CHAPTER FOUR

INTRODUCTION TO THE OLD TESTAMENT

A VIRGIN SHALL CONCEIVE

      14 "Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel," Isa 7:14.
      The Jews were always looking for a sign, Mt 12:38-39. We also desire signs of some kind, and yet have difficulty discerning the signs of the times just as they did, Mt 16:3. God gave Israel and all of us a major sign among many others: "Behold the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel." The angel told Joseph that Mary was a pure and just woman, and was with child by the miracle working power of the God, and that the child would be God in the flesh:
      23 "'Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,' which is translated, "God with us,'" Mt 1:23.
      Nicodemus should have been (and probably was) well aware of this passage from Isaiah 7:14, and should have gathered from this that the Messiah would be the Son of God in a human body.

THE MIGHTY GOD

      6 "For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
      7 "Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end, Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, To order it and establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this," Isa 9:6-7.
      The "mighty God" of Isa 9:6 must be "Immanuel" ("God with us") of Isa 7:14. See also Mt 1:18-25. These two passages should have been paramount in the mind of all Jews. God would be born into a human body, and thereby clothe Himself in human flesh to live a human life – for what purpose? Nicodemus and all Jews should have known.
      Nicodemus should have recognized this and should have studied the matter with great searching of heart. Observe the following things about both passages: 1) in both passages God is born into a human body, 2) in both passages God is born into the human race. Thus, the Son of God also becomes the Son of Man, 3) this creates a special and singular relationship between God and man, and this relationship flows throughout the Scriptures, 4) the Son of Man is the same Son of man who Daniel saw receiving the kingdom (throne of David) from the Father in Dan 7:13-14, 5) The "Mighty God," will sit on David's throne as the divine Son of David, and rule "with judgment and justice," 6) and "of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end," 7) the "Mighty God who is 'God with us,'" is also the Seed of the woman (Gen 3:15), the Son of David (Isa 9:6-7), the Christ, the Redeemer and last will and testament Testator (Gen 3:15; 2Sam 7:14; Heb 1:5; Mt 22:42), and 8) the firstborn from the dead into a divine human body, Ps 2:7-12; 16:7-11; 89:27.
      To us a child is born, to us a Son is given, and He is God, the Son of God, the Son of man, the Son of David, the Messiah. Nicodemus certainly should have understood that the Messiah (Christ) would be God in the flesh. Furthermore, he should have understood that the Christ would be sinless or else He would be unfit to govern in discernment and justice, as we see in the passages above and many others like them. We will see this immediately below, and many times over as we deal with the unleavened bread and the Lamb of God without spot and without blemish throughout the Old Testament, Ex 12.

A BODY YOU HAVE PREPARED FOR ME

      6 "Sacrifice and offering You would not; but a BODY hast Thou prepared Me: whole-burnt-offering and sacrifice for sin Thou did not require.
      7 "Then I said, Behold, I come: in the volume of the book it is written concerning Me,
      8 "I desired to do Thy will, O My God, and Thy law in the midst of Mine heart," Heb 10:5-10; Ps 40:6-8, LXX.
      The LXX refers to the Septuagint, a Greek translation of the Old Testament from the original Hebrew. As in the case above, New Testament writers extensively used the Septuagint translation. In verse 6, the Hebrew says, "My ears You have opened," which signifies a human body (the body of the suffering Servant-Messiah, Isa 52:13-15; 53; Ps 22), which the bodies of animal sacrifices represented, Ps 40:6-8; Heb 10:5-10. Nicodemus and others of the last two centuries before Christ had both the Hebrew and Septuagint texts at their disposal. They should have been well aware that the animal sacrifices pointed to the sufferings and death for the sins on the part of the coming Messiah, whose body afterward would be brought back into a state of divine glory, which we will observe from the Old Testament Scriptures.
      Whether the Hebrew text or the LXX Greek text of Ps 40:5-8, both make the proper, direct, and unmistakable correlation between the bodies of all the animal sacrifices in the Old Testament with the human body God prepared for the Son of David, who was and is "God with us" (Isa 7:14), the "Mighty God," Isa 9:6-7. Nicodemus should have understood this fact, and that the suffering "Servant" (Isa 52:13-15; 53; and Ps 22) and the Messiah were one and the same Messiah.
      All the animal sacrifices of the Old Testament, therefore, represented the human body of Christ, in which the Son of God dwelt as the Son of Man.
      7 "Then I said, ‘Behold, I come; In the scroll of the book it is written of me.
      8 "I delight to do Your will, O my God,..." Ps 40:7-8.
      10 "By which will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all," Heb 10:10.
      The blood of bulls and goats could not take away sin, and therefore could not perfect the conscience, but the blood of the body of Christ did and does take away sin, and will perfect the conscience, Heb 10:1-10 (1-18); Jer 31:31-34. We are sanctified by the offering of that human (now deified) body of Christ, Heb 10:10.
      What we have expressly seen here from the Old Testament (Ps 40:6-8) is that God, in His eternal purpose, prepared a human body for His suffering "Servant" who will perfect the "will" of God in cleansing His special, elect people, "the great assembly," from all their sins, Ps 40:6-10. We will soon see (from the Old Testament) that same body in its deified form is born out of the grave into a heavenly, spirit state of being.

