically and realize that the authors of these passages did not understand fully and completely what they were saying—they understood one aspect of their writing (for instance, Abraham fully understood the historical circumstances which took place in Gen. 22 and he recorded them accurately)—but they did not realize, necessarily, that they were writing about the Savior Who would die for their sins.

11.	God the Holy Spirit understands the historical incidents and the spiritual information of all of these passages.

12.	Therefore, we, as Church Age believers, can read from these 3 chapters and have a greater understanding of what these chapters mean because we are guided by the Divine Author, God the Holy Spirit (and, ideally speaking, we are guided by a pastor who has studied and is able to properly teach these passages).

13.	Progressive revelation is quite persuasive in this way: those who lay the foundation for these doctrines which we learn did not fully understand those doctrines. The examples I gave—the writers of Gen. 22, Psalm 22 and Isa. 53 did not fully understand all that they were writing. They did not have a complete Christology in their thinking as they wrote those words. Yet, what they wrote was so completely and thoroughly integrated with Christology that, we have a greater understanding of what occurred while Jesus was on the cross from these 3 chapters than we have in the New Testament. Now, how is it that someone living 700 years before the cross, writes about the cross? How is it that someone living 1000 years before the cross writes about the cross? How is it that someone living 2000 years before our Lord, writes about the cross? How is this even possible? God the Holy Spirit, Who inspired and guided these writers. What is even more amazing is, how do these men write about the cross of our Lord and they themselves do not fully understand it?

14.	Let me give you an analogy. How is it possible for one crew of workers to come in and lay a foundation for a house and then for a completely different set or workers—who do not know the first set of workers—to come in, a few days later, and build a house upon that foundation? They have to all be working from the same set of plans. If they have the exact same set of plans, then this is easy. Any crew can do it. They don't ever have to meet or know one another. One crew of 5 can be followed by another crew of 10, so that there is no overlap, no common foreman, and yet, the house which is built perfectly matches the foundation. That is what we have in the Bible. The unifying factor in building a house is, of course, the house plans. The various contractors must have a copy of the house plans and they work based upon those plans. In the writing of the Bible, the unifying factor is God the Father, who planned this all out, and God the Holy Spirit who guided the writers of Scripture. According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it (1Cor. 3:10).

15.	Let me continue with this analogy. Those workmen who lay the foundation for the house do not need to know what the house actually looks like. Their concern is the foundation and seeing to it that whatever wiring and plumbing that is needed is laid in the foundation. If you have an island kitchen then, very likely, you have electricity built into that island kitchen, which wiring comes up through the foundation. This had to be placed there by those who laid the foundation.

16.	A foundation crew might lay a dozen foundations over a week's time. They would be unable to determine, without looking at the rest of the plans, just how the final product will look. They don't know if the style of the house will be Victorian or Old English or Contemporary. 12 months later, they might drive down the street where they laid out a foundation, and not even be able to pick out the house that they laid the foundation for.

17.	So this is with David, who wrote this Psalm 51. He knows that he can demand that God thoroughly cleanse him. He knows that God is abundant in mercy and graciousness. However, David does not fully understand why God is able to do this. David can reasonably understand the essence of God, that He is righteous, just, eternal, gracious, truth and love. However, exactly how all of these attributes interrelate and interact with respect to the sins that David has committed—David doesn't know all of that.

18.	At salvation, you had a lot of ideas about God, most of which were probably wrong. However, in time, you learned Who God is and why He is able to forgive you. You are able to see what the finished house looks like. David just laid the foundation. He knew some of the basic information about God, but he did not knew enough to put it altogether.

19.	The unifying factor in all of this is God the Holy Spirit, Who is just as much an Author of this psalm as is David. The Holy Spirit has these plans from God the Father, so the Holy Spirit is able to properly guide those who laid the foundation for our faith. Therefore, you [gentiles] are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In Him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit (Eph. 2:19–22).
The more you understand the intricacies of progressive revelation and dual authorship, the greater will be your appreciation for the Word of God.
See the entire Doctrine of The Dual Authorship of Scripture (HTML) (PDF) (WPD).
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There are many implications and studies that we will explore as a result of this information. What did David understand? How much doctrine did he know? What did he not know? This provides also some insight into the lives of believers in the Age of Israel. As believers in Jesus Christ, in the Church Age, our lives have great meaning and definition. The things which we do have eternal consequence. We are all in God's plan. We all have specific functions in God's plan, some of which may be insignificant in the eyes of many (not in God's eyes, however).

Psalm 51:4 With regards to You—[and] to You alone—I have sinned; and I have done evil in Your eyes. Therefore, You are righteous in Your declaration; [and] You are justified in Your judgment. God is perfect righteousness and perfect justice. You will note here that David does not appeal to God's love. In confessing his sin to God, David looks to God's righteousness and justice, because the righteousness which condemns him and the righteousness which will also be David's. The justice of God which has put divine discipline to bear upon David is the same justice which will declare David righteous, even after these horrendous sins. We understand why exactly this is true—because Jesus Christ died for our sins. However, it is less clear just how much David understood of this. That God would forgive him completely and that God's righteousness would be David's, is something that David took on faith.

You may think, David offered up animals as a sin offering, and he depended upon that. But David also wrote these words: You [God] do not delight in sacrifice and offering; You open my ears to listen. You do not ask for a whole burnt offering or a sin offering (Psalm 40:6). In this very psalm, David writes: You do not want a sacrifice, or I would give it; You are not pleased with a burnt offering (Psalm 51:16).

Again, this is a matter of progressive revelation. Man in the Old Testament only understood so much. For us, it is obvious that Gen. 22, Psalm 22 and Isa. 53 are all about our Lord's substitutionary death for our sins. However, when it comes to Old Testament believers—including those who wrote those passages—how much they knew about their Savior-Messiah is much more limited. How much they knew about the righteousness of God is much more limited. This is what truly makes the Bible, the Old and New Testaments, amazing. Old Testament writers write about things that they do not have a complete understanding of. However, all that they write is in perfect accordance with Christ revealed in the New Testament. This is how the Christian understanding of progressive revelation is so completely different from that taught in Islam. In Islam, there was the problem that you have one passage which says X and another passage which says not-X; which is correct? In Islam, the most recent passage is said to supercede the most ancient passage. That is not the way true progressive revelation really works. Progressive revelation means that, each additional truth builds upon, expands, and better explains that which was already taught. New revelation does not supercede, replace or nullify previous revelation, but builds upon that which is past and that which is foundational.

The brickwork on a house, in many ways defines that house and its look. However, you cannot simply look at the first row of bricks and know what the house looks like. When you see all of the brickwork completed, and how it is turned, and how far up it goes, and how it looks in relation to the windows and doors, then you see the house in the way it will look. All that happens above that first row of bricks defines the house; but all that additional brickwork does not nullify or disregard or contradict that first row of bricks. The Old Testament lays a good, solid foundation. However, believers in the Age of Israel were unable to articulate all that there is to know about their Messiah-Savior based upon the Old Testament alone. Look, even John the Baptizer had some doubts about Jesus, which he expressed directly (Luke 7:20–22). Now, in the light of the entire Old Testament, even John the Baptizer did not fully understand what Jesus was doing, and he was herald to the King. This fact alone indicates that there were many unknowns in the thinking of Old Testament believers.

David knew that he had sinned; he knew that this sin was against God. He knew God is righteous and just in all things. And he knew that God forgave him. These things he knew. In fact, David depended upon these doctrines. But that the God that David believed in would come down from heaven and take upon Himself the body of a man and die for our sins—that is a piece of the puzzle which I do not believe that David had.

This is why the Old and New Testaments are so amazing and have such an incredible fit. Old Testament authors did not understand the entire theology of God. They knew the foundation, but they did not know what the entire house would look like. Yet the New Testament completes the building of this theological house in all of its glory, so that we are able to see it all—its foundation and its elevation, perfectly fitted together. How does the God explained by Paul fit into the understanding of the God Who spoke to Moses? They are the same God, even though Moses could not articulate in full what God would do and how man would be forgiven. Old Testament saints like Abraham, Moses and David knew many of the principles of the faith and the essence of God; Paul, by having an historical perspective and being led by the Holy Spirit, understood more fully God's relationship to man, and what the Suffering Messiah did on our behalf.

Psalm 51:7 You will bear my blame [or, take the consequences for my sin; make a sin offering for me] with hyssop and I will be cleansed; You will wash me and I will be made white more than snow. I spoke of the dual authorship of Scripture. God the Holy Spirit is communicating to us that God would make a sin offering on behalf of David and God would cleanse David because of the cross. David understood that God would purify David from sin (a process) and that David would thereby be cleansed—also a process. David was quite filthy at this point, and despite his great soul pain at what he had done, give him a few months to get past that and he would be chasing skirt again. David understood that God would cleanse him over time, which would be effectively keeping David from spending his time chasing skirt.

Psalm 51:9 reads: Hide Your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquities. This is the second time that David uses the verb to blot out (the first time was in v. 1). Old Testament believers understood that God would remove their sins from them. Micah writes: Who is a God like you, who pardons iniquity, And passes over the disobedience of the remnant of his heritage? He doesn't retain his anger forever, Because he delights in loving kindness. He will again have compassion on us. He will tread our iniquities under foot; And you will cast all their sins into the depths of the sea (Micah 7:18–19). In the New Testament, we are told why God is able to do this: You [Colossians] were dead through your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh. He made you alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, wiping out the handwriting in ordinances which was against us; and he has taken it out of the way, nailing it to the cross (Col. 2:13–14).

