Firstborn Sonship of Christ
Volume Seven
The New Birth
CHAPTER THREE
INTRODUCTION TO THE OLD TESTAMENT
The word, Elohim, signifies the
Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and yet there are times when the word Jehovah is
used specifically of the Father (Ps 110:1; Isa 61:1), and other times specifically of
the Son, Zec 12:10 and context; 14:5. Therefore, Jehovah Elohim may signify either the
Father, or the Son, or the Trinity. The words "Jehovah
Elohim" (Lord God) are used often in the current writing to better
associate Jehovah Elohim in the flesh with the Messiah in the Old Testament and with
Jesus or Christ in the New Testament.
God is omnipotent (all powerful). There is nothing
that is righteous and good that God cannot do, and it will always be that way because
God does not change, 2Sa 22:3; Mt 19:26; Ja 1:17. God is omniscient (all knowing), and
there is nothing that God does not know: past, present, and future, and He knows
everything all the time, Ps 19:7-11; 139; Jn 21:17; Heb 4:13. God is omnipresent
(present every where all the time), Ps 139:7-12; Rom 11:33-36. God is just, and in Him
there is no injustice at all, Deu 25:15; 32:4. God, the Son of God, was able therefore
to be born of a woman, restrict Himself to the life-experience and knowledge of a
human, grow in physical stature and in knowledge as a human, and overcome sin as a
human. Therefore, by the same aid of the Spirit provided to Adam in the Garden of Eden,
Christ overcame sin and was qualified to die for the sins of the world, 1Jn 2:1-2; 2Co
5:21.
TODAY I HAVE BEGOTTEN YOU
7 "I
will declare the decree: The LORD has said to Me, 'You are My
Son, Today I have begotten You.
8 "‘Ask of Me, and I will give You the nations
for Your inheritance, and the ends of the earth for Your possession.
9 "‘You shall break them with a rod of iron;
you shall dash them to pieces like a potter's vessel,'" Ps
2:7-9.
Let us briefly analyze these verses in the light of
further correlation of scriptures:
1. A Covenant Promise.
15 "And
I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He
shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel," Gen 3:15.
This promise was first made in the Garden of Eden,
renewed many times throughout the Scriptures as in Ps 2:7-9, which is quoted in Act
13:32-35. The resurrection of the human body of Christ into a divine body was and is
the heart of the eternal purpose of God.
46 "Then He said to them,
"Thus it is written, and thus it
was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third
day...
48 "And you are witnesses of these
things," Lk 24:46,48.
2. A Time Related Action.
"Today I have
begotten You," was an action determined before the ages, but not taken
until after the ages began. In God's purpose, Christ was a Lamb slain before the
foundation (creation) of the world, and in God's foreknowledge and experience these
things had already hap-pened, and always had been with God. God's knowledge and
experience have always been infinite. There was never a time when God grew into
infinity, whether in knowledge or otherwise. Yet, the human birth, human life,
crucifixion, death, burial, and divine resurrection birth of that human body came some
four thousand years after Adam was created.
3. A Crowning Victory.
Other things were also vital, but
this was the ultimate goal, the predestined climax, the crowning victory of
Christ's first coming, which guarantees the same divine resurrection birth for
Jehovah Elohim's faithful last will and testament companions.
Fallen angels of many kinds, often called demons,
originally had their own dwelling places, dominions, and authorities, Jude 6. It
appears obvious that all angels passed through a period of testing; most of them stood
fast and overcame, while others failed, Jude 6.
As a grand finale, God created man, with the design
that Jehovah Elohim would become a human, undergo a prescribed and severe covenant
training where man has failed, overcome that severe training, and create a divine human
body – a divine man, filled with all the divine attributes of God, Col 2;9. The major
emphasis in this mystery of godliness is seen in Rom 9:22-23. God's awesome and
glorious purpose was and is to demonstrate His love, compassion, merciful forbearance,
justice, wrath, etc., on those who refuse His gracious offer of mercy which may include
both initial and special salvation. And at the same time demonstrate His love,
compassion, mercy, power, and the riches of His glory on those who will, by His grace,
believe, obey, and faithfully persevere in doing so, Rom 9:22-23.
4. Of Mature Age.
The normal reading of these
verses (Ps 2:7-9) reveals that these words were not spoken to an infant, but to Jehovah
Elohim (the Son of David) in a human body, following His crucifixion, death, burial,
descent into sheol, ascent out of sheol, and resurrection birth. This is required if we
follow the proper correlation of scriptures from Isa 7:14 and 9:6-7, scripture by
scripture, on through to Ps 110:1; Zec 14:1-4; Dan 7:13-27. This correlation of
scripture from the Old Testament was available to Nicodemus and all others in his day
just as it is for us today. We can easily trace "God with
us" from Isa 7:14 to Dan 7:13-14; 12:3,12, on through to Zec 14:1-4; 4:1-3;
Dan 7:18-27, and through the obvious millennium "rest" of Gen 2:1-3. This will unequivocally establish the new
birth of the human body of Jehovah Elohim as those prophetic Old Testament passages
were fulfilled, and also from those Old Testament passages of the new birth of the
saints in the future at the beginning of the seventh day (seventh millennium) of
"rest," Gen 2:1-3; Ex 20:8-11; Isa 56; 57; 58. See
also Heb 4:3-4 (3:6-19; 4:1-11).
