MidnightCryOnline

1. Messiah In a Human body.

a. This is a messianic Psalm. Most of the Psalm applies both to David and to Christ, or anyone in bitter afflictions, but the primary application is to Christ in the garden of Gethsemane. The Psalm provides a very humbling look at the humanity of Jehovah Elohim in a human body, Isa 7:14; 9:6-7.
b. Verses 25 thru 27 above are quoted by the book of Hebrews (Heb 1:10-12) as being the words of the Father to the Son in response to the cry of the Son in a human body in verses 23 and 24 above that His days were being cut short, obviously by crucifixion and death, Ps 22; Deu 21:23; Zec 12:10; Heb 5:7.

2. Messiah in a Divine Body.

      a. In verses 23 and 24, the days of the Son are being cut short and he is nearing the point of death, yet in verses 25-26 the Father comforts the Son and recalls that the Son was Partner in the creation of the heavens and the earth in the beginning, and would yet be Partner in the changing of created things.
      b. This reveals that the Son (the Son of Man, the Son of David, Jehovah Elohim), was there and existed before all creation, and therefore is greater than all creation, including sin, death, hell, angels, Satan, and all his demons, Rev 1:18.
      c. In verse 26, the Father reminds the Son that the creation is growing old and will perish, and that the Son would be brought back to life and be a Partner in changing the future state of all creation.
      d. In verse 27, the Father assures the Son that the Son's future will continue as divinely predestined: though the material universe is growing old and will be changed, the Son would remain the same, His years will have no end. This means that the prophetic Word will remain unbroken:
            1) in a human body the Son must suffer the wrath of God against the sins of the whole human race, and His human body must die and be buried,
            2) the Son would descend into hades,
            3) would ascend out of hades after three days,
            4) would reenter His human body, and
            5) would give it a divine birth into a divine body, but would never change thereafter.
      e. In verse 28, the Father reaffirms that the Son's companions will be established before the Son in His likeness (in divine bodies which requires the new birth), as stated in the Old Testament Scriptures, Job 19:25-27; Ps 17:15; 68:17-18; Isa 40:31; 43:1-3,21; 60:8; Dan 7:13-14,18,22,27; 12:3; Mal 3:16-18; 4:1-3; et al.
      f. This passage reveals that the Messiah is the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last, the Alpha and Omega, the eternal Son of God, the eternal Son of Man, the I AM, Ex 2:13-14; Jn 8:58; Rev 1:8-18.
      g. Nicodemus should have laid hold on Isa 7:14; 9:6-7; and these other Old Testament passages which reveal that Jehovah Elohim (as the Son of God) was to be born into the human race. Nicodemus should have unrelentingly pursued Jehovah Elohim in a human body through the Old Testament many hundreds, even thousands of times.
            1) Nicodemus should have made a major note of Jehovah Elohim being born of a virgin into the human family (Isa 7:14; 9:6-7), and growing into adulthood as a normal human being, yet without sin, Isa 53:1-2.
            2) Nicodemus should have understood the significance of the Passover lamb and the other animal sacrifices being without spot and without blemish, and taking away the sin of the world to redeem all that the first Adam lost, Gen 3:15,21; Ex 12; Ps 2:9; 72:8; Isa 45:22; Jn 1:29,36.
            3) Nicodemus should have understood the significance of the whole burnt offerings and other offerings made by fire, Lev 1 thru 6.
            4) He should have seen Jehovah Elohim in a human body, free from sin but bearing the sins of the guilty, Isa 53.
            5) He should have recognized Jehovah Elohim in a human body being crucified, dying, being buried, descending into sheol, and ascending out of sheol leading captivity into the third heaven, Isa 53; Zec 12:10; Ps 22; 16:7-11; 68:17-18.
            6) He should have associated the Son of God/Son of Man in the flesh with the Rock cut out of the mountain in Dan 2:34-35, with the Son of Man in Dan 7:13-27, and with the Messiah being cut off in Dan 9:26. He should have seen Jehovah Elohim pierced in Zc 12:10 and smitten as the Shepherd of the sheep in Zec 13:7.
            7) He should also have seen the Son of Man as the righteous Servant of Isa 52 and 53, as the deified Branch of Righteousness in Jer 23;5-8; 33:15-16; and Isa 54:17, and as the brilliantly shining Sun of Righteousness of Mal 4:2.
            8) He should have understood these passages quoted later in the New Testament, hidden yet perceptible within this divine maze of the Old Testament mysteries.