Psalm 51:11 reads: Do not cast me away from Your presence and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. In the Church Age, we are given the Holy Spirit; all believers are given the Holy Spirit. There is no set of 2nd class Christians who have never been given the Holy Spirit (the Book of Acts describes a transitional period of the church, which occurred simultaneously with the writing of the New Testament). At no time, for instance, in the letters to the Corinthians, does Paul ever say,"Look, here is your problem: you are all a bunch of carnal so-and-
so's because you have not yet received the Holy Spirit." In fact, nowhere in any of the epistles are we told to seek out the baptism of the Holy Spirit. If this were the necessary spiritual experience that the Pentecostals would have us believe, then somewhere, buried in some epistle, would be God the Holy Spirit ordering us to seek Him.

On the other hand, in the Old Testament, some believers were given the Holy Spirit for a particular service and the Holy Spirit could be withdrawn. David is asking that the Spirit not be withdrawn from him.

The Holy Spirit had a slightly different ministry in the Old and New Testaments.
The Holy Spirit in the Old Testament
1.	The Trinity is mentioned throughout the Old Testament. In Gen. 1:1, we have the noun Elohim, which is plural for God. In Gen. 1:2 we have the Spirit of God warming the waters of the earth (melting the ice which apparently surrounded the earth) and in Gen. 1:26, we have God saying, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our pattern."

2.	We have all three members of the Trinity in Psalm 23:2–3: "The Spirit of Jehovah spoke by me and His word was on my tongue. The God of Israel said, The Rock of Israel spoke to Me, He who rules over men righteously, Who rules in the fear-respect of God."

3.	That God the Holy Spirit is a separate entity is presented in several places in the Old Testament, but one of the most clear is in Isa. 48:16, where we have the trinity mentioned: "Come near to Me, listen to this: From the first I have not spoken in secret; from the time it took place, I was there. And now the Lord Yehowah has sent Me, and His Spirit."

4.	Isaiah mentions all three members in Isa. 63:7–10, as well: I will be caused to remember the grace of Jehovah and the glories of Jehovah according to all the Jehovah has given us and the great goodness toward the house of Israel, which He has granted them according to His compassion and according to the multitude of His grace. For He said, "Surely, they are My people, Sons who will not deal falsely." So he became their Savior. In all their affliction, He was afflicted and the Angel of His presence delivered them. In His love and in His grace, He redeemed them, and He lifted them and carried them all the days of old. However, they rebelled, and they grieved His Holy Spirit. Therefore, He turned Himself to become their enemy. He fought against them.

5.	In Judges 14–16, we have the phrase the Spirit of Yehowah came upon him (Samson) (Judges 14:19 15:14), and Samson uses this power and strength to kill 1000 Philistines in the latter reference. In Judges 16:18–20, Yehowah departed from upon him (Samson). We are dealing with the exact same preposition, the same man Samson, and the same Person Who comes upon Samson and, in the end, departs from upon Samson. This makes the Spirit of God equivalent to Yehowah in this passage.

6.	The Holy Spirit participated in the restoration of the earth. Gen. 1:2

7.	The Holy Spirit would work among mankind, presumably to lead man to the gospel of Jehovah Elohim and to preserve him. Gen. 6:3

8.	The Holy Spirit was given to certain individuals for their ministries in the Old Testament. Gen. 41:38 Ex. 31:2–5 2Kings 2:9–10

9.	God the Holy Spirit came upon Samson to give him great human power. However, he could also lose this power. Therefore, the Holy Spirit could be taken from the Old Testament believer. Judges 16:18–20 Psalm 51:11

10.	In the gospels, the ministry of the Holy Spirit to Jesus Christ was a preview of things to come for believers in the New Testament; we would have the same access to this power as did Jesus Christ. This does not mean that we would touch people and they would be healed, but the evangelical ministry of man evangelists has exceeded that of even Paul. John 5:19–30 14:16–17
Many of these points were taken out of the Doctrine of the Deity of the Holy Spirit (HTML) (PDF).
See also the complete Doctrine of the Ministry of God the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament (HTML) (PDF) and the Doctrine of the Trinity in the Old Testament (HTML) (PDF).
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Not all believers had the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament; as previously discussed, it was given to specific believers for specific purposes. Therefore, believers in the Old Testament could lose the Holy Spirit—particularly when they were no longer engaged in their spiritual purpose. Samson is one of the best illustrations of this; when he went off chasing skirt, he lost the Holy Spirit (Who was his strength). However, in the New Testament, every believer is indwelt by the Holy Spirit. We can lose the filling of the Spirit but not the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

I should add that, today, we understand the Holy Spirit to be One Member of the Godhead. It is unlikely that David understood the Trinity as fully as we do today, if at all. There is often a God-ward and a man-ward understanding of these verses. Just as there is a learning curve for believers, before and after salvation, there is a learning curve for mankind in general (in theology, this is known as progressive revelation). When I was saved, despite singing many Christmas hymns in school and going to several churches, I did not understand what happened to Jesus after the crucifixion. For some reason, even though I am sure that I heard about the resurrection, I don't believe I understood it at salvation (and we celebrated Easter). I heard the weirdest, most jumbled-up gospel presented to me at age 21; went to the Bible, and read John 3:16 (Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved, and claimed that. Actually, I claimed that on several successive occasions, just in case, to make sure it took. At that time, I did not know exactly Who Jesus was; I undoubtedly had heard the term Trinity before, but that was not really something that I knew and understood. I simply clung to the promise of John 3:16. Later on, in subsequent studies, I learned and understood that Jesus is God, One Member of the Trinity, and that the Holy Spirit had made the gospel understandable to me, so that I understood that I needed to make a decision. What I understood of this decision was quite minimal: Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved. It was later that I understood Who Jesus was, the Trinity, etc. So, God the Holy Spirit is a Member of the Trinity, something which I fully know today, which is a part of my understanding of this verse; but this was probably not David's understanding. He understood that he enjoyed a fellowship of sorts with God and that God's Holy Spirit could be taken from him. Do not cast me away from Your presence and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. That there was a Trinity of 3 co-equal, co-eternal members of the Trinity is not something which David fully understood.

So, in our age, we understand this verse to indicate that David could lose the Holy Spirit, the 3rd Member of the Trinity, his power option; and that David could be put under sin unto death (being cast away from God's presence). David understood that God somehow empowered him and that was related to God's Spirit, but he likely did not understand that the Holy Spirit was actually a separate yet co-equal member of a Triune God.

So David saw God as One—which He is—but not as 3 co-equal and co-eternal members of the Trinity. All 3 members of the Trinity are here in this verse. Don't You cast me away from Your presence and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. David is speaking to someone. The first verb is in the 2nd person masculine singular, Hiphil imperfect—so David is directing this prayer to Someone (God the Father). He is asking not to be removed from God's Presence, which is Jesus Christ, the 2nd Member of the Trinity. And David asks not to have God's Holy Spirit taken from him, the 3rd Member of the Trinity. David did not necessarily recognize in his own mind that he has spoken of all 3 Members of the Trinity here; however, in looking back, with what we know today, we can see the Trinity in this verse.

There are two authors of Scripture: man and God. In this verse, David understood that God could take away His power and sustenance from David, which David called the Holy Spirit. However, God the Holy Spirit, the Divine Author of Scripture, understood the Doctrine of the Trinity perfectly, and, therefore, made certain that the words which David used were compatible with this doctrine. This is, in fact, one of the amazing aspects of the Word of God. The human writer of Scripture did not have the full realm of doctrine in his soul when writing the Word of God. This should not take a genius to understand why—you and I do not have a full and complete knowledge of all things spiritual, and some of us have studied the Bible for decades. So, how do we expect David or Isaiah or Moses to have an understanding of the full realm of doctrine when they did not even have the complete Word of God from which to work? On the other hand, the co-Author of Scripture, God the Holy Spirit, knows the end from the beginning. He has a perfect knowledge of all things Divine. Yet, somehow, God is able to work with and through the writers of Scripture in such a way that, the words which are written down simultaneously reflect both the sensibilities and limitations of man as well as the infinite knowledge of God.

Application: You have the ability and the potential to know more about God than David did. In fact, it is possible that you already do. Furthermore, you have the same Holy Spirit that David had, the Holy Spirit that you cannot lose. Therefore, you can be greater than David in this life. Since your spiritual assets are potentially greater than David's, your spiritual life is potentially greater than his life as well.

Psalm 51:13 Let me teach [or, train with discipline] rebels Your ways and sinners will return unto [or, turn back to] You. Sinners refers back to those who are in rebellion against God; and David says, through his teaching, they will turn back to God. However, these sinners are believers, just as David is a believer. You cannot return to God unless you have exercised faith in Him in the first place.

Although the teaching is Bible doctrine, many do not know exactly how this was done. There eventually came to be synagogues in Israel, when Judaism was taught; and we know that there was a school of prophets which was related to Samuel. There was, of course, the Tabernacle, which is barely mentioned during the time of David. Teaching of course occurred there (and it appears that this was not in Jerusalem; only the Ark is in Jerusalem). See the Movement of the Ark and the Tent of God (HTML) (PDF). As the king of Israel, David was in a unique position to establish educational institutions of various types, all of which would teach the Word of God. However, apart from moving the Ark to Jerusalem (which may have been a teaching institution which was set up along with the Ark), we do not know if David did much by way of teaching the Word or making it available to the general populace.