5. Having Been Perfected.
Jehovah Elohim (the Father) in
this passage (Ps 2:7-9) is speaking to Jehovah Elohim (the Son) who has just been born
from a mere human body into a divine human body. This requires "today" to be a day of fully qualified and consummate
accomplishment. This could not be said to Christ until His human life-struggle was
over, death, hell, and the grave were conquered, and His human body had passed through
the divine threshold into a deified human body. This was and is the mystery of
godliness according to God's covenant purpose.
8 "Though He was a Son,
yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered.
9 "And having been perfected, He became the
Author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him," Heb 5:8-9.
12 "Blessed is the man who
endures temptation (trials, covenant discipline); for after
he has been tested and approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has
promised to those who love Him," Ja 1:12.
12 "Blessed is a man who
perseveres under trial; for once he has been tested and approved, he will receive the
crown of life, which the Lord has promised to those who love Him," Ja
1:12.
The substance of the above verses, applicable to
the earthly ministry of Christ and His faithful covenant companions, is found
throughout the Old Testament. Though Christ was Jehovah Elohim in a human body, He had
to abide by the divine pre-creation last and will and testament agreement within the
Godhead, Phi 2:6-11; Eph 1:4-5,11; 1Pe 1:18-20; Rev 13:8; Jn 4:34; 17:24. As a human,
Christ learned all this from the Old Testament Scriptures, Ps 22:9-10; Isa 49:1-2;
50:4-6; Lk 2:40,49,52. It was the will of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit that
the Son, as a human, be limited to the knowledge and life-experience of a human being:
1) be born of a virgin without the nature, 2) learn from birth from the Scriptures, 3)
thereby gain knowledge of who He was, 4) what His destiny
was to be, 5) how He was live without sin, 6) die for the sins of mankind, 7) be raised
out of the grave in a divine body, possessing all the fullness of God's divine
nature in that body, and 8) fully serve as the Kinsman
Redeemer of Gen 3:15. The Old Testament abundantly provides all this information, with
the New Testament providing full verification of these facts.
6. Emphasis on "Today."
We must not dissociate verses 8
and 9 from verse 7 and the decree that God declared, with emphasis on the word
"today." Therefore, the Father, Jehovah Elohim,
said to the Son, who is also Jehovah Elohim, in a new born divine human body:
"I will declare a decree:
The Lord has said to Me, You are My Son, Today I have begotten You. Ask of
Me....", Ps 2:7.
But a new born infant cannot understand and cannot
talk. Nevertheless, what a monumental landmark in human history, that Jehovah Elohim
should be born as an infant into the human family, Isa 7:14; 9:6-7! These two prophetic
utterances should stand out and take such prophetic preeminence that no Bible student
of the Old Testament could resist an insatiable urge to search out every prophetic
utterance concerning the human life of God within the human family. The announcement
that a "virgin" should conceive and bear a child
should have been immediately associated with Gen 3:15, where the Seed of the woman
would crush the head of the serpent.
It should be obvious to us that God was pleased to
make a great many prophetic utterances, command many foreshadowing ceremonies, and was
eager and ready to reveal the meaning of all these things to those who would
passionately believed and obey His Word. Nicodemus could have known as Simeon
apparently did. Indeed Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea were believers, but secret
disciples, recognizing Jehovah Elohim in human flesh, and responded with courage and
compassion to His lifeless body on the cross, Mt 27:57-60; Mk 15:43-46; Lk 23:50-54; Jn
19:38-42.
Again, "Ask of
Me..." And the response is once more, an infant cannot understand and
cannot speak. Had Nicodemus and Joseph more passionately traced those prophecies and
put them in perspective, they would have, with clear understanding and strong
conviction recognized the suffering Servant of Isa 53 and Ps 22 to be Jehovah Elohim of
Zec 12:10; Ps 40:6-8; 16:7-11; 68:17-18; 110:1-4; 102:23-28; et al. They were disciples
of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the hard core Pharisees.
7. "Ask of Me..."
Ask of Me, and I will give you
the nations and the ends of the earth for your inheritance. Ask of me "Today" for "today" you
have fully qualified for this inheritance. Jehovah Elohim in a human body had just
qualified for the greatest inheritance of all: Jehovah Elohim in His human body being
raised up and placed "far above all principality and power and
might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that
which is to come," Eph 1:18-21. Second to this is the justification, that
is, the deification of an innumerable host of human companions, who in this life are
qualifying to share the divine nature of His firstborn sonship, Rev 7:9-17; 14:1-5;
19:7-8.
However, a lesser, but still highly important
covenant promise, is that of sitting on the throne of David as the Son of David (as
Jehovah Elohim) and ruling the nations for the seventh millennium as also promised, Isa
9:6-7; et al. At that time all nations will know and worship Jesus Christ as Jehovah
Elohim on the throne of David in Jerusalem. "Your people shall
be volunteers In the day of Your power; In the beauties of holiness, from the womb of
the morning, You have the dew of Your youth," Psa 110:3.
8. An Advocate with the Father.
"Today I
have begotten You" also announces the arrival on a new plateau in our
correlation: Jehovah Elohim will now serve as the fully qualified covenant Mediator, as
the process of qualifying firstborn sons for the election continues with the Son at the
right hand of the Father in heaven. This is obvious in the remaining verses of Psalm 2
(Ps 2:10-12). In conjunction with this higher plateau, the Holy Spirit through David in
another Psalm says:
1 "A Psalm of David. The
LORD said to my Lord, ‘Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your
footstool,'...
4 "The LORD has sworn and will not relent,
‘You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek,'" Ps
110:1,4; Heb 5:5-10.