THE SUFFERING SERVANT

      13 "Behold, My Servant shall deal prudently; He shall be exalted and extolled and be very high.
      14 "Just as many were astonished at you, So His visage was marred more than any man, And His form more than the sons of men;
      15 "So shall He sprinkle (cleanse) many nations. Kings shall shut their mouths at Him; For what had not been told them they shall see, And what they had not heard they shall consider," Isa 52:13-15.
      1 "Who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?
      2 "For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, And as a root out of dry ground. He has no form or comeliness; And when we see Him, There is no beauty that we should desire Him....
      11 "He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied. By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many, For He shall bear their iniquities.
      12 "Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great, And He shall divide the spoil with the strong, Because He poured out His soul unto death, And He was numbered with the transgressors, And He bore the sin of many, And made intercession for the transgressors," Isa 53:1-2, 11-12.
      As the sins of the people were confessed over the head of the animal, so must the Lamb of God bear the iniquities and suffer the wrath of God against the sins of all the world. As each animal was slain, its blood shed, its life taken, and its body was sacrificed, so the body of the suffering Servant had to be sacrificed, Ps 22; Isa 53. Nicodemus had probably witnessed many hundreds even thousands of sin offerings and trespass offerings, had joined in countless discussions of these sacrifices, and had perhaps read Ps 40:5-8; Isa 53; Ps 22, and similar passages many times, but had not recognized the Messiah in the animal sacrifices taking away the sin of the world. But he should have! He could not see the Messiah dying (pouring out his soul to death, Isa 53:12) for the sin of the world. But he should have recognized this very obvious fact. We see the "death" in Isa 53:12 and in all the animal sacrifices, and we will see the resurrection "birth" requirement shortly from this same passage and many others.
      The Seed of the woman must not only die, but must be raised into a divine body in order to crush the head of the serpent, Satan. The virgin birth of God into a flesh body, the sinless life of God in a human body, and death of the Messiah for the sins of the sins of mankind is an integral part of the redemption cycle. The body of the divine Seed of the woman, Kinsman Redeemer, and Testator must be buried, and must be raised from the grave into a divine human body in order to the crush the head of the Serpent, Satan. This is all seen in the suffering Servant being justified and being able to justify others, Isa 53:10-12. Justification credits God's divine righteousness to the one being justified, in view of a resurrection birth into the divine state of being, 2Co 5:1-5,21; Gal 5:5; Phi 3:9 (7-14,21); et al.