During David's time, we need to examine what sort of teaching took place and how available it was to him. This will give us clues as to how available Bible teaching was to anyone in that day who desired it.
Doctrinal Teaching Available to King David
1.	David apparently knew God and trusted God when he was a young man watching the family flocks. We know that he killed a bear and a lion during this time (1Sam. 17:34–37—note that David credits this to God). We suspect that he may have written some psalms during this time. However, we do not know how much David would have learned about God as a young man, unless it was in the home prior to being put out with the flocks and herds. So, it appears as though David had an interest in God early on, and also received teaching early on, but the exact source of this teaching is unknown to us. At first, I would be tempted to guess he learned from his mother, but she is not named or even mentioned in the Bible. The Talmud records her name as Nitzevet daughter of Adael.. Her name means to stand (although I cannot confirm this in my own Gesenius lexicon).1

1)	It is possible that Psalm 118:22 is David's mother's description of David as King of Israel. The Stone which the builders refused has become the Head of the corner. Obviously, this refers ultimately to Jesus Christ; but many prophecies of Jesus are based upon actual event contemporary to the writer of Scripture. That is, there is a man-ward side to the psalm—what David was thinking when he wrote it; and there is the God-ward side of the psalm, what God the Holy Spirit wanted us to know from the passage.

2)	David's older brothers were soldier-warriors. 1Sam. 17:12–13

3)	David was despised by his family and mostly left to shepherd the family flocks. Recall that, when Samuel came to anoint one of Jesse's sons, Jesse never considered David as a possible son to anoint. 1Sam. 16:11 17:15, 28

4)	We know that, despite whatever derision David received, he took this responsibility seriously. 1Sam. 17:15

5)	We do not know why David was so despised, but perhaps he was bookish and artsy-fartsy. He did play a musical instrument and he did seem to have a good understanding of God at an early age. 1Sam. 16:16, 23 17:34–37 45–47

6)	In any case, somewhere, in his young life, David was interested in the Word of God and he received excellent teaching, but we do not know from whom.

2.	During David's time, there were individual prophets and groups of prophets who apparently taught Bible doctrine. 1Sam. 3:20 9:9 10:10–13

3.	Related to this is, Samuel had a school for prophets. 1Sam. 19:20–24

4.	God apparently revealed truth to some kings by dreams, by means of Urim and through prophets. 1Sam. 28:6, 15

5.	When David became king, he attempted to move the Ark of God, and he was unsuccessful on the first try. He studied the Bible (which he had access to as king—in fact, he had his own personal copy of the Bible—Deut. 17:18–19). So, he would have learned how the Ark was to be moved, along with a number of other things from the Law of God. 2Sam. 6:2–20 1Chron. 13:2–14 15:1–28 16:1–42

6.	There was the Tabernacle of God, which was not too far from Jerusalem, but the Ark of God had been removed from there; and Saul killed almost all of the priests. 1Sam. 21:1–9 22:6–19

7.	David had close associations with two priests, Abiathar and Zadok. They would have been a source of doctrinal teaching. 1Sam. 22:20–23 30:7 2Sam. 8:17 15:24–29 20:25

8.	When David brought the Ark to Jerusalem, and placed it in a tent, we do not know if teaching was instituted here or not.

9.	When David's infant son died, David went to the house of Jehovah. We do not know if this was at the Tabernacle or at the tent which David erected for the Ark of God. However, this suggests that there is a place where David went to commune with God. It is not unreasonable to assume that there was some teaching which took place in this house of Jehovah. 2Sam. 12:20

10.	David had close associations with at least three prophets: Samuel, Nathan and Gad. 1Sam. 16:1–13 19:18 22:5 2Sam. 7:2–8, 17 12:1–15 24:11–15

11.	Because David wrote so many psalms, and because he set up quite a group of psalms to be sung when the Ark was moved, David probably organized a choir of sorts among the Levites, by which doctrine was taught. 1Chron. 15:2–28 16:5–42

12.	David was divinely inspired to write many of the psalms in the Word of God, as well as most of Proverbs; and possibly, he wrote down some of his own history. Psalm 51:11 Mark 12:26 Acts 4:25
As king, David was in a unique position to receive a lot of teaching, from priests and prophets, and from the Holy Spirit when he studied the Word of God himself. For the average Old Testament person, less teaching would have been available. In Psalm 51:13 (Let me teach [or, train with discipline] rebels Your ways and sinners will return unto [or, turn back to] You), David says that he would help to turn around those people who, like him, had gone astray. Whether or not David had some sort of a teaching ministry is not revealed (except for an occasional small group situation—2Sam. 12:18–24); but his writings have had an impact on Jews and Christians alike for thousands of years.
1 From http://www.hebrewbabynames.com/item.cfm?itemid=42413 accessed September 2, 2011.
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Although David was king, he had a teaching ministry to Israel and to us. Similarly, we have a place in God's plan as well. Eph. 2:10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. For all individual believers in the Church Age, this is true. Each of us has a place in God's plan.

Let me teach [or, train with discipline] rebels Your ways and sinners will return unto [or, turn back to] You. David, with this psalm, accomplishes, to some degree, what he desires to do. I am not sure if we have any recorded instances of David personally turning around this or that person who had wandered from the fold; however, no doubt, many a sinner has heard the words of this psalm and realized that God is willing to restore him.

Although we know a little about what sort of teaching ministry that David had subsequent to this, which was to his son Solomon; his primary teaching ministry has been via the Word of God where his sin and its consequences are recorded. He gives both doctrinal teaching and great hope to those who have gone astray.

It is possible that David is thinking of his own sons at this time. He has neglected them for a great deal of time, and he may realize his not being a good father in the spiritual realm has affected them. On the other hand, much of what happens in the future with regards to his sons seems to catch David off guard.

Application: How many of us have viewed our lives as a series of failures punctuated by periods of spiritual inactivity? David has gone so far out of God's will as to commit sins for which he deserves the death penalty; and yet, God not only allows him to live, but David will enjoy great blessing for much of the remainder of his life.

Let me teach [or, train with discipline] rebels Your ways and sinners will return unto [or, turn back to] You. There is one aspect of this verse that we must be careful about. This is not a trade-out. David is not saying, let me off this one time—cut me a little slack—and I will teach the rebellious You ways and help sinners to return to You. In this psalm, David knows that he will be forgiven by God (he demands this, using the imperative mood); therefore, in this verse, he is telling God what he desires to do. David realizes how far off the reservation that he has gone, and he feels ashamed as well as relieved at God's forgiveness. He wants to communicate this to others. Although the idea of complete and total forgiveness is not by any means new, it is a concept which needs to be repeated.

Let me teach [or, train with discipline] rebels Your ways and sinners will return unto [or, turn back to] You. There is a parallel verse in the New Testament: And the Lord said, "Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has desired you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, that your faith fail not. And when you are brought back [turned back, caused to return], stabilize your brothers." (Luke 22:31–32). They would be made stable by sound teaching in Church Age doctrine. We find a similar notion in James 5:20 Know that he who turns back [causes to return] the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins. Again, to be turned back indicates that this person was pointed in the right direction to begin with.

Application: At this point, we need to be careful. Bullying someone into a course of action is not what is being said here (unless we are talking about children, and they are guided into the right course of action in a number of ways, which would include exercising one's authority over them). Sometimes, the proper method is, to expose them to a particular Scripture of set of Scriptures; sometimes it is guiding them toward good Bible teaching. Sometimes, if you have a similar area of weakness, it is sharing your mistakes, to a limited degree. However, the constraints that an adult person needs to place himself under need to be self-imposed. In any case, sin or choosing not to follow the laws of the land have all kinds of natural results.

Application: We have the duty to train up our own children, both in Bible doctrine and to obey the laws of divine establishment. However, when it comes to fellow believers, our involvement needs to allow their own volition to operate. When a person chooses to make a correct decision, this is a good thing. If he has simply been brow-
beaten into making that same decision, he has not really be turned around. He simply like the dog on a leash, straining to be free. Once he breaks the leash, he is gone, off committing a flurry of dog sins.

Psalm 51:14 Deliver me, O Elohim, from the guilt of murder; my tongue will loudly celebrate Your righteousness, O Elohim of salvation. David can call for this only because our righteousness is in Jesus Christ (to him, Jehovah Elohim). We, as believers in Jesus Christ, are miserable creatures; and what we are is often misrepresented to the world. We are saved because we are sinners, not because of any good thing that we have done, and not because we have led a life free of defects. David has committed a series of sins that any normal person would be shocked by, and yet, David calls for his on full-on absolution.

We should also understand this from David's perspective. He understood that God is gracious and that God would forgive him of his sins. However, his understanding of why this was, would not be as well understood. There are a few passages which look forward to the sacrifice of Jesus Christ (e.g., Gen. 22 Psalm 22 Isa. 53), but there is no clear indication that I can find where those in the Old Testament fully understood that their Messiah would die for their sins. They knew about the animal sacrifices, they knew about their sins being covered over, and they knew about Messiah, Who would deliver them, but it is not clear that any Old Testament believer ever put all of that together. David, in this psalm, knows that God will forgive him of the most heinous sins (v. 14a). He knows that God will cleanse him of these sins (v. 2) . He knows that God is a God of deliverance (v. 14b). However, I do not believe that David fully understood that God would become man, live among us, and then die for our sins. Even after the cross, Paul spent a great deal of time explaining what had happened on the cross to the Romans and to the Galatians.

Today, we have 2000 years of perspective. When we see what was written in the Old Testament, if we have half a brain, we marvel as to how all of this is fulfilled in the New Testament. We marvel as to how these two testaments fit together, like a glove over a hand. David had a handful of books, which he studied; and David was inspired by God the Holy Spirit, but there were limitations. However, we mistakenly attribute our understanding of Bible doctrine to David. David knew a lot of Bible doctrine; David understood more than most believers do today. However, in 6 months of daily Bible teaching, we can know more than David knew.

For more information on this topic, see 1Chron. 17 (HTML) (PDF) and, in particular, the topic, Progressive Revelation and the Messiah to Come. Also see the Doctrine of Progressive Revelation (HTML) (PDF). Progressive revelation means that, each additional truth builds upon, expands, and better explains that which was already taught. New revelation does not supercede, replace or nullify previous revelation, but builds upon that which is past and upon that which is foundational.