Nicodemus should have understood this also, because
the seventh day (millennium) of rest must take place after Ps 110:1-4 with the human
life, crucifixion, death, burial and resurrection birth occurring just prior to Ps
110:1. Christ must sit for some amount of time at the right hand of the Father until He
returns as Jehovah Elohim with all His saints at the end of the sixth millennium, Zec
14:1-4.
9. Jehovah Elohim and the Throne of David, Isa 7:14; 9:6-7.
Christ, (as Jehovah Elohim,
"whom they have pierced," Zec 12:10) coming for
His saints (Dan 12:1-3; Zec 12; Lk 12:36), judging them in the air before all creation
(Dan 7:9-12; Rev 6:12-17; 1Th 2:19-20; 4:13-18; 5:23), fronting them before the Father
in full divine dress (1Th 3:13; Rev 7:9-17; 14:1-5), and after singing praises before
the throne (Rev 14:1-5), singing the song of Moses and of the Lamb (Rev 15:1-4), and
thus briefly sharing in the marriage feasting in heaven, Christ will descend with the
saints and angels to execute God's wrath from Jerusalem, Zec 13:1-5; Jude 14-15;
2Th 1:7-10. This must all be correlated with Dan 7:13-14,18,22,26-27, where Christ in
His deified body receives the throne of David (Dan 7:13-14) – see editor's book,
"Heaven Standing Open."
This is the occasion (all of it public to all
creation) 1) when the heavens are rolled back, Dan
7:9-10,13-14; Rev 6:12-17; Jn 1:51; 2) when God in the
presence of all creation chides the nations for their unbelief, Ps 2:4-6; 59:8; Pro
1:26 (24-30); Rev 6:12-17; 3) when Christ receives the
kingdom and throne of David, Dan 7:13-14; 4) when Christ and the angels descend for the
saints – the faithful covenant people of all ages, Dan 12:2-3; Isa 60:1-3; 61:10-11;
62:1-3; 1Th 2:19-20; 3:13; 4:13-18; 5) when Christ deifies
(justifies, gives birth to) the bodies of the saints, Job 19:25-27; Ps 17:15; Dan
12:2-3,12; Isa 40:31; 43:1-3,21; 46:13; 54:17; 55:12-13; 60:8; 61:1 thru 62:3; Rom
4:24-25; 1Co 15:35-58; 6) when the saints are judged, Ecc
12:13-14; Dan 12:2-3,12; Mt 24:36-51; 25:1-30; Rev 11:14-18; 7) when Christ presents the saints in holiness (deified bodies) before
the Father, Isa 8:18 (13-18); Heb 2:13; 1Th 3:13; Rev 7:9-17; and, 8) when Christ descends with the bright shining (deified) saints and
with the angels in flaming fire to execute judgment and purge the earth of the wicked
rule of Satan and man for the seventh day (millennium) of rest, Zec 14:1-4; Joel
2:1-11; Zec 14:1-15; Jude 14-15; Rev 14:1-5; Rev 16:1-21.
FURTHER CORRELATION WITH PSALM 2:7
7 "I
will declare the decree: The LORD has said to Me, 'You are My Son, Today I have
begotten You," Ps 2:7.
1 "To the Chief Musician.
A Psalm of David. I waited patiently for the LORD; and He inclined to me, and heard my
cry.
2 "He also brought me up out of a horrible
pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my steps.
3 "He has put a new song in my mouth - praise
to our God; Many will see it and fear, and will trust in the LORD," Ps
40:1-3.
These are words of comfort, joy, and praise to God
for His meticulous, severe, and yet victory producing covenant training of us
throughout our lives. God's discipline will bring us through many difficult
experiences where we can praise Him in the words written here. David had many
experiences of this nature, and so did Jehovah Elohim in a human body, undergoing the
same necessary covenant discipline.
Did Jesus ever sing the Psalms? See Heb 2:12,
quoted from Ps 22:22, which says He sang praises to the Father in His great assembly
(Ps 22:25; 35:18; 40:9-10), which was the church, His faithful covenant people, His
great assembly on earth at the time. In all probably, He sang all the psalms many
thousands of times in the synagogue before His personal ministry, with clear
understanding as to who He was, Lk 2:40,49. See A. T. Robertson on Lk 2:40.
Without question, Jesus studied the Scriptures
passionately and knew well the Psalms from His youth, Lk 2:49. Jehovah Elohim became a
human and lived as a human from conception through the cross as our human or Kinsman
Redeemer.
He started as an infant, grew as a human, was
taught very well by his human parents, dutifully and very diligently studied the
Scriptures, learned right and wrong, and at a very early age learned who He was and His
purpose in life as a human and as Jehovah Elohim all the way to the cross, His
resurrection birth, and on. Moreover, He thoroughly understood all the prophecies that
are still future to us today. As our substitute, Jesus learned all these things from
birth as our Kinsman Redeemer.
Though He was not anointed with the Holy Spirit as
High Priest until the beginning of His personal ministry, the Holy Spirit was with Him
training and teaching Him perfectly every step of His young life. Also, He learned full
and complete obedience by the things He suffered (experienced, endured, Heb 5:8), not
only in His personal ministry but also from His birth.
As David was quite a singer and obviously spent His
youth joyfully immersed in the Scriptures – please read the large number of psalms he
wrote, and muse on their content. However, Christ spent more time than David in the
Scriptures and in the psalms of David which very much reflect the human life of Jehovah
Elohim – much more than we think.
