Pr Ko Lingkang

Testimony of my Studies at PRTS (Aug 2016-Dec 2017)

All praise and glory to God for granting me the opportunity that I had to spend three semesters to study at Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary in Grand Rapids, Michigan. It has been a great privilege, that was only made possible by the kind provision extended by the BOE to grant me the leave of absence, as well as the generous financial support for our tuition and living expenses. As a family, we will ever be grateful to the help that the church has given to us, and will endeavour to serve the Lord here to the best of our abilities, as the Lord enables.

It has been a valuable learning journey for my family and me. Here is a testimony of some of the experiences and lessons that I have learned in my time there, both inside and outside the classroom.

Academic

At PRTS, I enrolled in the Masters of Theology (Th.M) program. This is a second masters degree (having completed my M.Div at FEBC). The purpose of a ThM degree is to expand and deepen a student’s abilities in ministry and knowledge in a major field of theological learning. The area of focus that I took up was in what is called “Reformation and Post-Reformation Theology” – basically a focus on history, and was on the classes only (no thesis) track. The requirements of this degree were that I had to fulfil a total of 30 credits (3 credits per course for a total of 10 courses), with 7 out of 10 of them relating to church history or historical theology.

In general, I would say that my experience at PRTS has been very useful and helpful in broadening my understanding of the doctrines and history of the Reformed Faith. It was with a certain apprehension that I entered this course of study, as I must admit that my knowledge of church history was rather inadequate. Aside from the classes on church history that I had taken many years ago at FEBC and the few biographies that I had read, I had little in-depth knowledge of the chronologies, events and characters in the history of the church. Yet it was precisely this lack in my knowledge that led me to pursuit this course of study. I am very thankful that the Lord has led me to undergo these three semesters of training. On one hand it has strengthened my knowledge and understanding of the history of the church – not just of events and people, but also of certain doctrinal developments and theological controversies of the past. At the same time, my studies have also revealed to me how much I don’t know about so many things, that there is certainly a need for me to read more widely and broadly, both for personal edification and to increase my knowledge in history, theology, and ultimately in the knowledge of God and His Word.

I thank God for the faculty and staff of the seminary who are fully dedicated to aiding the students in their preparation for the ministry. The set up of the seminary is not too dissimilar from what I was familiar with at FEBC, with a small, close-knit student body made up of many nationalities. The faculty are down-to-earth, approachable individuals who truly do care for the well-being of the students. The lectures were engaging, informative, and most importantly, centred on Christ and His Word. Here are some descriptions of the more memorable courses that I took and the lessons that I learnt from them:

• North American Church History – A useful overview of the past 400 years of church history in North America. Of special interest to me (which is also what I wrote my paper on) was the American Presbyterian heritage from which the BP Church stems from, and also of the controversies within the Presbyterian Church of the United States of America (PCUSA) and subsequently the Orthodox Presbyterian Church (OPC) leading up to the splits that resulted in the BPs in America.

• Reformed Covenant Theology – Enjoyed and learnt much from this class as the subject of covenant theology was taught from a biblical, historical and systematic approach. Was able to delve deeply into some of the issues surrounding this doctrine, and what the orthodox, Reformed view is concerning it. Through such an in-depth study, my understanding of the intricacies of covenant theology was strengthened. I also gained a better understanding of our BP distinctive that sees a future fulfilment of God’s covenants to Israel, both with regards to their redemption and their return to the land of promise. Although this is not the typical position taken by modern Reformed theologians today, yet it is one that is entirely compatible with a covenantal understanding of Scripture and God’s faithfulness in fulfilling His promises.

• Christology in Reformed Orthodoxy – Like the course on Reformed Covenant theology, explored the topic of Christology from a more historical and Biblical approach. Addressed major topics within Christology, such as the natures and wills of Christ, the passive and active obedience, and other more specific topics like the aseity of Christ and the kenosis theory. Looked at these topics with a historical slant, in exploring various debates and controversies in the past, and how these doctrines were further delineated because of various debates in history. Such a study helped to deepen my grasp of these topics, and the importance of defending the doctrines of Christ in light of heretical views that arose in the past.