Paul will use this psalm as an example of God's righteousness being key to salvation, rather than our righteousness: And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness, just as David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works: "Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin." (Rom. 4:5–8). The key to Christianity is God's righteousness. We can be saved only because God is able to maintain His holiness and His perfection. All religions, apart from Christianity, are based upon self-righteousness. Christianity is based upon God's righteousness.

Note that, God is righteous, and yet David is fully and completely forgiven of his heinous sins (Psalm 51:1–2). God cannot simply forgive us our sins because He likes us. We have this bubbly, engaging personality, and God just likes us so much, that He cannot condemn us to hell. Wrong! God must maintain His righteousness, and here, David will loudly celebrate God's righteousness.

In all that God does, He cannot violate His Own essence. God is perfect justice, perfect righteousness, love, omnipotence, omniscience, omnipresence, immutability, veracity, eternal life and sovereignty. God, when dealing with mankind, cannot function outside of His Own essence. Although David may not fully understand why, he does know that God can forgive him and yet still retain His perfect righteousness.

God's righteousness is one of the many aspects of Christianity which separates Christianity from all other religions. All other religions and cults depend upon some form of self-righteousness. That is, the key to your salvation is your being good and righteous and obedient. In Christianity, our salvation is 100% dependent upon God's righteousness. Our righteousness is God's righteousness—specifically, it is Christ's righteousness. We rest in His righteousness; we depend upon His righteousness for our salvation. Because we have believed in Jesus Christ, we share His righteousness. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By a law of works? No, but by the law of faith. For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law (Rom. 3:26–28). [Jesus is speaking] "Point of doctrine: I say to you, whoever hears My word and believes Him Who sent Me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life." (John 5:24). Now Joshua was standing before the angel, clothed with filthy garments. And the angel said to those who were standing before him, "Remove the filthy garments from him." And to him he said, "Behold, I have taken your iniquity away from you, and I will clothe you with pure vestments." (Zech. 3:3–4). God our Savior saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to His Own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:5).

Psalm 51:18 reads: For You do not desire [take pleasure in, delight in] an animal sacrifice and You are not satisfied should I give a burnt offering.
The Man-ward and God-Ward Interpretation of Psalm 51:16
I believe that there are two ways to understand this. From David's standpoint, as the writer of this psalm, he does not believe that God requires him to make these animal sacrifices, and, if you will recall, the Ark of God is in Jerusalem, but the Tabernacle of God (where the sacrifices occur) is not. David, for whatever reason, was inspired to bring the Ark of God to Jerusalem, but not to bring the Tabernacle here (probably because he wanted to build a permanent structure for God). Therefore, animal sacrifices do not appear to be a part of the routine in Jerusalem.
Furthermore, most of Israel believes in Jehovah Elohim; therefore, they do not need a repetition of the gospel (which is revealed in the animal sacrifices), but they need more advanced doctrine, which will come through the teaching of God's Word.
God the Holy Spirit reveals something entirely different. David is a type of Christ, and therefore, the focus is upon him, so that the animal sacrifices and other rituals are no longer in the forefront (as they were with Saul, for instance). However, in the Millennium, when the walls of Jerusalem would be Jesus Christ, then animal sacrifices will begin again as a memorial to Him.
So, from the man-ward side, God has not called upon David to bring the Tabernacle into Jerusalem, so there is no emphasis upon animal sacrifices while David is king. He knows that in the future, when the walls of Jerusalem are rebuilt (and the permanent Temple is built—1Kings 7–8), that animal sacrifices in Jerusalem will resume—all of which will occur under Solomon (1Kings 3:1, 4 8:62–64 9:15).
From the God-ward side, there is a parallel which is set up—David represents Jesus Christ in the 1st and 2nd advents; Solomon represents Jesus Christ in the Millennium. God wants David to be front and center, rather than a set of animal sacrifices.
Furthermore, from the God-ward side, God the Holy Spirit knows that man is not saved or forgiven because of animal sacrifices. This verse is compatible with that understanding.
There are two authors of Scripture—man and God the Holy Spirit. There are times when the human author—David in this case—is saying one thing, but God the Holy Spirit is getting across a different point. These points-of-view are never antithetical, but they may or may not be complementary.
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Psalm 41:9 reads: Even a man desiring my welfare, I trusted in him, eating of my bread; this one has lifted up his heel against me.
The Man-ward and God-Ward Interpretation of Psalm 41:9
In context, Psalm 41:9 appears to be all about David being betrayed. Is it very likely that he was referring either to Absalom or to Ahithophel.
However, Jesus later quotes this psalm, but with a much different interpretation:
John 13:10–11, 18 Jesus said to him, The one having been bathed has no need other than to wash the feet, but is wholly clean. And you are clean, but not all. For He knew the one betraying Him. For this reason He said, You are not all clean. I do not speak concerning all of you; I know whom I chose out; but that the Scripture might be fulfilled, "The one eating the bread with Me lifted up his heel against Me." (Quoting Psalm 41:9)
In context, it is clear what Psalm 41:9 is all about: David writes a psalm about being betrayed (probably it is about Absalom or Ahithophel). However, Jesus takes this psalm and says that it is fulfilled by Judas. Therefore, God the Holy Spirit had Judas in mind as the Divine Author of this psalm; David had Ahithophel in mind, as the human author of this psalm.
There are two authors of Scripture—man and God the Holy Spirit. There are times when the human author—David in this case—is saying one thing, but God the Holy Spirit is getting across a different point. These points-of-view are never antithetical, but they may or may not be complementary.
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In order to understand the parallels of David's suffering, we need to separate it completely from the reasons for his suffering. Psalm 22 is about David enduring great suffering, which suffering parallels the suffering of Jesus Christ on the cross.
David's Suffering in Psalm 22 Parallels Jesus Christ on the Cross
David	Jesus Christ
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning? Psalm 22:1	And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?" that is, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" Matt. 27:46
In you our fathers trusted; they trusted, and you delivered them. To you they cried and were rescued; in you they trusted and were not put to shame. Psalm 22:4–5	"He trusts in God; let God deliver Him now, if He desires Him. For He said, 'I am the Son of God.' " Matt. 27:43
But I am a worm, and no man; A reproach of men, and despised by the people. Psalm 22:6

The worm here is one which is crushed for its blood in order to make a scarlet dye, as Jesus was crushed for our sins, His blood [i.e., His spiritual death] delivering us from our sins.	Jesus was a reproach among His Own people: Now the chief priests and the elders persuaded the multitudes to ask for Barabbas, and destroy Jesus. But the governor answered them, "Which of the two do you want me to release to you?" They said, "Barabbas!" Pilate said to them, "What then shall I do to Jesus, who is called Christ?" They all said to him, "Let him be crucified!" But the governor said, "Why? What evil has he done?" But they cried out exceedingly, saying, "Let him be crucified!" Matt. 27:20–23
All those who see me mock me. They insult me with their lips. They shake their heads, saying, "He trusts in Yahweh; Let him deliver him; Let him rescue him, since he delights in him." Psalm 22:7–8	Those who passed by blasphemed him, wagging their heads, and saying, "You who destroy the temple, and build it in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross!" Likewise the chief priests also mocking, with the scribes, the Pharisees, and the elders, said, "He saved others, but he can't save himself. If he is the King of Israel, let him come down from the cross now, and we will believe in him. He trusts in God. Let God deliver him now, if he wants him; for he said, 'I am the Son of God.'" The robbers also who were crucified with him cast on him the same reproach. Matt. 27:39–44

The people stood watching. The rulers with them also scoffed at him, saying, "He saved others. Let him save himself, if this is the Christ of God, his chosen one!" The soldiers also mocked him, coming to him and offering him vinegar, and saying, "If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!" An inscription was also written over him in letters of Greek, Latin, and Hebrew: "THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS." One of the criminals who was hanged insulted him, saying, "If you are the Christ, save yourself and us!" Luke 23:35–39
Don't be far from me, for trouble is near. For there is none to help. Psalm 22:11	Then all the disciples left him, and fled. Matt. 26:56b
Many bulls have surrounded me. Strong bulls of Bashan have encircled me. Psalm 22:12	Now when morning had come, all the chief priests and the elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death: and they bound him, and led him away, and delivered him up to Pontius Pilate, the governor. Matt. 27:1–2
They open their mouths wide against me, Lions tearing prey and roaring. Psalm 22:13	Now the chief priests, the elders, and the whole council sought false testimony against Jesus, that they might put him to death; and they found none. Even though many false witnesses came forward, they found none. But at last two false witnesses came forward, and said, "This man said, 'I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to build it in three days.'" Matt. 26:59–61
I am poured out like water. All my bones are out of joint. My heart is like wax; It is melted within me. Psalm 22:14	Then he said to them, "My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here, and watch with me." Matt. 26:38

The cross would have pulled some of our Lord's bones out of joint.
My strength is dried up like a potsherd. My tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth. You have brought me into the dust of death. Psalm 22:15	After this, Jesus, seeing that all things were now finished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, "I am thirsty." John 19:28

Jesus cried again with a loud voice, and yielded up his spirit. Matt. 27:50
For dogs have surrounded me. A company of evil-
doers have enclosed me. They pierced my hands and my feet. Psalm 22:16	Herod with his soldiers humiliated him and mocked him. Dressing him in luxurious clothing, they sent him back to Pilate. Luke 23:11

When they came to the place that is called The Skull, they crucified him there with the criminals, one on the right and the other on the left. Luke 23:33

The other disciples therefore said to him, "We have seen the Lord!" But he said to them, "Unless I see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe." After eight days again his disciples were inside, and Thomas was with them. Jesus came, the doors being locked, and stood in the midst, and said, "Peace be to you." Then he said to Thomas, "Reach here your finger, and see my hands. Reach here your hand, and put it into my side. Don't be unbelieving, but believing." Thomas answered him, "My Lord and my God!" John 20:25–28
I can count all of my bones. They look and stare at me. Psalm 22:17	When they had crucified him, they divided his clothing among them, casting lots, and they sat and watched him there. Matt. 27:35–36 As for the first half of Psalm 22:17, our Lord's bones would have become prominent when hanging from the cross.
They divide my garments among them. They cast lots for my clothing. Psalm 22:18	Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took his garments and made four parts, to every soldier a part; and also the coat. Now the coat was without seam, woven from the top throughout. Then they said to one another, "Let's not tear it, but cast lots for it to decide whose it will be," that the Scripture might be fulfilled, which says, "They parted my garments among them. For my cloak they cast lots." Therefore the soldiers did these things. John 19:23–24
The reason that we look at this is to see that David, in Psalm 22, is writing about a particularly difficult incident in his own life; however, God the Holy Spirit uses these same words to look forward to our Lord going to the cross in our stead.
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What David has in mind when he writes these words is one thing; what God the Holy Spirit has in His mind is another; however, the divine and human thinking are complementary.