Read the psalms, of David especially, and in your
mind try to picture the understanding and emotions of Jesus as He sang each one of
those psalms. To do so will enrich our appreciation of the psalms. When the first
person singular is used, apply it to Jesus because He said "I" when He sang or read each psalm where "I" appears. When "I"
clearly refers to others, He no doubt used it in the proper perspective. In many, if
not most, of the psalms the "I" can refer both to
David (or the psalm writer) and to Christ.
As Jesus sang Psalm 40, knowing the Scriptures so
well, what do you suppose was the greatest "pit"
in His prophetic life that would surface in His mind again and again, and more so as
the cross drew nearer? – "You will not leave My soul in sheol.
You will not allow Your Holy One see corruption," Ps 16:7-11. Of course,
the Father would deliver Him out of sheol and not leave His body in the grave to see
corruption, Ps 16:7-11. Indeed, we can correctly apply most of Ps 40 to God delivering
us from many painful experiences, and when Jesus sang this Psalm He would do the same,
but the greatest "pit" (Ps 40:2) of all for Jesus
was the one that resulted in His resurrection birth into a divine human body.
AGAIN, A BODY YOU HAVE PREPARED FOR ME
6 "Sacrifice
and offering You did not desire; My ears You have opened (a body You have prepared for
me, Ps 40:6, LXX; Heb 10:5). Burnt offering and sin offering
You did not require.
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, And Your Law
is within my heart,'" Ps 40:6-8.
Compare this with Heb 10:5-10, where in verse 5,
the Holy Spirit moved the writer to quote the Septuagint which says, "but a body You have prepared for Me." As the body has ears,
so an ear requires a body; and as the boring of the ear signified voluntary service,
the ear also speaks of understanding. The ear is a door to the mind, and one of the
functions of the mind is the will.
BY THE WHICH "WILL"
9 "Then
He said, ‘Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God.' He takes away the first that
He may establish the second.
10 "By that will
we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for
all," Heb 10:9-10.
"He takes away the first
that He may establish the second" – this refers to the removal of the first
covenant which held the covenant people in a state of sin and death, Rom 7. The
"first covenant" here generally includes not only
the Law Covenant, but the whole period of time from Adam to Christ, Rom 5:12-21. The
first covenant held everyone in in a state of sin and death. The establishment of the
"second" speaks of the New Covenant which results
in the sanctification (divine birth) of the flesh body into a new divine body like that
of Christ. This is provided only for those who are faithful covenant people: in the
body of Christ, a true local church in this age.
The proper godly exercise of the "will" is of primary intent in these passages, both in Ps
40:6-10 and Hebrews 10:5-10. Though the "will" is
the chief point of emphasis in the passage, the "body" is also vitally important throughout the Scriptures. It
is by the "body of Christ," and His church as His
body, where we are sanctified and have the hope of the new birth resurrection when
Christ returns. It is our "will" that the Holy
Spirit uses to direct our bodies and our whole person into a sanctified state as
members of the body of Christ.
Christ is clearly the One under consideration in Ps
40:6-8, therefore this psalm is a Messianic psalm, and we should consider how He would
sing the whole psalm. This enriches the meaning of the "pit" throughout His life and in His resurrection, and the
praise that follows.
GOOD NEWS OF RIGHTEOUSNESS
9 "I
have proclaimed the good news of righteousness in the great assembly; Indeed, I do not
restrain My lips, O LORD, You Yourself know.
10 "I have not hidden Your righteousness
within My heart; I have declared Your faithfulness and Your salvation; I have not
concealed Your lovingkindness and Your truth from the great assembly," Ps
40:9-10; 22:22.
The "good news of
righteousness" referenced above is God's righteousness – God's
divine nature credited to the faithful covenant people throughout the Bible in
progressive justification as they walk in the steps of Abraham's faith, Rom
4:12-22. This righteousness constitutes the divine wedding garments of bridal relations
(Rev 19:7-8; Ps 61:10 thru 62:3) – very fitting for the resurrection birth of the body
of Christ out of the horrible pit into a heavenly deified human body – a glorious
consummation into a grander plateau of ministry, Ps 40:1-10; 1Co 15:44-50; Ps 16:7-11;
Phi 3:7-14,20-21.
These are words that we should all be able to sing
heartily in the great assembly, but we should also be faithful witnesses of His
resurrection birth and glory to those outside the assembly, which aids to attain that
wedding "crown of rejoicing" (1Th 2:10-20) and
"hope of glory" which the faithful covenant people
have within the body of Christ, Rom 5:2; Eph 1:18; Col 1:5,23,27. These are also words
that David could sing and did sing, and they are words that Christ sang and no doubt
also sang in the assembly after His resurrection birth, Ps 22; Heb 2.
CHRIST CONFESSING OUR SINS
21 "For
He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of
God in Him," 2Co 5:21; 1Pe 2:24.
What does that really mean? Did the Father really
make Christ to be sin? But still, what does that mean? And what does it mean to be made
the righteousness of God in Christ? It means justification, of course. And
justification in this life points to the new birth into the divine righteousness
(divine nature) of God when Christ returns: a divine birth for the faithful covenant
people, Phi 3:9; Mt 6:33; 2Co 5:21; 2Co 9:10; 1Co 15:29-58; Gal 5:5; 2Ti 4:8. But what
does it mean for Christ to be made sin?
24 "Who Himself bore our
sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness - by whose stripes you were healed,"
1Pe 2:24.
Christ bore our sins in His own body on the tree
(on the cross). For emphasis, we again ask the question, what does that really mean?
When did He bear our sins in His own body on a tree? On the cross, of course, during
the three hours of darkness, Mt 27:45-46; Mk 15:33-34; Lk 23:44-46. Obviously, during
those three hours Christ truly bore our sins in His own body.