3. Messiah's Firstborn Sonship Companions in Deified Bodies.

Verse 28 of this passage (Ps 102:23-28) the companions of Jehovah Elohim, who will be established before Him. Ps 22:23-24; 40:6-10; 45:6-8; 68:17-20; et al.
This last passage (Ps 68:17-20) speaks of Christ leading captivity captive (out of sheol, Ps 16:10), ascending on high, and thereby moving paradise from the center of the earth to the third heaven. See also Lk 23:43; Eph 4:8-10; 2Co 12:1-4. Verse 20 (Ps 68:17-20) addresses the salvation of the Lord, specifically the escapes (outgoings) from death. The Lord loads us with "benefits" which are the avenues of escape from death into the divine firstborn sonship of Christ, Ps 68:19-20.

WHAT IS MAN

      3 "When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, The moon and the stars, which You have ordained,
      4 "What is man that You are mindful of him, And the Son of Man that You visit Him?
      5 "For You have made Him a little lower than the angels, And You have crowned Him with glory and honor.
      6 "You have made Him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under His feet," Ps 8:3-6.

1. When I Consider the Heavens.

As scientists discover more and more about the heavens, the earth, and the oceans, we are appalled and ask ourselves,"What is man that God is so mindful of us?" Why should Jehovah Elohim become a man and suffer such humiliation, such agonies, and suffer the divine wrath against Himself because of our sins? Why should God bring any of us into that inexpressibly divine "oneness" with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit? Why should God think to set any of us above all the works of His hands to share the divine firstborn sonship together with His Son? The answer:

2. God Is Revealing His Attributes.

The answer is first that God desires to show His love, compassion, mercy, longsuffering, His justice, etc., toward the vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, and also to make known the riches of His divine essence on the vessels of mercy, which He has also prepared beforehand for glory, Rom 9:22-23. The "will" of man is a slave of sin, but the Spirit of God brings every rational human being to the place where he or she can, by God's grace, make the choice to believe or disbelieve, and God has predestined that every rational human being make that positive or negative choice many times every day, Ps 19:1-6; 65:5; 45:22; Jn 1:9; 12:32; Act 14:16-17; 17:26-28; Rom 1:18-20.

3. A Little Lower Than the Angels.

God has set man and the Son of Man (Jehovah Elohim) a little lower than the angels, who are created beings, immeasurably lower than God. And man is likewise much, much lower than the angels. In this eternally and divinely predestined drama of the mystery of Godliness, God purposed beforehand to deliver many sons out of this state of shame and rebellion into the glorious heritage of the firstborn sonship of Christ, Heb 2:6-13.
As Nicodemus and many other diligent Old Testament students of the Scriptures looked at this passage, they should have seen that "the Son of Man" addressed in this passage is the Jehovah Elohim of Isa 7:14 and 9:6-7, who existed before He was made a human lower than the angels. They should also have observed the same Son of Man being "cut off" (Dan 9:26), obviously as described in Ps 22, Isa 53, and Zec 12:10, then later being ushered in before the Father in divine glory to receive the throne and kingdom promised to the Son of David, whom David also called Lord, Dan 7:13-14 (1-27); 2:44; 12:1-12; Ps 110:1; Mt 22:41-45.

4. For the Joy Set Before Him.

For the joy of this firstborn sonship heritage, which includes bringing many sons to glory Isa 53; (Heb 2:6-13), Christ endured the indescribable shame and pain of a lowly human life, being despised and rejected by His chosen people, and the writhing agonies of Gethsemane thru the cross, Isa 50:5-7; 52:14; 53:1-12; Heb 2:6-13; 5:1-9; 12:2. Indeed the human life, which included the cross, required harsh and severe training for the Son of Man.

5. Severe Covenant Discipline.

For us to share eternally in that glorious firstborn sonship, God has appoint a lifetime training experience of voluntary self-denial and steadfast submission, by a "grace through faith" walk, to do the will of God, Heb 3; 4; 5:8-9. This training is for all who will aspire to share Christ's firstborn sonship. We must not faint under God's appointed chastening (training) in order to share in His divine life, righteousness, and holiness, etc., Heb 12:1-11. If we faint and do not hold steadfast to the end (Heb 3:6-19), we will make shipwreck of faith (1Ti 1:18-20) and abort the firstborn sonship without recourse, Heb 3:7-19; 6:4-6; 10:25-31; 12:8,15-17.