Psalm 51:16 reads: For You do not desire [take pleasure in, delight in] an animal sacrifice and You are not satisfied should I give a burnt offering. We find this same sentiment expressed elsewhere: "What to Me is the multitude of your sacrifices?" says the LORD; "I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of well-fed beasts; I do not delight in the blood of bulls, or of lambs, or of goats." (Isa. 1:11). Ritual for ritual's sake means nothing to God. He is not impressed by ritual, and Israel had gotten to a point where, obedience to God's laws had gone by the wayside, but they got out there and sacrificed those animals regularly. Judaism became quite enthralled by the Sabbath day, and developed all kinds of rules and regulations for the observance of the Sabbath day. One which I recall from my Jewish history class was, if a cart drives by you and splashes mud on your garment, you cannot clean your garment. However, what you are allowed to do is, let the mud dry and, with exactly one squeeze of your hand, crumble the dried mud, and then release. That was not considered working on the Sabbath day. Obviously, the meaning of the Sabbath day is lost in all of their rules and regulations, just as the meaning of the animal sacrifices was lost even though people continued to sacrificing animals.

As an aside, it is reasonable to ask, why were animals sacrificed in the first place? To those in the Old Testament, it is my contention that they did not understand that Messiah would come and die for their sins, despite the Old Testament prophecies. They understood that faith in Jehovah was salvation, and that God could and would cover over their sins, and that was somehow related to these animal sacrifices, but there was no clear theology developed from the Old Testament wherein, they knew Messiah would come and offer Himself as our sacrifice on the cross. Now, in retrospect, we understand this perfectly; looking forward, they did not.

The purpose of Old Testament sacrifices, as is the purpose of many things in the Old Testament, was to point to Jesus Christ. It is not necessary that this be fully understood by the participants in these rituals. In fact, it is even more meaningful that they did not fully understand what they were doing. From God's viewpoint, the cross and Jesus dying for our sins, are absolutes, revealed throughout the Old and New Testaments. However, from man's viewpoint, the shadow of these things is given in the Old Testament, and made known more completely in the New. These testaments fit together like a glove over a hand. All that is found in the Old Testament makes complete sense in the New. In fact, this is so remarkable, that much of the ministry of the New Testament Apostles was to explain the Old Testament in light of what Jesus did for us.

The Old and New Testaments fit together so well, that even today, great theologians lose sight of the fact that Old Testament rituals were not fully understood by those who did them. The meaning of the Old Testament is made so clear in the New, that many theologians do not recognize that the Old Testament is filled with shadows of the New, things which were not fully apprehended in the Age of Israel.

The author of Hebrews writes:
The Shadows of Hebrews 9
Scripture	Text/Commentary
Now even the first covenant had regulations for worship and an earthly place of holiness. For a tent was prepared, the first section, in which were the lampstand and the table and the bread of the Presence. It is called the Holy Place (Heb. 9:1–2).	The first covenant is the Old Testament, and there were many regulations for worship as well as a place of holiness. God had people in the Exodus generation built the Tabernacle, and one section of this Tabernacle contained the lampstand, table and bread of His Presence.
Behind the second curtain was a second section called the Most Holy Place, having the golden altar of incense and the ark of the covenant covered on all sides with gold, in which was a golden urn holding the manna, and Aaron's staff that budded, and the tablets of the covenant. Above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat. Of these things we cannot now speak in detail. (Heb. 9:3–5).	In the Holy of Holies, there was the Ark of God, which contained the golden urn of manna, Aaron's rod that budded, and the tables of the Law. The manna represents God's provision; the rod represents regeneration and resurrection, and the Law lists the ways in which we have failed God.

The cherubim represent the Angelic Conflict and the observation of angels. The author of Hebrews was not going to explain what everything meant at that time.
These preparations having thus been made, the priests go regularly into the first section, performing their ritual duties, but into the second only the high priest goes, and he but once a year, and not without taking blood, which he offers for himself and for the unintentional sins of the people (Heb. 9:6–7).	The priests ministered daily to the people going in and out of the first section of the Tabernacle regularly. However, only the High Priest (who represents Jesus Christ) could go into the Holy of Holies, which he did once a year, sprinkling blood upon the mercy seat, which was affixed to the Ark of God.
By this the Holy Spirit indicates that the way into the holy places is not yet opened as long as the first section is still standing (which is symbolic for the present age). According to this arrangement, gifts and sacrifices are offered that cannot perfect the conscience of the worshiper, but deal only with food and drink and various washings, regulations for the body imposed until the time of reformation (Heb. 9:8–10).	All that was done in relation to the Tabernacle was representative; none of these rituals could take away sin.
But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) He entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption (Heb. 9:11–12).	Jesus Christ is our true High Priest, and He enters into the presence of God, not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His Own blood, thus securing our eternal redemption for us.
For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God (Heb. 9:13–14).	All of the animal sacrifices did not secure salvation for those who participated in these rituals. It is the blood of Christ which purifies us before God.
Therefore He is the Mediator of a new covenant [or, this New Testament], so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant [i.e., the Old Testament]. For where a will [lit., covenant, testament] is involved, the death of the one who made it must be established (Heb. 9:15–16).	A mediator is usually seen as a man equal to two parties, which acts as a go-between for two parties. Jesus Christ is fully God and true humanity, so He can bridge the gap between man and God.

However, here, He is seen as One Who establishes and/or ratifies a covenant. In order for this covenant to take effect, there must be the death of the One Who made it.
For a will [lit., covenant, testament] takes effect only at death, since it is not in force as long as the one who made it is alive. Therefore not even the first covenant [i.e., the Old Testament] was inaugurated without blood (Heb. 9:17–18).	For a will to take effect, there must be the death of the One Who made it.

The Old Testament was initiated with blood. Everywhere you turn in the Old Testament, there is blood.
For when every commandment of the law had been declared by Moses to all the people, he took the blood of calves and goats, with water and scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people, saying, "This is the blood of the covenant that God commanded for you." (Heb. 9:19–20; Ex. 24:8).	Moses sprinkled the Law with blood, so that, from the very beginning, the Law of God was to be associated with blood.
And in the same way he sprinkled with the blood both the tent and all the vessels used in worship. Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins (Heb. 9:21–22).	Everything used in the worship of the Jews was purified with blood. Without the shedding of blood, there was no forgiveness for sin; there was no release from the bondage of sin.
Accordingly, it was necessary for the representations of the heavenly things to be purified with these rites, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf (Heb. 9:23–24).	All of these things in the Old Testament were representations or imitations of the truth. Jesus Christ does not enter into the Holy of Holies, a room made with hands, but He enters into heaven itself and He stands before God on our behalf.
Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own, for then He would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, He has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself (Heb. 9:25–26).	The high priest went into the Holy of Holies year by year to sprinkle the blood of an animal onto the Mercy Seat, but Jesus Christ would suffer once for all mankind, being the sacrifice.
And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for Him (Heb. 9:27–28).	Just as we all die once and then the judgment, Jesus Christ died one time, bearing the sins of many; and when He appears again, it will be to deliver those who wait on Him.
Let me remind you how we got there: Psalm 51:16 reads: For You do not desire [take pleasure in, delight in] an animal sacrifice and You are not satisfied should I give a burnt offering. This required us to figure out two things: what did David mean here and what did God the Holy Spirit mean here.
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This is a marvelous verse, so let's take one more look at it.
Psalm 51:16 Summarized
1.	This verse reads: For You do not desire [take pleasure in, delight in] an animal sacrifice and You are not satisfied should I give a burnt offering.

2.	David is speaking to God.

3.	David knows the heinous nature of the sins which he has committed.

4.	David also knows that he has been completely and totally cleansed from these sins. Psalm 51:1–2

5.	David recognizes that God does not actually take pleasure in or desire a blood sacrifice. Nor is God pleased with a burnt offering. David is recognizing that these are symbols; the sacrifice of an animal is a ritual; and that there has to be more than just this ritual to blot out his sin.

6.	However, David may not understand just exactly what more is required to blot out his sin.

7.	On the other hand, God does not despise a broken and crushed heart (Psalm 51:17).

8.	However, this will not be the end of burnt offerings (Psalm 51:18–19).

9.	What does God desire? David tells us in v. 6: You desire [and take pleasure in] truth in the inner being; and You make me know wisdom in [my] hidden [being]. God desires doctrine in the inner being of the believer.

10.	This is as far as David can take us. He recognizes that he has committed horrible sins, and that animal sacrifices do not seem to be enough; and that, he needs to fully understand the depth of and effects of his sin. However, he cannot take us any further than this.