During those three hours Christ was enduring the
wrath of God against our sins – the most horrible experience that Jehovah Elohim ever
endured was these three hours of inexpressible wrath from God against our sins in an
otherwise perfectly sinless human body. It is difficult to imagine the constant,
unrelenting torment of the rich man in hell (Lk 16:19-31), and of those in the lake of
fire for ages of ages, Rev 14:9-11. It appears that sin is far worse than we are able
to understand. Christ dreaded that experience with inexpressible agony before the
cross, to the extent His sweat was mixed with His blood, Lk 22:42-44. "He made Him to be sin who knew (had experienced) no sin." Jehovah Elohim in His human body was made our "old man," in order to destroy our old man, which is our sin
nature, Rom 6:6.
Jesus really bore our sins and the sins of the
world, as the Lamb of God (Jn 1:29,36) in His own body on the cross. Jehovah Elohim
became a human, kept the perfect Law of God, never sinned the least sin, yet bore our
sins in His own body for three hours on the cross. He did this that we might become (be
born into) the divine righteousness of God in Him, 2Co 5:21. Our
sins became His sins, that His divine righteousness should become our
righteousness in a divine birth when Christ returns. And we are earnestly waiting for
the hope of God's righteousness, Gal 5:5.
Do you suppose that Jesus knew this during His
lifetime? Is it possible that he prayed and talked with the Father about this
sin-bearing experience during His lifetime? As our "sin
offering," He made our sins as His sins and bore our sins as His own sins,
when He really had committed no sin at all Himself.
A major part of the pre-creation covenant between
the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit was that Jehovah Elohim become a human and be
made a "sin offering" for the human race, Jn 1:29;
1Pe 1:18-20. Is it possible that this experience (and its consequence) was what He
dreaded most in the garden of Gethsemane, Lk 22:37-46? Could this have pervaded His
mind and psyche from His early life?
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.
20 "He indeed was foreordained before/font> the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last
times for you," 1Pe 1:18-20.
Isa 53:10-12 reveals that it was in the
pre-creation covenant that Jehovah Elohim in a human body would be the "sin offering" for the human race. The many multiplied
hundreds of thousands of "sin offerings" from Adam
to Christ all pointed to Jehovah Elohim becoming a human "sin
offering." We can only expect to find
this conscious awareness in the Messiah of Himself being the sin offering in these
Messianic passages of the Old Testament. Is it too much to conclude that such was the
mind of Christ as He sang Psalm 40:11-12?
11 "Do not withhold Your
tender mercies from Me, O LORD; let Your lovingkindness and Your truth continually
preserve Me.
12 "For innumerable evils have surrounded Me;
My iniquities have overtaken Me, so that I am not able to look up; They are more than
the hairs of My head; Therefore My heart fails Me," Ps 40:11-12; Ps 68.
Indeed, how did Jesus sing these words? We are to
read them, memorize them, and sing them as applicable to us. Being constantly aware
that He was to be the "sin offering" for the
world, Jesus would sing them in perspective of bearing our sins in His own body on the
cross. The Lord had to be constantly on guard in all moments of every day in order to
love and choose righteousness and hate iniquity, Ps 45:6-7; Heb 2:8-9.
God loves the world and is not desirous that any
should perish, yet He has prepared eternal punishment for those whom He knew would not
repent. Jehovah Elohim died for the sins of the world and prayed for that motley crowd
before the cross, fully aware that most of them would never qualify for the firstborn
sonship.
BUY WITHOUT MONEY
1 "Ho!
Everyone who is thirsting, be you coming to the waters; and you who have no money,
come, buy and eat. Yes, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price,
2 "Why do you spend money for what is not
bread, and your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what
is good, and let your soul delight itself in abundance," Isa 55:1-2.
We are back to Isa 55 and the sure mercies of David
which sprung us into a very revealing correlation of scriptures. It should be obvious
that the sure mercies of David cover all the covenant promises which necessarily lead
to the cross and death of the human body of Jehovah Elohim, and then to all the avenues
of divine glory and blessings that flow from the cross and the resurrection birth of
Christ.
The waters of Isa 55:1-2 are the waters of life. We
are bidden to be constantly coming and drinking and eating without money and without
price. Yet there is a price– a very great price. That price
is our life (the life that includes all that we are – all that we imagine, think, say,
hear, do, feel, and aspire to). It will cost us our life. We must lose our earthy life
for Christ's sake in order to gain Christ, who is the divine life that God has
promised to the faithful covenant people, Lk 9:23-26; Rom 12:1-2; Phi 3:7-14,21.
But this is a price even the poorest can pay.
One's life is more precious than all the possessions and pleasures of the world put
together – yet even the poorest have life. And that life is
easier for the poor to give than it is for the rich. In the place of one's human
life, God has promised divine life to those who will deny themselves, take up the cross
daily, and follow Christ, Lk 9:23-26.
The Holy Spirit is given to those in the Lord's
church as an earnest pledge that this mortal body will be swallowed up of divine life
when Christ returns IF we are willing, by grace through
faith to bear the reproach of Christ in this life, 2Co 4:7-12; 4:17 thru 5:5,14-21; et
al.
Observe again that God set this requirement before
the Old Testament covenant people:
15 "See, I have set before
you today life and good, death and evil...
19 "I call heaven and earth as witnesses today
against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore
choose life, that both you and your descendants may live," Deu
30:15,19.