THE REDEMPTION CYCLE

      5 "Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,
      6 "Who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God,
      7 "But made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men.
      8 "And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.
      9 "Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name,
      10 "That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth,
      11 "And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father," Phi 2:5-11.
      Each component of the "redemption cycle" is integrally and inseparably united into the redemption cycle in its specific sequence, and the cycle cannot be broken. The redemption cycle is generally: 1) the counsel of God before the foundation of the world as we know it (Act 2:23; 1Pe 1:18-20; Eph 1:4-5,11; 2Ti 1:9; Ti 1:2); 2) the creation of man and his commission (Gen 1:26 thru 2:25; 3) Man's sin and its consequences (Gen 3:1-19); 4) the promise of a divine-human Redeemer and providing a last will and testament (Gen 3:15-24; Isa 7:14; 9:6-7); 5) the method of worship by animal sacrifices which gave constant testimony of the last will and testament, Gen 3:21; 4:4; Ps 40:6-8); 6) the virgin birth of the Son of God into a human body as a vicarious and divine Testator, (Isa 7:14; 9:6-7); 7) the sinless life of the Redeemer in a sinless human body (2Co 5:21); 8) the making of a New Covenant with the church as God's Israel (Mt 26:26-28; Heb 9:11-17); 9) the vicarious death of the Redeemer and Testator (1Pe 1:18-20; 3:18); 10) the burial of the human body of the Testator (Jn 19:38-42); 11) the resurrection new birth of the Testator's human body into a divine body (Ps 2:7; 16:7-11; Col 1:18; Rev 1:5; Act 13:29-33); 12) the ascension of the testament Testator back to the throne of God (Ps 110:1); 13) The current intercessory ministry of the Testator (Ps 110:1-4); 14) The return of the Testator to judge and rule of David's throne, Zec 14:1-4; Isa 9:6-7; Dan 7:13-14. These steps are not all, but give a fair enumeration of the major elements of the redemption cycle. This cycle is extremely important and has been made known to all the faithful covenant people from Adam on as we see in Heb 11, especially verses 8 thru 16.

WITHOUT BLEMISH AND WITHOUT SPOT

      5 "Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats," Ex 12:5.
      18 "Knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers,
      19 "But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot," 1Pe 1:18-19.
      Animal sacrifices had to be without blemish and without spot, which represented Christ without sin. Many passages in the Old Testament state that the animals for sacrifice had to be in an unblemished state of health. The Passover lamb (Ex 12:5), the burnt offering, the peace offering, the sin offering, the trespass offering, etc., were all required to be without blemish and without spot, Lev 1 thru 9; 16; Num 19; 29. All these blood sacrifices pointed to Christ as the suffering Servant and "Lamb of God," as we are observing from Old Testament passages.
      9 "And they made His grave with the wicked - But with the rich at His death, Because He had done no violence, Nor was any deceit in His mouth, Isa 53:9.

ROOT OR BRANCH OF DAVID

      5 "'Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, that I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness; a King shall reign and prosper, and execute judgment and righteousness in the earth.
      6 "In His days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell safely; now this is His name by which He will be called: THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS," Jer 23:5-6; 33:15-16; Isa 11:1-10; Dan 7:13-14; Rev 5:5; 22:16.
      15 "In those days and at that time I will cause to grow up to David a Branch of righteousness; He shall execute judgment and righteousness in the earth.
      16 "In those days Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will dwell safely. And this is the name by which she will be called: THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS," Jer 33:15-16.
      We have now seen, from the Old Testament, that God (the Son of God) would be born into a lowly human body, would suffer and die for sins, and yet would sit on David's throne, and rule the earth in righteousness. Observe the following from these Old Testament passages:
        1. The Son of David would be the Messiah (the Redeemer and Testator), and would rule all nations, Dan 7:13-14; Ex 19:4-6; Deu 7:6-11; 26:16-19.
        2. The Son of David (as the Son of God in human flesh) was predestined to be without sin. Nicodemus and the other Jews should have recognized the very often repeated emphasis throughout the Old Testament that the Sacrifice for sins, who would "take away the sin of the world," must Himself necessarily be without sin – "without spot and without blemish," Ex 12:5; Lev 1 thru 9; Num 29; 1Pe 1:18-20. If He Himself had the slightest sin, He could not be the spotless Lamb of God. This is obvious in the many sacrifices offered every day in Israel. Every animal sacrifice had to be a clean animal,"without spot and without blemish." This was a matter of major significance, and was portrayed visibly and scrupulously many times every day.
        3. The Son of David (the Messiah-Servant) would bear the punishment for the sins of the whole world. This is stated clearly by John the Baptist, but is that discernable from the Old Testament alone? Would Nicodemus have been able to understand that the Old Testament Scriptures required the sacrifice of a sinless and divine Lamb of God? Had Nicodemus understood that the Son of David (1Ch 17:11-14; Isa 9:6-7), the suffering Servant (Isa 52:13-15; 53:1-12), and the Son of Man (Dan 7:13-14) would be one and the same Messiah, he would have known that the "new birth" of the human body of Christ was a necessity. We will see this shortly.