• Revival in the Reformed Tradition – This course looked at the history of revivals in both UK and the US, focusing on the Great Awakening of the 18th century. Was an inspiring look at God’s work amongst His people in the past, and also made me more conscious and aware of how God continues to work in our present as well. Was led to reflect on our own BP history in Singapore, especially in the accounts in Rev Timothy Tow’s writings of the early years of the BP movement, and how God worked to raise up many churches and save souls. As I studied about what have been classified as periods of revivals in the past in UK and US, I realized that we too have stories of revival in our own church’s history, that statistics and testimonies of church growth in the early years of the BP movement in Singapore can also be a very encouraging and inspiring account of the Spirit’s work.

• World of the Bible – This was a subject that was entirely new to me, and one that I found intriguing. It explored the history and cultures of various Ancient Near East civilizations, especially as they related to Biblical events from the flood to the inter-testamental period. We considered some of the seemingly parallel creation and flood accounts in documents such as the Enuma Elish and the Gilgamesh Epic. Liberals would use these documents to critique the biblical account and show how they are myths like that which is found in other early civilizations. However, if we take the presupposition that the Bible is entirely true in all regards, these non-biblical accounts can be easily explained as being perversions from the true historical events that the Bible recounts, rather than the Bible copying from these other myths. I appreciated the emphasis made that the Bible alone must be the authority when examining archaeological and historical evidences. Whenever evidences seem contrary to the Bible, the biblical history must always be accepted as the true account.

• History and Preservation of the Biblical Text – Although the purpose of the course was to affirm the doctrine of preservation and argue for the use of the King James Version, it was a course taught from a Majority Text perspective and therefore problematic in various regards. Lecturer taught that although he sees a Masoretic Text and Textus Receptus priority, yet there can be a measured application of textual criticism. He noted about a 2% difference between the TR and the Majority Text, and asserted that preservation is seen in the majority of the manuscripts, and not only in the TR or words underlying the KJV. He also emphasized that the various views concerning the location of God’s preserved words (whether in the Majority Text, TR or even critical text) are but theories and should not be asserted dogmatically, and neither should they be grounds for separation – a view that can lead to dangerous compromise. I observed inconsistencies in the lecturer’s Majority Text position, where though it was claimed that the collating of manuscripts and the publication of the KJV at the time of the Reformation was a providential work of God, nonetheless it implied that God’s preserving work was incomplete. For it is only in recent years that a Majority Text has been collated and put together, and even then, scholars do not agree on every single reading, nor can there always be a clear consensus on what the criteria for a majority reading is. There are also no translations that are based on the Majority Text. Therefore there remains uncertainty on the identification of all the words of God, and implies mistakes in the Bible that we hold in our hands today. In going through this course, my confidence in our VPP position of God’s work in preserving His Words perfectly for us through the ages was solidified, knowing that God’s promise to preserve His Word is certain and sure, and that every generation can have the perfect and complete Bible in their hands.

Church

In terms of church, our objective was to find a place of worship where we would be comfortable worshipping the Lord in a God-honouring way, and to be able to learn from our experience there. We settled on a routine where we worshipped at a Free Reformed Church in the morning, at the Chinese service of the Heritage Reformed Church in the afternoon, and a Reformed Presbyterian Church in the evening. This may have been tiring at times, but at the end of each Lord’s Day we felt we were much blessed by the learning from God’s Word and the times of fellowship that we enjoyed. It also enabled us to learn from a variety of churches while we were there, to learn from both the Reformed and Presbyterian traditions which we share a common heritage with.

Through these churches, we experienced sweet fellowship with God’s people, and the preaching of God’s Word. We were aware of the differences, mainly in a different view of eschatology and some differences in liturgy. All churches we attended used the KJV and practiced exclusive Psalmody, and the evening service sang without instruments. It took a bit of getting used to initially, for we did miss singing the hymns we were familiar with. The preachers were mostly faithful to the texts, though there was a greater tendency of some to preach more topical sermons and not have expository preaching through books of the Bible, which is what I would prefer.