We must choose "life," that we may live in this life and qualify through
God's covenant training for divine life in all ages to come. To those under
covenant training the Scriptures say:
5 "And you have forgotten
the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons: ‘My son, do not despise the
chastening (covenant disciplinary training) of the LORD, nor
be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him;
6 "For whom the LORD loves He chastens, and is
scourging (is disciplining) every son whom He is
receiving," Heb 12:5-6.
The Old Testament covenant people were under
covenant training for the firstborn sonship (Ex 4:22-23; 19:1-6; Deu 28 & 30), just
as we are, Rom 8:28-30,36; Heb 3; 4; 5:8-9; 11; 12:1-29. If we properly endure that
training, we will be approved and accepted into that sonship and receive that divine
birth in the resurrection, 1Co 15:1-2,29-58; Gal 4:19 thru 5:5; Heb 5:8-9; 12:1-29. If
we are disqualified (1Co 9:27 thru 10:12), we will be cut off from the firstborn
sonship (Gal 5:1-4; Heb 12:1-21), and will fall back under the illegitimate slave son
status, Gal 4:19 thru 5:5; Heb 12:8,15-21.
Therefore let us: "Seek
the LORD while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near," Isa 55:6.
Faithfulness is required for election into the firstborn sonship.
FOR HE HAS GLORIFIED YOU
4
"Indeed I have given Him as a witness to the people, A leader and commander for
the people.
5 "Surely you shall call a nation you do not
know, and nations who do not know you shall run to you, Because of the LORD your God,
and the Holy One of Israel; for He has glorified
you," Isa 55:4-5.
The words "for He has
glorified you" are addressed to Israel, in contrast to the nations, for the
glory belongs to Israel (Isa 46:13; 48:9-12; Rom 9:4), but the fact is also true first
and foremost with Christ. The covenant people, Israel and the church, are predestined
to be one and the same bride of Christ, as we will again see from Isa 54 shortly. And
this will be true because of the divine "oneness"
that God has predestined between the faithful covenant people and the Father, Son, and
Holy Spirit:
21 "That they all may be
ONE, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be ONE in Us, that the
world may believe that You sent Me.
22 "And the glory which You gave Me I have
given them, that they may be ONE just as We are ONE:
23 "I in them, and You in Me; that they may be
made perfect in ONE, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved
them as You have loved Me." Jn 17:21-23.
11 "For both He who is
constantly sanctifying and those who are being sanctified are all of one, for which
reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren,
12 "Saying: ‘I will declare Your name to My
brethren; In the midst of the assembly I will sing praise
to You,'" Heb 2:11-12.
Being made ONE with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit equates receiving the
GLORY (the divine nature) of God. Likewise, being IN the Father, IN the Son, and IN the
Holy Spirit also means possessing the divine nature of God. It is on this basis of
receiving the firstborn sonship that the Holy Spirit is given to those qualifying for
that divine sonship, Jn 7:37-39; Gal 4:4-7; Rom 8:23-30; 2Co 4:17 thru 5:5,14-21.
As is the Son, so His faithful covenant companions
will be in the resurrection. All the covenant people have been grafted into God's
Israel – into Israel's covenant position, (Rom 2:28-29; 11:11-22), and will be one
and the same bride of Christ in the resurrection, Isa 54:1-5; Gal 4:19 thru 5:5.
We are still involved in the "sure mercies of David," (Isa 55:4) which include all the
covenant promises, and which specifically include and are founded upon the unique and
divine resurrection birth of Christ's (Jehovah Elohim's) human body, Isa
55:1-4; Act 13:29-25; 1Co 15:44-50.
GOD'S GLORY BELONGS TO ISRAEL
4 "Who are Israelites, to
whom pertain the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the
giving of the Law, the service of God, and the promises," Rom 9:4.
The glory, the covenants, the covenant promises,
the adoption (the firstborn sonship) – all belong to Israel, Rom 9:4. That is what we
see throughout both Old and New Testaments.
GLORY TO NO OTHER
9 "For
My name's sake I will defer My anger, And for My praise I will restrain it from
you, so that I do not cut you off.
10 "Behold, I have refined you, but not as
silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.
11 "For My own sake, for My own sake, I will
do it; for how should My name be profaned? And I will not give My
glory to another.
12 "Listen to Me, O Jacob, and Israel, My
called: I am He, I am the First, I am also the Last," Isa 48:9-12.
Israel is God's called (His elect), and He will
not give His glory to another. The church has been grafted into Israel by means of
being the body of Christ. Christ is the Seed of Abraham and we (in the church) are seed
of Abraham by being in the body of Christ – being "Christ's" in this unique sense, Gal 3:27-29. Since
God's glory, the promises, the covenants, etc., belong to Israel (Rom 9:4), these
things also belong to the church because the church is now God's Israel, Rom
2:28-29; 11:11-22; 2Co 6:16; Eph 2:10-22; 3:6; Heb 8:8-10; 10:16-25; 1Pe 2:5,9. Of
course, the Scriptures are speaking of the faithful in Israel and the church – they
alone are predestined by God through His Word as the faithful and spiritual descendants
of faithful Abraham, Rom 4; 11; Gal 3; Eph 2:10-22; 1Pe 2:4-9.
FOR ISRAEL MY GLORY
3 "I
bring My righteousness near, it shall not be far off; My salvation shall not linger.
And I will place salvation in Zion, For Israel My glory," Isa 46:13; 54:17.
Compare Rom 9:4; Jer 23:5-8; 33:15-16.
Remember, all our righteousnesses are as filthy
rages before God, Isa 64:6. We can claim no righteousness of our own before God.