AN OFFERING FOR SIN

      10 "Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. When You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, And the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in His hand," Isa 53:10.
      6 "Sacrifice and offering You would not; but a body You have prepared Me: whole-burnt-offering and sacrifice for sin You did not require," Ps 40:6; LXX. You have prepared a body for Me, and You have opened My ear. The bodies of animals were prophetic representations of the sinless body of the Messiah who would be the true offering for sin. Obviously, God intended for all mankind to understand this from the time He killed the animals and provided clothes for Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, and when Abel offered the firstborn lambs from the flock, Gen 3:21; 4:4.

A PROSPEROUS FUTURE

      10 "Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. When You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, And the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in His hand," Isa 53:10.
      The suffering Servant would pour out His soul to death as an offering for sin, Isa 53:12; Heb 9:14. The story does not end with the death of the sacrifice of the sin offering, because in most cases the sin offering was, in prophetic type, eaten by the priests, Lev 6:26,29-30. In most sin offerings, the person who sinned placed his hands upon the animal's head (Lev 4:15-33) signifying that the animal takes his place and that he (as the sinner) becomes "one body" with the animal in death, judgment, and resurrection.
      The inner parts of the sacrifice were burned on the altar, signifying judgment for sin. However, and this is also of major significance, the priest (who prepared and burned the specified parts of the animal) was given the remainder of the animal to eat, Lev 6:26,29-30. By eating the sacrifice, the priest became "one" with the sacrifice, and thereby also became "one" with the person who offered the animal. The sinner, the animal sacrifice, and the priest are to be seen as one and the same person – united into "one." When the sinner is the people collectively (the elect nation), then the people, the sacrifice (the Messiah), and the priest (or priesthood) become as "one."
      We see this divinely appointed "oneness" in the eating the Passover Lamb, eating the unleavened bread, eating the twelve loaves of showbread, eating the manna, eating the bread of the Lord's Supper, eating Christ's flesh, etc. All of which represent "partaking of Christ" – partaking of what Christ now is in His deified human body. All of these great types are represented more clearly in the crucifixion cycle, where the church, in a metaphor, is called "the body of Christ."
      In this metaphor, the church (as the body of Christ) and the bodies of the members of the church are counted (Rom 4:17) as being crucified together with and in the body of Christ, having died together with and in the body of Christ, were buried together with and in the body of Christ, raised together with and in the body of Christ, and born again into a divine state of life together with and in the body of Christ, Rom 6:2-13; 7:4-6; Gal 3:27; Eph 1:22-23; 3:19; Col 1:19; 2:9-21; 3:1-10; Jn 6:27-67; 10:30-36; 14:8-11; 17:21-23; Heb 3:14; 2Pe 1:4; et al.
      The suffering Servant who poured out His soul in death "shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hands," Isa 53:10. This reaches beyond death and requires resurrection, because the Son of David is also the Son of God, and will sit and reign gloriously on David's throne forever (into the age – the seventh day or millennium of rest).