6. Crowned with Glory and Honor.

God has crowned the Son with glory and honor, Ps 8:3-8; Heb 2:6-7. All these passages were written by inspiration: God meant what He through the Holy Spirit through David wrote in this Psalm (Ps 8:3-7), and Nicodemus should have known that Christ would be crowned with a new born, heavenly, spirit, deified body in His resurrection. That is a part of the "glory and honor" which the Son of Man would be crowned. But how much could Nicodemus and others in his time have known of these things? He could have known all these things we have been seeing by analyzing and properly correlating these amazing and very revealing Old Testament Messianic passages. Nicodemus could have learned all these things, just as Jesus did by a godly life and unrelenting study of the Scriptures. That is why Jesus said to Nicodemus, "Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things?" Jn 3:10.

7. The Father Put All Things Under His Feet.

"You have put all things under His feet," Ps 8:6. This requires that the Messiah be again (Ps 102:23-28) placed above all creation, above the powerful angels where He was before as Jehovah Elohim with the Father and the Holy Spirit, Isa 7:14; 9:6-7. It is clear from Ps 8:3-8, and companion passages, that Jehovah Elohim would not be placed above all things and still possess an earthy flesh and blood body, which is lower than the angels. The Holy Spirit through the writer of the Hebrew letter explains: ".....For in that He put all in subjection under Him, He left nothing that is not put under Him. But now we do not yet see all things put under Him," Heb 4:8.
Nicodemus should have recognized that the Son of David on the throne of David would be none other than Immanuel – God with us, the mighty God, Jehovah Elohim in a human body, who would be crucified, die, be buried, descend into sheol, ascend out of sheol leading captivity captive, born again into a divine body in His resurrection (crowned with glory and honor), ascend back to heaven, sit at the right hand of the Father, and intercede for the saints. Nicodemus should have understood that the Son of David (Jehovah Elohim) would then at the end of the sixth millennium descend back to the earth and give all the faithful covenant people a divine body that will shine like the stars of heaven in oneness with the Sun of Righteousness (Dan 12:3; Mal 4:1-3), and sit on David's throne as Jehovah Elohim through the seventh day (the seventh millennium).

8. Taste Death for Everyone.

      Tasting death for everyone required the new birth, Heb 2:9. We have touched on:
            1) the death of Christ for the sins of the world (Ps 22; Isa 53; 45:22; Zec 12:10),
            2) His death by crucifixion, Ps 22:16; Zec 12:10,
            3) His burial after death (Ps 16:9-10; Isa 53:9),
            4) His descending into sheol (Ps 16:9-11),
            5) His ascending out of sheol and leading captivity captive (Ps 68:17-18),
            6) His being born again into a deified body in His resurrection (Ps 2:7; 16:9-11; 68:17-18; Isa 53:10-12),
            7) His praising the Father in the church after resurrection (Ps 22:21-25; Heb 2:12-13),
            8) His being seated at the right hand of the Father (Ps 110:1; Mt 22:41-45),
            9) His interceding for the saints, Isa 53:12; 110:4),
            10) His bringing many sons to glory by sanctifying (justifying) them into a divine oneness with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (Also Ex 12:1-28,43-49; Isa 53:10-12; 54:17; Jer 23:5-8; 33:15-16; 1Co 5:7-8; Heb 10:10; 2:11), and
            11) His coming again with all His saints (Zec 14:1-5), sitting on the throne of David, and reigning through the seventh day – the seventh millennium, (Isa 9:6-7; Jer 23:5-7; 33:5-16). All of these are from Old Testament passages, and are confirmed by the New Testament.

9. Bringing Many Sons to Glory.

      In bringing many sons to glory, Heb 2:10. Nicodemus should have been of one mind with the Psalmist (a Messianic Psalm, like the preceding Psalm 16) who prayed: "As for Me, I will see Your face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied when I awake in Your likeness," Ps 17:15. Christ learned all these passages we are analyzing, and He learned them well. And His knowledge of these Messianic passages gave Him tremendous assurance, so that He could pray,
      9 "Therefore My heart is glad, and My glory rejoices; My flesh also will rest in hope.
      10 "For You will not leave My soul in sheol, Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.
      11 "You will show Me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore," Ps 16:9-11.
      Yet Jesus knew that He was constantly being tempted and must hate sin and love righteousness every moment of His life. The covenant training was austere in many ways: Satan, for instance, could win a complete victory if he could get Jesus to commit one sin. Thus Jesus was a most diligent student of the Scriptures, and saturated His days and nights with prayer, as we read in these Messianic passages (See also, Heb 5:7), and the times He prayed till very late into the night, early in the morning, or all night long. When did Jesus become aware that He was the Messiah, Jehovah Elohim? At age 12, He already knew, Lk 2:49, and He knew by studying the Old Testament Scriptures, as every other seed of Abraham could do as the Old Testament flowed to its completion.