1. I Will Bring My Righteousness Near.
This is God's righteousness; all
our righteousnesses are as filthy rags, Isa 64:6. God's righteousness is an
integral part of God's divine nature. God made Jehovah Elohim in human flesh to be
sin, the One who knew no sin, that we should be made "the
righteousness of God in Him" (in His body), 2Co
5:21. Being made the righteousness of God means being made divine – being born again
into a divine state of being. This is precisely what being justified means.
In this life, God's righteousness is only
credited on the basis of faith to those in proper covenant standing with God. The
covenant people will not actually receive that divine righteousness of the new birth
until the resurrection, (Rom 4:22-25 (4:1-25)), but it is credited to them now on the
basis of walking in the "steps" of Abraham's
faith, Rom 4:12-22.
Romans 4 emphasizes at length the "steps" of
Abraham's faithfulness – his by grace through faith works, his persevering by faith
in spite of great odds and many years of patient waiting. Every step of Abraham's
faith was credited for God's righteousness, but we can forfeit that new birth
righteousness, Eze 3:20-21; 18:24; 33:12-13; 2Pe 1:5-10. Paul counted all things but
loss in order to gain that divine nature, the righteousness of God, which is by faith,
Phi 3:7-14, 21. That righteousness of God's divine nature is promised only to the
faithful seed of Abraham (Gal 3) - to God's elect, who are the faithful in Israel
(in the church in this age), Rom 4; 11; Gal 3; 2Pe 1:1-10. A proper translation of Rom
4:22-25 is:
22 "And therefore it was
reckoned (credited) to him for righteousness.
23 "Now it was not written
for his sake alone, that it was counted to him;
24 "But for us also, in
whom it is about to be vested, to the ones constantly believing on him that raised up
Jesus our Lord from the dead – (His resurrection birth);
25 "Who was delivered for
our offences, and was raised again for our justification."
In Christ's resurrection, His human body was
born into a divine state, which included the fullness of God's divine nature, Col
1:18; Rev 1:5; Act 13:29-33; 1Co 15:44-50; Col 2:9.
The NKJ says "because of
our justification." But that is incorrect. Jesus was not raised
"because of" our justification, but in order to
procure our justification, just as is true of His life and death. Jehovah Elohim's
human body was born again in His resurrection for the purpose of creating a divine
human body in order that our bodies can be born into a divine state of life when Christ
returns.
The KJV is accurate. Had Christ not been raised
from the dead, there would be no justification or new birth. This passage must be
correlated with the many others that point to the resurrection or to Christ's
return as the time when the faithful will experience the resurrection birth into His
firstborn sonship. To this end Paul wrote of His sacrifice of all things in order to
"gain Christ" Phi 3:7-14,21:
9 "And be found in Him,
not having my own righteousness, which is of the Law, but that which is through the
faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by the faith:
10 "That I may know Him, and the power of His
resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable to His
death;
11 "If by any means I might attain to the
resurrection (birth) of the dead," Phi 3:9-11
(7-14,21).
We have and will continue to give many passages
showing that the unfaithful will not gain Christ, and the unfaithful "in Christ" will be "cut off from
Christ," Rom 11:11-22; Gal 5:1-4; 2Pe 1:1-10; et al.
2. My Salvation Will Not Tarry.
13 "I
bring near My righteousness; it shall not be far off, and My salvation shall not tarry:
and I will place salvation in Zion for Israel My glory," Isa 46:13.
This salvation is explicitly special for Israel,
God's covenant people. Of course, it includes salvation from hell, but it is
specifically restricted to the faithful covenant people – the bride people of the
firstborn sonship.
10 "I will greatly rejoice
in the LORD, My soul shall be joyful in my God; For He has clothed me with the garments
of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks
himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels," Isa
61:10.
Here the Holy Spirit associates the "garments of salvation," and the "robe of righteousness" with the appropriate attire of the
Groom and His bride. As we see in these articles and throughout the Scriptures, God is
dealing with Israel: He is preparing a special and faithful people out of Israel, and
now (by the church) out of all nations, as a divine bride people, over and above all
other nations, Ex 19:4-6; Deu 7:6-11; 26:16-19. We will later see in Isa 54 that the
faithful in Israel and in the church will be one and the same bride people. The New
Jerusalem is the city of the bride (Rev 21:2,9-11), and that city is promised to
Abraham and his faithful covenant descendants, Heb 11:9-16; Rev 3:12; 21:12-14.
11 "For as the earth
brings forth its bud, as the garden causes the things that are sown in it to spring
forth, so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all
the nations," Isa 61:10-11.
Fall and winter speak of death while spring and
summer testify of a resurrection birth and life. The Scriptures here associate the
event of spring with the resurrection birth of God's faithful covenant people into
His divine righteousness. We must remember that all our righteousnesses are as filthy
rags (Isa 64:6), and God's righteousness is credited to us – "their righteousness is of Me," Isa 54:17; Jer 23:5-9;
33:5-16. Again, God's righteousness is one of God's attributes of deity,
representing the whole of God's divine nature, as normally is the case with
God's glory, life, holiness, love, compassion, etc.
3. A Brilliant Light.
1 "For
Zion's sake I will not hold My peace, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest,
until her righteousness goes forth as brightness, and her salvation as a lamp that
burns.
2 "The Gentiles shall see your righteousness,
and all kings your glory. You shall be called by a new name, which the mouth of the
LORD will name.
3 "You shall also be a crown of glory In the
hand of the LORD, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God," Isa
62:1-3.