11.	The writer of Hebrews pulls all of this together for us, explaining what the Holy Spirit was saying.

12.	God does not take pleasure in an animal sacrifice, because this slaughter of an animal is not truly efficacious for our sins. We cannot just sin and then slaughter and animal and call it even.

13.	God requires the sacrifice of His Son. Jesus Christ must go to the cross and pay for the sins which we have committed. For, without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sins (Heb. 9:22).

14.	It takes the New Testament to explain all that is in the Old. One can look at the Old Testament from the New Testament perspective and what we find makes a great deal of sense.

15.	God the Holy Spirit has a perfect knowledge of all events, past, present and future; so that His complete knowledge of all things is apparent throughout the Old Testament.

16.	Because we have the privilege of living in the Church Age, having the complete Old and New Testaments, we can understand all that God has for us in both testaments—including verses like this, for which David, the human author, only had a partial understanding. For You do not desire [take pleasure in, delight in] an animal sacrifice and You are not satisfied should I give a burnt offering.

17.	David understood that these animal sacrifices were not enough. We understand that it is the efficacious sacrifice of God the Son which saves us and allows us to be restored to fellowship with Him.

18.	The writer of Hebrews sums all of this up in Heb. 10:1–14 For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near. Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, since the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have any consciousness of sins? But in these sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. Consequently, when Christ came into the world, He said, "Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body have You prepared for Me; in burnt offerings and sin offerings You have taken no pleasure. Then I said, 'Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God, as it is written of Me in the scroll of the book.'" When He said above, "You have neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings" (these are offered according to the law), then He added, "Behold, I have come to do Your will." He does away with the first in order to establish the second. And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, He sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time until His enemies should be made a footstool for His feet. For by a single offering He has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.

19.	So, David knew that these animal sacrifices were not quite enough. God the Holy Spirit knew that Jesus Christ would die for our sins. David the human author tells us what he knows in Psalm 51:16; and, simultaneously, God the Holy Spirit tells us what He knows in this passage, which we understand now, in the Church Age, when our Lord's sacrifice is an historical incident in human history.

20.	For You do not desire [take pleasure in, delight in] an animal sacrifice and You are not satisfied should I give a burnt offering. Such is the brilliance of God, to simultaneously communicate incomplete knowledge and complete knowledge with the same words.
So, David knew that there had to be more involved in his forgiveness than simply offering up another animal sacrifice. The Holy Spirit understands this, and allows for these words to be written, because they look ahead to the only true efficacious sacrifice, that of our Lord Jesus Christ.
See the entire exegesis of Psalm 51 (HTML) (PDF) (WPD).
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If you still do not buy into the idea that, the human author understands one thing, which is because he is limited in his spiritual understanding; but that these same words can be used by God to mean more than what the speaker understands, then let's go back to the original sin. God sacrificed an animal before Adam and the woman and covered their nakedness with the skin of this animal. They had never seen an animal killed before; they probably had never seen blood before. Then God looked at the serpent and said, "I will put hostility between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel." (Gen. 3:15). Now, do you think that Adam or the woman understand all that was going on? Did they understand the symbolic nature of the animal sacrifice and the covering of their nakedness with the animal's skin? Did they understand the animosity that would exist between the woman's seed and Satan's seed? Did they understand that Jesus Christ would crush the head of Satan (metaphorically speaking)? Did they understand that Jesus would be infected with the venom of sin? Of course not! But the writer of this chapter of Genesis (or the one who conveyed it verbally, which would have been Adam), recognized that this must all be remembered, even though he did not know what it all meant.

Now let's see this from the perspective of God the Holy Spirit. For You do not desire [take pleasure in, delight in] an animal sacrifice and You are not satisfied should I give a burnt offering. A broken spirit [rather than] slaughtered animals of Elohim; You do not despise, O Elohim, a broken and crushed heart (Psalm 51:16–17). Whose broken spirit is in view here? Whose broken and crush heart is in view? That of Jesus Christ. What does God want, rather than an animal sacrifice or a burnt offering? When Jesus died for our sins on the cross, this passage describes, to some degree, the judgment laid upon Him. His spirit was broken; His heart was broken and crushed. The very people He was dying for—the very people whose sins would be forgiven because He is on the cross—these same people put Him on the cross through evil and duplicity. This is God's absolute requirement. There is no redemption of sin apart from His sacrifice.

We have a very similar situation where God the Holy Spirit takes the words of an unbeliever, who means one thing with his words, and which the Holy Spirit uses in a completely different way.
The ESV; capitalized is used below.
The Testimony of Caiaphas, the High Priest
Jesus has caused Lazarus to rise from the dead, and this was an incredible miracle which astonished all those in attendance of his funeral/memorial service.
John 11:45–46 Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what He did, believed in Him, but some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done.
People who saw our Lord raise Lazarus from the dead believed in Him. However, there were some who saw this and decided that they needed to tell the pharisees about it.
John 11:47–48 So the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered the council and said, "What are we to do? For this Man performs many signs. If we let Him go on like this, everyone will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation."
The pharisees held a meeting, gathering the council (this would have been the Sanhedrin—and remember, the pharisees did not get along that well with the Sadducees). These are the religious leaders of the day, and they recognize that Jesus is performing many signs and miracles. They do not dispute that things which Jesus is doing; they do not claim that Jesus is bamboozling people into thinking that He does these things.
Their primary worry is, the people who continue to believe in Jesus, and that the Romans will descend upon their land and take away their power and their nation, because the people are not under the control of the Sanhedrin (which is what gave them their power and their quasi-autonomy in the first place).
John 11:49–50 But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, "You know nothing at all. Nor do you understand that it is better for you that one Man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish."
The High Priest, who should have understood what was occurring and that Jesus is the Messiah in whom they should believe, provides the plan that will solve the Jesus problem: they will kill Jesus, and that He would die on behalf of the people.
What Caiaphas meant was, if they kill Jesus, then people will no longer believe in Him, and that the Romans would not invade nation Israel and put the people under Roman rule.
God the Holy Spirit, speaking through the High Priest, says: "...it is better for you that one Man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish." This is why Jesus is God become flesh in this world (John 1:1–3, 14). He came to die for the sins of all the people and to preserve nation Israel.
There are two plans here: the evil plan of Caiaphas to kill this Jesus Who troubled them; and the plan of God for His Son to die for the sins of the world. God the Holy Spirit used the words of Caiaphas to convey this latter meaning to us.
John 11:51–52 He did not say this of his own accord, but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, and not for the nation only, but also to gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad.
God the Holy Spirit somehow allowed Caiaphas to say what he said, and yet for these words to mean exactly what God reveals to us: Jesus would die for nation Israel, and for all the children of God who are scattered abroad. This is God's plan; this is why God became man and walked among us.
John 11:53 So from that day on they made plans to put him to death.
So, the words of Caiaphas mean one thing to those who are unbelievers under his influence; and yet, his words mean something very different to us as believers, as the words of the High Priest.
This is yet another example where man says one thing and it means one thing to some people; but that God the Holy Spirit takes these same words and gives them an often completely different meaning. Caiaphas tells the men in this meeting that it is time for them to plot the death of Jesus in order to preserve them and their power; and God the Holy Spirit uses these same words to inform us that Jesus will die for our sins.
This is an example of dual authorship in the New Testament.
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Addendum

Additional examples:

The text found is a simple narrative about the birth of Jacob and Rachel's last son, and the death of Rachel.

Gen 35:16–20 Then they journeyed from Bethel. When they were still some distance from Ephrath, Rachel went into labor, and she had hard labor. And when her labor was at its hardest, the midwife said to her, "Do not fear, for you have another son." And as her soul was departing (for she was dying), she called his name Ben-oni; but his father called him Benjamin. So Rachel died, and she was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem), and Jacob set up a pillar over her tomb. It is the pillar of Rachel's tomb, which is there to this day.

From the view of Jacob (or Joseph; whichever man wrote this narrative), he is simply relating to us the facts of the birth of his last son, and the death of his wife Rachel. However, there are a number of parallels here between the circumstances of Benjamin's birth and the work of our Lord.

Do you see how this son is a type of Christ?
Benjamin is a Type of Christ
The Historical Narrative	Jesus Christ and His Death
Rachel suffers hard labor and dies.	Jesus Christ faces excruciating pain and suffering, and then pays for our sins on the cross, after which He dies.
Benjamin is named a son of my sorrow.	Jesus Christ is the Suffering Servant in Isa. 53.
Benjamin is named the son of my right hand, the son of my strength (power).	Jesus Christ is the Son on God's right hand (Hereafter shall the Son of man sit on the right hand of the power of God. —Luke 22:69; KJV).
The mother names Benjamin. The name given emphasizes his weakness.	Mary is the mother of Jesus's humanity.
The father names Benjamin; the name emphasizes his strength.	Jesus Christ is the Son of God.
Rachel says that she will die if she does not bear another son to Jacob.	We would be lost (suffer death and separation from God), without Jesus Christ.
Rachel dies, that her son might live.	Jesus Christ must die that we will live.
Jacob will erect a pillar over her grave, which pillar is still there at the time of the final writing of this chapter.	A pillar is a memorial to one's death. Our pillar in the Church Age is the Eucharist, where we remember our Lord in the eating of the bread and drinking of the cup.
Obviously, from the human point-of-view, Benjamin must be included, as he is the 12th son of Jacob. However, he is included by God the Holy Spirit as a type.
A related topic here is Typology (HTML) (PDF) (WPD).
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One of the fascinating examples of dual authorship is found in Proverbs 8 (HTML) (PDF) (WPD). After reading through many commentaries, some identify the subject of this chapter as wisdom or as Ms. Wisdom; with some4 going into great detail on this approach. However, the verbiage is so much like the Living Word, the Lord Jesus Christ, that other commentators5 are certain that the latter section of Proverbs 8 must refer to the Lord Jesus Christ. However, both interpretations are valid. David clearly, in writing Prov. 8, refers to wisdom as the subject (vv. 1–3). However, the personalization of wisdom goes much further than a reference to intelligence used to design the universe. Prov. 8:22–31 "The LORD possessed me at the beginning of His work, the first of His acts of old. Ages ago I was set up, at the first, before the beginning of the earth. When there were no depths I was brought forth, when there were no springs abounding with water. Before the mountains had been shaped, before the hills, I was brought forth, before He had made the earth with its fields, or the first of the dust of the world. When He established the heavens, I was there; when he drew a circle on the face of the deep, when He made firm the skies above, when He established the fountains of the deep, when He assigned to the sea its limit, so that the waters might not transgress His command, when He marked out the foundations of the earth, then I was beside Him, like a master workman, and I was daily His delight, rejoicing before Him always, rejoicing in His inhabited world and delighting in the children of man." (ESV; capitalized)