In terms of church life, the group that we were most involved in had fellowship regularly with was the Chinese group. It was a small but very warm congregation of about 20-30 people, which aside from the Sunday service, did meet regularly for a Bible study and prayer meeting every Friday. As a family, we were welcomed with open arms. Not being the most comfortable or fluent conversing in Chinese, we found it difficult to communicate freely or participate fully in the fellowship. However, over time as we got to know the group better, we also became more comfortable in their midst, and I dare say that our standard of Chinese has even improved in our time in the US!

Over summer last year, the two seminary students who were preaching regularly at the Chinese service returned home to China, and so they asked me to preach and lead the Bible study for about 6 weeks. While extremely apprehensive about the challenge to speak in Chinese, having never done it before, I saw this then as God’s providential leading in granting me an avenue of service through summer, and to push me to improve in my Chinese so I can be more useful in future ministry in Singapore. It was certainly a struggle to learn to preach and lead Bible studies in Chinese, and was forced to pick up many new vocabularies in a short time. I saw my involvement then as a temporary pulpit supply, and did not think too much about the associations relating to such an involvement with this church. Later in communicating with Rev Quek, he guided me to realize that by speaking in this Chinese congregation of a church that is pastored by Dr. Beeke, who in his preaching ministries was compromising by sharing pulpits and conference platforms with other neo-evangelicals and neo-calvinists, I was inadvertently compromising through such an association. I therefore ceased my service with the church and stopped preaching or leading the Bible studies. Through this incident, I learned of the need to be more vigilant and cautious with how I should choose groups or individuals that I should associate with. Also, in making such decisions, I ought to seek guidance from the BOE first before accepting such speaking engagements.

Family

I thank God that my family, especially my wife, was supportive of the decision to relocate to the US to study for the past 16 months. Because of circumstances with the time of her pregnancy, the start of the school term in August last year, and uncertainty over visa and medical fees and insurance qualifications over there, we made a decision for me to go alone for one semester, before the rest of the family would join me. It was not easy for her to take care of a two-year old alone and be in the later stages of her pregnancy at the same time, but she did so without murmuring. On my side, I would admit that I did struggle with loneliness, being in a foreign land alone and being separated from family for a season.

The initial separation and later the full year spent together has made me value and cherish my family more. Again, I thank God for my wife who shouldered the bulk of the responsibility of taking care of two young children in our year there. Without the support of extended family, the task of being the primary caregiver was completely on us with little repose. Especially during the busier periods of the semester where I had to stay late in the library to finish my assignments, Serena was left alone with the children for practically the whole day. Yet we thank God for such an experience, that taught us to rely on one another, and most importantly, to cry out to the Lord and lean upon Him for strength to see us through each day.

In the course of our stay there, we also made good friends with other families within the church and seminary community, and learnt from their example of what godly homes and families ought to be like. Particularly within the Dutch Reformed community, it is not uncommon to have large families of 6-8 or more children, often all of them home-schooled. Our struggles with our two little ones seemed small in comparison.

One of the programs that the seminary provided was something called the ‘Ministry Wives’ Fellowship’ (MWF). As its name suggests, it was an initiative by the wives of the seminary faculty to gather the wives of the students every fortnight for fellowship and to address pertinent topics relating to family and ministry matters. Every semester, they would plan a series of talks that would aid the women to grow in their personal walk with the Lord, and aid them in their role as mothers and wives of men who will be serving in the full-time ministry. Serena testified that she found many of the sessions very helpful and encouraging. The fellowship sessions also helped her integrate into the seminary community, getting to know the families of both students and faculty better.

Looking back, we must acknowledge that the Lord was also very gracious and merciful to us, to preserve our family throughout the stay there. We did not experience any major mishaps or illnesses. The Lord had also provided abundantly for us such that there was never any lack or want. It was a spiritually refreshing time, and I do feel that both Serena and I have grown spiritually in the past year there. In all this we are extremely thankful and grateful to the Lord.

My prayer is that as we return to serve the Lord here in Singapore, and back in Calvary Pandan, that the Lord will use me and my family to serve Him faithfully and effectively in whatever area He calls us to serve Him in. I pray that my time spent abroad was not in vain, but has equipped and prepared me to serve the Lord better in the years to come.