How does God's righteousness shine "as brightness?" How does His covenant salvation burn
"as a lamp" or torch and thereby radiate light? Of
course, the church is the spiritual light of the world (Mt 5:14-16), in the sense of
righteous testimony in words and deeds.
But the glory of the Lord appeared as a pillar of
cloud by day, and as a pillar of fire to give light by night as Israel left Egypt and
journeyed forty years in the wilderness, Ex 13:21-22; 14:19-20,24. The glory of the
Lord blazed brilliantly and furiously as a mountain on fire at Mount Sinai, Ex
24:16-17; 34:29-35. When the tabernacle was finished, the glory of the Lord filled the
tabernacle and Moses could not enter, obviously because the glory of the Lord shined so
brilliantly, Ex 40:34-35; 2Ch 5:13-14. The glory of the Lord appeared – evidently
shined forth with brilliant light at the door of the tabernacle, Lev 9:23-24; Num
14:10; 16:19,42. The glory of the Lord radiated before the ark of the covenant within
the holy place, Ex 25:22. The glory of the Lord filled the temple of Solomon to the
extent the priests could not minister in the temple, 2Ch 5:13-14; 7:1-3.
The Lord's human body was transfigured on the
mountain and shined as brightly as the sun before Peter, James, and John, Mt 17:2. As
Saul (Paul) drew near to the city of Damascus, the glory of the Lord shined upon him
from heaven brighter than the sun at midday, Act 26:13. The Lord and his saints and
angels will return in flaming fire and brilliant shining glory, 2Th 1:7-8; 2:8; Titus
2:13.
God says "Israel is My
glory," and "I will not give My glory to
another." As Gentiles, we can share in that divine glory only by being
grafted into Israel; and that engrafting is done only by being joined to the body of
Christ, a true local church, Gal 3:27-29; Eph 2:11-22; 3:6; 2Pe 1:1-10; 2Co 6:14-18.
Moreover, we must continue very faithfully bearing much fruit, otherwise we will be cut
off and fail to make our calling and election sure, Jn 15:1-6; Rom 11:11-22; 2Pe
1:1-10.
SEEK THE LORD WHILE HE MAY BE FOUND
6 "Seek
the LORD while He may be found, Call upon Him while He is near.
7 "Let the wicked forsake his way, And the
unrighteous man his thoughts; Let him return to the LORD, And He will have mercy on
him; And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon," Isa 55:6-7.
These words were written to covenant people who had
strayed from the Lord, and the Lord is crying, "Forsake your
evil ways and return to the Lord." The first act of faith is a necessary
beginning, but the Scriptures are concerned with us taking up the cross and following
in the way that leads to divine righteousness, divine life, and divine glory, Mt
7:13-27; Mk 8:24-28.
33 "But be you seeking
first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to
you," Mt 6:33.
Note how this verse follows the thought of Isa
55:6-7. We are to busy ourselves all day long with the kingdom of God and His
righteousness, His life, His glory, His holiness, His Word, His kingdom. We must give
all diligence to make our calling and election sure, 2Pe 1:1-10.
Faithfulness (by grace through faith) is required
in order to receive God's glory, Rom 8:6,13,17-30; Phi 3:7-14,21. We must persevere
by grace through faith in order to make our calling and election sure and share in
God's election, 2Pe 4:1-10; Rom 11:11-22.
THE LORD SHALL BE YOUR EVERLASTING LIGHT
1
"Arise, shine; For your light has come! And the glory of the LORD is risen upon
you.
2 "For behold, the darkness shall cover the
earth, And deep darkness the people; But the LORD will arise over you, And His glory
will be seen upon you.
3 "The Gentiles shall come to your light, And
kings to the brightness of your rising," Isa 60:1-3.
The glory of the Lord speaks of the majesty, power,
praises, mighty works, etc., of the Lord, but the glory, as we have seen, also speaks
of the brilliant shining attribute of God's person. God demonstrated this attribute
throughout the Old Testament, and includes it as one of the covenant promises to all
the faithful covenant people, as seen in Isa 60; 61; 62; at al.
QUESTIONS AND WORK TASKS FOR CHAPTER THREE
1. Show from the Scriptures that Jesus was
both God and Human.
2. God is omnipotent (all powerful).
Explain what this means.
3. God is omniscient. Define what this
means.
4.God is omnipresent. Describe what this
means.
5. The redemption cycle is very important
for a proper understanding of the Scriptures. Name the major steps in the redemption
cycle.
6. Define how Ps 2:7-9 requires the entire
redemption cycle from Gen 3:15 through 1Co 15:24-28.
7. Describe the ministry of angels in
relation to the firstborn sons.
8. Give evidence that Christ was
restricted in knowledge and experience to that of a human being.
9. Provide scriptural evidence that Christ
learned who He was at a very early age, and indicate how diligent you think Joseph and
Mary were in teaching Jesus about their visions and what they learned from
others.
10. How diligent should parents be in
teaching the Bible to their children?
11. Heb 10:6-8 quotes from Ps 40:6-8
(LXX). Explain why all in Israel should have known that animal sacrifices represented
the Seed of the woman as our Kinsman Redeemer.
12. Christ was made sin that we might be
made the righteousness of God in Him, 2Co 5:21. Define what this means.
13. Jesus no doubt sang and meditated on
the psalms daily. How do you think he thought, understood, and felt as He sang Ps
40:11-12?
14. Explain what it means to be made the
righteousness of God in Christ, 2Co 5:21.
15. Paul gave up all things to gain
Christ, Phi 3:7-11. Define, as much as possible, what it means to gain Christ, as
revealed in this passage.
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