Two Approaches to Psalm 91:9–12

I have simply taken my mostly literal translation and made some minor modifications. In the first translation, I have understood this to apply mostly to the maturing believer (which is in keeping with the overall context of the psalm). In the second translation, I have understood this to apply to the Lord as the Revealed Member of the Trinity.
Two Approaches to Psalm 91:9–12
First Translation	Second Translation	Commentary
For You, Yehowah [are] my refuge; Most High, You have made [or, appointed] Your habitation [here, on earth, to protect Your people];...	For You, Yehowah [are] my refuge; Most High, You have made [or, appointed] Your habitation [here, on earth]...	In both cases, David, the human author, is addressing God, calling Him his refuge. In the first translation, God is making His habitation on earth to protect His people; in the second, Yehowah, the Revealed God, is literally making His habitation here on earth (in both cases, I am going slightly beyond the text with this interpretation).
...[because of this,] evil will not befall you [the maturing believer] and the [effects of a] plague will not come near to your tent;...	...evil will not befall You and the [effects of a] plague will not come near to Your tent;...	1st interpretation: Much of this psalm is addressed to the maturing believer, and this theme of divine protection is continued.

2nd interpretation: the protection of God the Son by God the Father is specifically referenced.
...for He commissions His angels for you, to protect you in all of your activities.	...for He commissions His angels for You, to guard You in all of Your ways.	1st: David speaks of the guardian angels which God has commissioned to protect us. 2nd: God provides these same angels for His Son.
They will lift you up with [their] hands so that your foot does not [even] strike against a stone.	They will lift You up with [their] hands so that Your foot does not [even] strike against a stone.	1st: David speaks of the carefulness and consistency of the guardian angels regarding the maturing believer. 2nd: God provides the same for His Son.
This first translation is David's understanding of what he is writing.	This second translation is God the Holy Spirit revealing to us the relationship between God the Father and God the Son.
You will note that the differences in these translations are primarily a change in capitalization of some of the pronouns; and some explanatory text is added here or there to help explain the interpretation. In one place I have the word protect; and in the other guard.
My hope here is, you can read through each translation, read the explanation, and think, that makes perfect sense; I get it. What we have here is another case of a parallel track of the human author and the Divine Author. Each person/Person uses the exact same words to express a set of ideas and doctrines which may be closely related; but they are clearly different in many respects.
For the complete exegesis and a more thorough approach, see Psalm 91 (HTML) (PDF) (WPD).
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Right now, this doctrine is not abbreviated much from the original doctrine found herein.
An area of difficulty for New Testament pastors is, how do we explain Gen. 22, Psalm 22 or Isa. 53. Did the writers of these passages fully understand Jesus Christ, that He would come and die for our sins? From our standpoint, post-crucifixion, post-resurrection, this has been the popular explanation. To us, nearly 3000 years after the fact, Isaiah 53 could be talking about nothing other than Jesus Christ going to the cross and dying for our sins. But is that what Isaiah understood? Did he really look through the windows of the future, see Jesus on the cross, and write about it circa 700 b.c.?
Let me propose to you a different interpretation—Isaiah understood one thing, and wrote about that; God the Holy Spirit understood something other than that, and conveyed this other information using the exact same words as the human author Isaiah. Where this is often most apparent is in the psalms. David, in Psalm 51:16, wrote: You [God] do not want a sacrifice, or I would give it; You are not pleased with a burnt offering. Was David here telling us that God was not interested in an animal sacrifice because Jesus would die on the cross? I don't think so. David both understood that God must forgive him totally and completely for his heinous sins (Psalm 51:1–2, 9) and he understood that God did not forgive David on the basis of animal sacrifices. God the Holy Spirit, 1000 years before Christ, knows that God will forgive us because Jesus Christ will go to the cross and die for our sins. So, we have the exact same set of words used to convey two related but different concepts. From David's point of view, he knew that God would not forgive him and cleanse him simply based upon offering up a burnt offering; and from the point of view of the Holy Spirit, God would forgive us based upon the spiritual death of Jesus Christ on the cross. The same words gives us two ways of understanding this verse—we can see it from David's point of view or from God's.
This will be difficult for many New Testament pastors. We know what happened. The cross is an historical event to us. The theology has been very nearly fully developed. We understand that our salvation is based completely and totally upon our Lord's sacrifice on our behalf on the cross. We know that God the Father poured out our sins on God the Son and judged those sins; and, therefore, we are both forgiven and cleansed. However, revelation is progressive;6 so what we know now is not what David knew then. So, for a complete and total understanding of Psalm 51 (along with many other passages of Scripture), we must be able to place ourselves in David's sandals and see life as he did and understand that there were limitations on him when it came to understanding Bible doctrine and the Lord to come.
The Pulpit Commentary speaks to the interpretation of Prov. 8 On the one hand, Prov. 8 is clearly about wisdom; but, on the other, it seems so clear that the author is speaking of Jesus Christ: If we confine our inquiry to the question What was in the mind of the author when he incited this wonderful section concerning Wisdom? we shall fail to apprehend its true significance, and shall be disowning the influence of the Holy Spirit, which inspires all Scripture, which prompted the holy men who spake to utter words of which they knew not the full spiritual significance, and which could only be understood by subsequent revelation. There is, then, nothing forced or incongruous in seeing in this episode a portraiture of the Second Person of the blessed Trinity, the essential Wisdom of God personified, the Logos of later books, and of the gospel. This interpretation obtained universally in the Church in the earliest times, and has commended itself to the most learned and reverent of modern commentators.7
There are 2 authors for any passage of Scripture: the human author and the Divine Author, God the Holy Spirit. For this reason, it is not a great leap to reason that, there are times when the human author has one thing in mind when he writes, but God the Holy Spirit has something entirely different in mind.
The Abbreviated Doctrine of the Dual Authorship of Scripture
1.	The Bible is clearly a book written by man. These authors often affixed their names to what they wrote: Prov. 1:1 2Trim. 1:1–2 Rev. 1:1–2

1)	There are times when we are fairly certain of the authorship of this or that person, e.g., Luke for the book of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles or Moses for the books of Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers. However, in those books, we do not find a phrase like, "I, Luke, wrote this history of Jesus Christ."

2)	There are some books whose authorship is unknown, like the book of Hebrews or the book of Ruth. However, we have accepted these books as canonical.

(1)	As an aside, I suspect that the book of Hebrews was written by a gentile, and therefore, his name was not affixed to the book; and that the bulk of Ruth was written by Ruth (apart from the genealogy at the end) and her name was not given because, men had a difficult time with female authorship.

(2)	This is just a theory. It could have been written by someone who had no known authority at that time.

2.	The other author of Holy Writ is the Holy Spirit. The prophets did not think these things up on their own, but they were guided by the Spirit of God (2Peter 1:21; Contemporary English Version). It was never man's impulse, after all, that gave us prophecy; men gave it utterance, but they were men whom God had sanctified, carried away, as they spoke, by the Holy Spirit (2Peter 1:21; Knox NT). No prophecy ever originated from humans. Instead, it was given by the Holy Spirit as humans spoke under God's direction (2Peter 1:21; God's Word).

3.	R. B. Thieme, Jr.'s definition of inspiration: (he relied heavily upon Chafer for this): The human writers of Scripture so wrote that without waiving their human intelligence, their vocabulary, their personal feelings, their literary style, their personality or individuality, God's complete message to man was permanently recorded with perfect accuracy in the original languages of Scripture.

4.	When an author writes something, he often has a purpose for writing. This may not be some high and lofty purpose—it may be for money or for propaganda—but he has a reason for writing what he does.

1)	In Gen. 22, where Abraham nearly offers up his son Isaac as a human sacrifice to God, this incident is recorded either by Abraham (or by Isaac), and they were simply presenting the historical event of Abraham's obedience to God in offering up his uniquely-born son to God.

2)	However, God the Holy Spirit writes this passage with the intention of teaching the gospel and providing a shadow image of Jesus dying on the cross for our sins.

3)	There is absolutely no reason to think that Abraham was able to look down the corridors of time and say, "This is all about the Messiah to come, Who will die for our sins." Regarding Abraham and the faithful in the Age of Israel, this was all about obedience.

5.	Typology is something well-known to most theologians today. We have a person or a set of circumstances in the Old Testament, and they look forward to our Lord Jesus Christ or to His death on the cross on our behalf. Some examples include:

1)	When Abraham offered up the son he loved to God, this was seen by him as an act of obedience; however, the offering of his son parallels the offering by God the Father of God the Son on our behalf.

2)	The world being created perfectly, becoming trashed out, and then being restored is a picture of God saving us. God created man without sin; man sinned; and God redeems (and restores) us.