THE SON OF MAN IN GLORY

      9 "I watched till thrones were put in place, And the Ancient of Days was seated; His garment was white as snow, And the hair of His head was like pure wool. His throne was a fiery flame, Its wheels a burning fire;
      10 "A fiery stream issued And came forth from before Him. A thousand thousands ministered to Him; Ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him. The court was seated, And the books were opened.....
      13 "I was watching in the night visions, And behold, One like the Son of Man, coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought Him near before Him.
      14 "Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, That all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom the one which shall not be destroyed," Dan 7:9-10,13-14.
      Observe from this passage and context:
        1. Nicodemus should have understood of this passage and all the book of Daniel. Nicodemus was a member of the Sanhedrin, was a good and honorable man whose heart was with the Lord – not far behind Simeon of Lk 2:25-35, who evidently did understand these things. However, Nicodemus was still somewhat trapped in the traditions of men, which were blinding him to many obvious spiritual truths. He should have known that the "Messiah would be cut off, but not for Himself," at the end of sixty-nine weeks of years, Dan 9:26; Ps 22; Isa 53; et al.
        2. This is a prophetic judgment scene of the end time – a divine heavenly scene in contrast to the earthy. Here the heavens are rolled back (See Rev 6:12-17), the court of heaven is set up in mid-heaven, The ancient of days is seated on the throne, the court is officially in session in the view of all creation, the books are opened, and "the son of man" (obviously in the glory of His deified human body) is ushered in before the Father in a divinely royal fashion. Daniel saw the bright shining and divine majesty of the glorified Son of Man, as Peter, James, and John later saw Him with Moses and Elijah (Mt 17:1-3; Lk 9:30-31) – Christ is no longer known in a mere flesh body, 2Co 5:16-17. It is imperative that He be clothed in glory and majesty in this greatest and most awesome event ever to this time.
      This will be a divine and glorious scene beyond all coronations, inaugurations, etc., of man's most elaborate imaginations. The image of Christ as the Son of Man here should far excel that of the glorified saints, Dan 12:3; Mt 13:43; 17:2; Act 26:13; Phi 3:21. Remember that Christ received a human body that hungered, thirsted, became tired, needed rest, sleep, could suffer as in Ps 22 and Isa 53, be cut badly with a cruel whip, bleed, be made sin, endure God's necessary and terrible wrath against sin, die to destroy the old man, and be born again into a new creation in His resurrection. All this is made clear in the Old Testament.
        3. The Son of Man is given a kingdom that includes all that God offered to Adam, and all God further offered Adam in the tree of life. This kingdom will have no end. It is the kingdom and throne of David (Isa 9:6-7), that was prophesied to rule all nations, where Israel would be the head and not the tail, Ex 19:4-6; Deu 26:16-19; 28:1-13.
      Surely it is beyond question that Daniel saw the Son of Man in a fully glorified (deified) human body being ushered in before the throne of God in the mid-heavens. Christ in a mere human body would be altogether out of place in this heavenly scene that will be infinitely more awesome than that of Mount Sinai, Heb 12:18-21. This is the same event described in the sixth seal, Ps 2:4-6; Pro 1:24-27; Rev 6:12-17; Mt 24:29-31.

THE LORD SAID TO MY LORD

      1 "A Psalm of David. The LORD said to my Lord, ‘Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool,'" Ps 110:1.
      36 "For David himself said by the Holy Spirit: 'The LORD said to my Lord, ‘Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.''
      37 "Therefore David himself calls Him 'Lord'; how is He then his Son?" And the common people heard Him gladly," Mk 12:36-37.
      The prophetic utterance of David refers to Christ as God, as we have seen, Isa 9:6-7; 7:14; Jer 23:5-6; 33:15-16. Nicodemus should have discerned that the "Lord" of Ps 110:1, who now sits on Jehovah's right hand would be "Emanuel" - "God with us" (Isa 7:14; Mt 1:23), and would be the same "mighty God" who would sit on the throne of David, Isa 9:6-7. Nicodemus should have known that the "Lord" who sits on Jehovah's right hand (Ps 110:1) would be both Son of Man, Son of God, and Son of David, as seen in Isa 7:14 and 9:6-7. Nicodemus should have concluded long before that this Son of God, Son of Man, son of David, clothed in a lowly human body, would also be the suffering "Servant" of Isa 52:13-15; 53; and Ps 22. Again, Nicodemus should have discerned that the human body would be born into a fully divine and glorious body, and then be seated at the right hand of God in heaven. He is the Kinsman redeemer and Testator of the last will and testament who is found worthy to open the sealed copy of the redemption testament in Rev 5.