3)	See the Doctrine of Typology (HTML) (PDF) (WPD) for more examples and a more thorough explanation.

6.	Logically, it follows that, if God can orchestrate some set of events or the actions of a person (or several people) so that they reveal a truth unknown to the participants involved in those events, then surely God is able to use the words of the various prophets to look far ahead into the future.

7.	The dual authorship of Scripture simply means, a human author has one thing in mind when he records this or that chapter in the Bible; but the Divine Author, God the Holy Spirit, uses those very words to communicate something else.

8.	Therefore, when we study Scripture—particularly the Old Testament—we must be mindful that, the human author is often saying one thing, whereas the Divine Author is teaching us something else.

9.	As a result, human authors, like David, could write Psalm 22, about a very difficult and painful period in his life, and yet not realize that, this foreshadowed His Savior on the cross.

10.	Related to this is the idea that, David here can demand God's forgiveness and a complete washing away of his sins, yet not fully understand the basis for God's ability for forgive him.

11.	These are doctrines which are built up and progressively revealed throughout the Bible. Progressive revelation builds truth upon truth; each additional truth builds upon, expands, and better explains that which was already taught. New revelation does not supercede, replace or nullify previous revelation, but is founded upon that which is past and upon that which is foundational.

12.	This is one reason that dual authorship is so important. Abraham and David, in Gen. 22 and in Psalm 22, respectively, did not fully realize what it was that they were teaching. They were recording events in their own lives. God the Holy Spirit, Who knows the end from the beginning, understood the big picture, and uses these passages to reveal to us our Lord on the cross.

13.	Therefore, not every believer in the Old Testament understood soteriology in its entirety. What they did not know or understand, God the Holy Spirit was still able to reveal.

14.	From our perch in time, we get the big picture; there is no reason to think that the authors of Scripture always understood the big picture.

15.	Interestingly enough, this information is revealed so well in Gen. 22, Psalm 22 and Isa. 53, that few theologians look at these passages critically and realize that the authors of these passages did not understand fully and completely what they were saying—they understood one aspect of their writing (for instance, Abraham fully understood the historical circumstances which took place in Gen. 22 and he recorded them accurately)—but they did not realize, necessarily, that they were writing about the Savior Who would die for their sins.

16.	God the Holy Spirit understands the historical incidents and the spiritual information of all of these passages.

17.	Therefore, we, as Church Age believers, can read from these 3 chapters and have a greater understanding of what these chapters mean because we are guided by the Divine Author, God the Holy Spirit (and, ideally speaking, we are guided by a pastor who has studied and is able to properly teach these passages).

18.	Progressive revelation is quite persuasive in this way: those who lay the foundation for these doctrines which we learn did not fully understand those doctrines. The examples I gave—the writers of Gen. 22, Psalm 22 and Isa. 53 did not fully understand all that they were writing. They did not have a complete Christology in their thinking as they wrote those words. Yet, what they wrote was so completely and thoroughly integrated with Christology that, we have a greater understanding of what occurred while Jesus was on the cross from these 3 chapters than we have in the New Testament.

19.	Progressive revelation tells us that, even though those authors may not have fully understood what their words mean to us today; their words are not contradicted by Jesus of Nazareth, or by His life and death for our sins. Those words and their original intent form a foundation for a unified whole.

20.	Now, how is it that someone living 700 years before the cross, writes about the cross? How is it that someone living 1000 years before the cross writes about the cross? How is it that someone living 2000 years before our Lord, writes about the cross? How is this even possible? God the Holy Spirit, Who inspired and guided these writers. What is even more amazing is, how do these men write about the cross of our Lord and they themselves do not fully understand it?

21.	Let me give you an analogy. How is it possible for one crew of workers to come in and lay a foundation for a house and then for a completely different set or workers—who do not know the first set of workers—to come in, a few days later, and build a house upon that foundation? They have to all be working from the same set of plans. If they have the exact same set of plans, then this is easy. Any crew can do it. They don't ever have to meet or know one another. One crew of 5 can be followed by another crew of 10, so that there is no overlap, no common foreman, and yet, the house which is built perfectly matches the foundation. That is what we have in the Bible. The unifying factor in building a house is, of course, the house plans. The various contractors must have a copy of the house plans and they work based upon those plans. In the writing of the Bible, the unifying factor is God the Father, who planned this all out, and God the Holy Spirit who guided the writers of Scripture. According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it (1Cor. 3:10).

22.	Let me continue with this analogy. Those workmen who lay the foundation for the house do not need to know what the house actually looks like. Their concern is the foundation and seeing to it that whatever wiring and plumbing that is needed is laid in the foundation. If you have an island kitchen then, very likely, you have electricity built into that island kitchen, which wiring comes up through the foundation. This had to be placed there by those who laid the foundation.

23.	A foundation crew might lay a dozen foundations over a week's time. They would be unable to determine, without looking at the rest of the plans, just how the final product will look. They don't know if the style of the house will be Victorian or Old English or Contemporary. 12 months later, they might drive down the street where they laid out a foundation, and not even be able to pick out the house that they laid the foundation for.

24.	So this is with David, who wrote this Psalm 51. He knows that he can demand that God thoroughly cleanse him. He knows that God is abundant in mercy and graciousness. However, David does not fully understand why God is able to do this. David can reasonably understand the essence of God, that He is righteous, just, eternal, gracious, truth and love. However, exactly how all of these attributes interrelate and interact with respect to the sins that David has committed—David doesn't know all of that.

25.	At salvation, you had a lot of ideas about God, most of which were probably wrong. However, in time, you learned Who God is and why He is able to forgive you. You are able to see what the finished house looks like. David just laid the foundation. He knew some of the basic information about God, but he did not knew enough to put it altogether.

26.	The unifying factor in all of this is God the Holy Spirit, Who is just as much an Author of this psalm as is David. The Holy Spirit has these plans from God the Father, so the Holy Spirit is able to properly guide those who laid the foundation for our faith. Therefore, you [gentiles] are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In Him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit (Eph. 2:19–22).
See the entire Doctrine of The Dual Authorship of Scripture (HTML) (PDF) (WPD).
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Sometimes the terms in the exegesis of this chapter are simply alluded to, without any in-depth explanation of them. Sometimes, these terms are explained in detail and illustrated. A collection of all these terms is found here: (HTML) (PDF) (WPD). Often, the terms below are linked to complete doctrines.
Definition of Terms
and of Jesus	When Jesus first came to walk on this earth, that was the 1st Advent. When He returns to destroy the nations who are about to invade Israel, that will be the 2nd Advent. David and the two advents of Jesus Christ (HTML) (PDF) (WPD). (Stan Murrell)
This is the period of time in history where God works through believers in nation Israel. God also worked through the Abraham and those descended from him until nation Israel was established. See the Three Dispensations: The Age of Israel, the Age of the Hypostatic Union and the Church Age (HTML) (PDF) (WPD).
Before man was created, God had created angels, and some of these angels sinned against God. This conflict, which we cannot see, is a conflict that we are a part of, and our spiritual lives in particular are directly to the Angelic Conflict. See the Angelic Conflict (HTML) (PDF) (WPD).
The Ark of God (also called the Ark of Testimony, Ark of the Covenant) was a box which was made of acacia wood overlaid with gold; and it was placed in the Holy of Holies of the Tabernacle and then in the Temple. This is perhaps the most important religious symbol in the Old Testament, representing the humanity and the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ. The tables of the Law, Aaron's rod that budded, and a pot of manna were placed. The Ark of God (HTML) (PDF) (WPD).
The 1st and 2nd advents of Jesus Christ was taught as one whole event in the Bible. However, intercalated (or, inserted) between these two events is the Church Age. See the Doctrine of Intercalation (HTML) (PDF) (WPD).
Progressive revelation simply means that God reveals Himself progressively. As we read about God and His decree in the Bible, it is not revealed to us all at once. Although we find suggestions of the Trinity in Gen. 1, it is not until the New Testament that the concept of the Trinity is revealed well enough to more fully comprehend it. God's grace and judgment, and what He would do about sin, is first mentioned in Gen. 3; further elaborated on when God asked Abraham to sacrifice his firstborn (by Sarah); and fulfilled by the incarnation of Jesus Christ. See the Doctrine of Progressive Revelation (HTML) (PDF) (WPD)
Soteriology is the study of salvation provided for man by the Lord Jesus Christ. Salvation (HTML) (PDF) (WPD). (Salvation from Grace Fellowship Church) (Salvation from Maranatha Church)
The Tabernacle was the original place of worship designed by God. It was constructed in the desert wilderness where the Jews lives before entering the Land of Promise; and it was the focal point of their worship up to the monarchy. The design of the Tabernacle, the furniture, and the way its furniture was arranged, all spoke of the first advent of Jesus Christ and His death on the cross. For instance, the Ark of God was made of wood overlain with gold, speaking of the Lord's Deity and humanity. The Tabernacle represented the 1st Advent of the Lord, as it was moveable. The Temple (a permanent structure) represented the Lord in the Millennium as the King of Israel. See the Ark of God (HTML) (PDF) (WPD); and the Model of the Tabernacle (which represents Jesus Christ and the cross) (HTML) (PDF) (WPD); the Tabernacle (Redeeming Grace); Jesus—the Golden Lampstand (Grace Bible Church).
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A type is a person, a thing or an act which looks forward to Jesus or to Jesus on the cross. For instance, Isaac's birth was the type; our Lord's birth was the antitype, which was the fulfillment of the type. Typical is the adjective; and typology is the study of type. See Typology (HTML) (PDF) (WPD).

Bibliography
Although this doctrine is original, I stand upon the shoulders of many theologians; in particular, R. B. Thieme, Jr., whose ministry I was under for approximately 25 years (and I continue to listen to his sermons even today).

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