SHINE AS THE SUN

      2 "And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake (resurrection), some to everlasting life, Some to shame and everlasting contempt.
      3 "Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament, And those who turn many to righteousness like the stars forever and ever," Dan 12:2-3.
      2 "But to you who fear My name The Sun of Righteousness shall arise with healing in His wings; and you shall go out and grow fat like stall-fed calves.
      3 "You shall trample the wicked, for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day that I do this," says the LORD of hosts," Mal 4:2-3.
      The "Sun of Righteousness" speaks for the brightness of the sun in the solar system. Here in Dan 12:2-3 we have both the resurrection and the brilliant, shining, glorified state of the saints referenced by the Spirit by the pen of Daniel. The Spirit affirms this in the New Testament:
      43 "Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!" Mt 13:43.
      Daniel's vision of the Son of Man being ushered in before the Father to be crowned and receive the kingdom promised to the Son of David must correspond to "the Sun of Righteousness." Likewise the "saints" of Dan 7:18,22,26-27 should be understood to be shining forth in righteousness with the Sun of Righteousness, for they "shall shine as the brightness of the firmament...as the stars for ever and ever," Dan 12:3. We must compare the saints in Dan 7:18,22,26-27 with the scenes in 2Th 1:7-10 and Jude 13-14.
      It should have been apparent to Nicodemus that it would take a new birth for the human body to shine as the sun, as the stars of heaven for ever and ever. God's eternal purpose required the human body of Christ to be "born again" into a divine (deified) human body. God will not display a mere human body of His Son when Christ is ushered in before the Father to be crowned King of kings and Lord of Lords and receive the throne of David and the promised kingdom in the public presence of all creation.
      Christ has already received that "new birth" into a divine body which Daniel clearly saw in Dan 7:13-14. Likewise, the saints (the faithful covenant people) will receive that brilliantly shining new birth body in the resurrection, 1Co 15:1-2,29-58. Nicodemus and other spiritually taught covenant people of his day should have understood the necessity this future new birth of the saints when analyzing Dan 7 along with Dan 12:2-3 and Mal 4.

SHOW FORTH MY PRAISES

      1 "But now, thus says the LORD, who created you, O Jacob, and He who formed you, O Israel: Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; You are Mine.
      2 "When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you.
      3 "For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I gave Egypt for your ransom, Ethiopia and Seba in your place," Isa 43:1-3.
      21 "This people I have formed for Myself; they shall declare My praise," Isa 43:21.
      The deified saints will not only declare with their speech the praises of the Lord, but they will show forth in their deified bodies the fullness (the full array of the attributes) of God's divine essence, Eph 1:22-23; 3:19; Col 1:19; 2:9-21. In their deified bodies they will be free from the rudimentary laws of the physical universe, Gal 4:3,9; Col 2:9,20-21. This is what the Spirit revealed to Isaiah as quoted above, Isa 43:1-3. Christ demonstrated the divine nature of the glorified, spirit body even before His resurrection (Mt 17:1-5), and many times after His resurrection, Lk 24; Jn 20; Act 1:9-11; 7:56; 26:13; 2Th 1:7-8. This demonstration of the new birth into divine bodies of Christ and the saints is what is meant by showing God's praises, and it was discernable to Nicodemus through the Old Testament Scriptures. The saints have the firstfruits of the Spirit now, but will have the harvest of the Spirit in the resurrection, Rom 8:23; 2Co 5:1-5; etc.

AWAKE IN GOD'S LIKENESS

      15 "As for me, I will see Your face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied when I awake in Your likeness," Ps 17:15.
      This verse states in two very climatic and inspiring expressions the solid and enduring hope of the saints, which will carry them into the divine "new birth" state of being. This is precisely what will happen to the faithful covenant people in the resurrection, 1Co 15; 1Th 4:13-18; Phi 3:7-14,21; 1Pe 1:3-9.
      Psalm 17:15 is Old Testament language, perfectly corresponding to New Testament new birth language, 1Co 15:44-54; 2Co 4:17 thru 5:5,16-17; Phi 3:7-14,21. Again, Nicodemus was no doubt well acquainted with this verse (Ps 17:15), and should have seen the "new birth" in it. He should have known. We will shortly show again that the "righteousness," as stated here, does not refer to man's righteousness (Isa 64:6; Rom 10:1-3), nor to any human standard of righteousness, but to God's righteousness – one of God's divine attributes, and is generic of all the attributes of deity, Eph 1:22-23; 3:19; 4:22-24; Col 1:19; 2:9-21; 3:1-10; Jn 10:30-36; 14:8-11; 17:21-23.

I AM YOUR REWARD

      1 "After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, saying, ‘Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward,'" Gen 15:1.
      Most translations translate this as: "your reward shall be very great." However, at least seven other Old Testament passages say that the Lord is the "portion" (the reward) of the faithful covenant people, Ps 16:5; 73:26; 119:57; 142:5; Jer 10:16; 51:19; Lam 3:24. This truth is taught abundantly throughout the Old Testament, as we will demonstrate as we continue these articles.
      The New Testament solidly affirms that the Lord is our reward. God is offering Himself (His divine nature, 2Pe 1:4) to the faithful covenant people, Eph 1:22-23; 3:19; 4:22-24; Col 1:19; 2:9-21; 3:10; Phi 3:7-14,21; Jn 10:30-36; 14:8-11; 17:21-23. This is what the bride of Christ concerns, and the bride includes the faithful covenant people of all ages from Adam on. We will continue to show from many scriptures that Nicodemus should have known about the "new birth."

THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS

      5 "Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, that I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness; a King shall reign and prosper, and execute judgment and righteousness in the earth.
      6 "In His days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell safely; now this is His name by which He will be called: the Lord our righteousness," Jer 23:5-6; 33:15-16.
      17 "No weapon formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue which rises against you in judgment you shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, And their righteousness is from Me, Says the LORD," Isa 54:17.
      All our righteousness are as filthy rags, Isa 64:6; Ps 51:5; 58:3; Ecc 7:20. All people of past ages have died because the wages of sin is death, Rom 1:21-32; 3:9-19,23; 5:12; 6:23; Heb 9:27. Nicodemus should have known that all people die (returns to the dust, Gen 3:17-19) because of our sin nature inherited through the first Adam, Ps 51:5; 58:3; (Eph 2:3). Nicodemus should have known that "all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags," (Isa 64:6), that everyone who does not keep all the words of the Law Covenant is under the curse (death, and condemnation) of the Law Covenant, Deu 27:26; 28:15; Jer 11:3.
      Therefore, "all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags," and the only acceptable righteousness must come from God, Isa 54:17. The Lord is our righteousness, Jer 23:5-6; 33:15-16. The Jews in Nicodemus' day made the fatal mistake of endeavoring to establish their own righteousness rather than submit to God's righteousness, which God offered through the Law Covenant by grace through faith, Rom 3:21-25; Deu 30:11-14; Rom 10:1-8. Paul made the distinction quite clear:
      9 "And be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the Law, but that which is through faith of Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith," Phi 3:9.
      God's righteousness is from God (Isa 54:17; Jer 23:5-6; 33:15-16) because it is God's righteousness, Rom 3:22-26; Phi 3:9; Mt 6:33. It is one of God's divine attributes, and represents all the attributes of His divine nature – all the attributes of His divine fullness, Eph 1:22-23; 3:19; 4:22-23; 5:31-32; Col 1:18; 2:9-21; 3:1-10; Jn 10:30-36; 14:8-11; 17:21-23.

QUESTIONS AND WORK TASKS FOR CHAPTER FOUR

1. Name some of the things Nicodemus and all Jews should have known from Isa 7:14; 9:6-7; Ps 2:7-12; 16:7-11; 89:27; Dan 7:13-14;et al.

2. Should Nicodemus have understood that the bodies of animal sacrifices represented the body of the Christ? Give Scripture and explain.

3. We are being sanctified day by day. Define how we are being sanctified, and how we may lose our sanctification, Heb 2:11; 10:26; Eze 3:20; 18:24; 33:12-13.

4. Enumerate and explain the major steps in the redemption cycle from the determinate counsel of God before the creation of the earth to His resurrection birth.

5. Define how animal sacrifices are properly placed into the crucifixion cycle and therefore require a divine resurrection birth.

6. Write down and memorize the major steps or elements in the redemption cycle to the extent of quoting them by heart.

7. Explain why the sacrificial animals had to be without blemish and why the unleavened bread had to be without leaven.

8. What does "the Lord our righteousness" signify? Whose righteousness is it, and what kind of righteousness is it?

9. Where in the Old Testament does it teach that the Messiah would be without "deceit," would be made "an offering for sin?" Describe how He would die for our sins and make us righteous by the new birth resurrection.

10. How did the offerer and the sin offering become as "one?" How did the offering and the priest become as "one?" How did the offerer, the offering, and the priest become as "one?" Who did the priest represent?

11. What did eating the Passover lamb and the unleavened bread represent? Ex 12. Correlate this with John 6:27-58 and Hebrews 3:14.

12. Describe the scene in Daniel 7:9-10,13-14 where the Son of Man is ushered in before the Father and given rule over all creation, as in Psalm 8:3-6 and Hebrews 2:5-10.

13. Again, review the redemption cycle and delineate how no part or step of the cycle can be left out.

14. The Seed of the woman will still crush the head of the serpent. Explain what will qualify the Seed of the woman to do that.