10. For They Are All of One.

      "For both He who is sanctifying and those who are being sanctified are all of ONE. For which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren," Heb 2:11.
      The "oneness" between Christ as the Son of Man and the covenant people (covenant companions) is beautifully emphasized in the following verses.
      9"But we see Jesus, who was made (a human) a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone,"
      The death of animal sacrifices saturates the Old Testament, revealing the necessity of the death of the human body of the Messiah who is "God with us" – Jehovah Elohim.
      10 "For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.
      "11 For both He who is sanctifying and those who are being sanctified are all of ONE, for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren" – predestined to be firstborn sons in divine (born again) bodies, (5-14,29); 12:23 (1-23)),
      12 "Saying: ‘I will declare Your name to My brethren; In the midst of the assembly (church) I will sing praise to You.'
      13 "And again: ‘I will put My trust in Him.' And again: ‘Here am I and the children whom God has given Me," Heb 2:8-13.
      We must see through the book of Hebrews, throughout the New Testament, and throughout the Old Testament, the ONENESS of the One who is constantly sanctifying and the ones who are constantly being sanctified by Him. This includes only those who diligently persevere daily by grace through faith to share the firstborn sonship of Christ, 2Pe 1:5-10. It does not include the unfaithful "slave" sons of God (Gal 4:21-31; 5:1-4; Heb 12:8) who fail to make their calling and election sure (2Pe 1:3-10; Rom 11:11-22), who thereby transgress the doctrine of Christ (2Jn 9-11; 1Jn 2:23-25), and are cut off from Christ, Jn 15:1-6; Gal 5:1-4.
      We will continue to point out this "new birth" "oneness," as it is portrayed throughout the Old Testament and by countless sacrifices and ceremonies. Here, setting the Son of Man above all the works of God's hand, which leaves nothing that is not put under Him, means He, as the Son of Man (the Son of David, Jehovah Elohim), is placed above the angels with immeasurably greater glory than the angels. This requires the new birth – the full deification of the human body of the Son of David, as we are seeing in the many Old Testament passages. Christ was to be crowned with glory and honor (Ps 16:9-11; 17:15), which means His body would be justified (born again) in His resurrection (Isa 53:11; Rom 4:24-25; 2Co 5:21; Phi 3:9), and would thereby be called "the Lord our Righteousness," Isa 54:17; Jer 23:5-8; 33:15-16. God's purpose from the beginning was that we know Him no more after a mere flesh body, 2Co 5:16-17; 1Jn 3:2-3.

11. To My Brethren – In the Midst of the Assembly.

      "Saying: ‘I will declare Your name to My brethren; In the midst of the assembly I will sing praise to You,' Heb 2:12; Ps 22:22.
      As Jesus hang in agony on the cross dying alone for the sins of the world, He said these words, with full assurance that the Father had heard Him, Ps 22:21. In the garden of Gethsemane or on the cross he had also said:
      8 "I have set the LORD always before Me; Because He is at My right hand I shall not be moved.
      9 "Therefore My heart is glad, and My glory rejoices; My flesh also will rest in hope.
      10 "For You will not leave My soul in sheol, nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.
      11 "You will show Me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore," Ps 16:8-11.
      15 "As for Me, I will see Your face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied when I awake in Your likeness," Ps 17:15.
      In the midst of His church after His resurrection Jesus no doubt sang and talked to the disciples about these Psalms. These in His church, in the proper covenant relationship, are the ones whom He was and is sanctifying to be "one" in the divine state of being.

12. I and the Children Whom God Has Given Me.

      "And again: ‘I will put My trust in Him.' And again: ‘Here am I and the children whom God has given Me,'" Heb 2:13; Isa 8:17-18.
      After His resurrection birth into glory, Jesus showed Himself only to those in His New Covenant assembly. The resurrection and the resurrection birth were and are vitally important in God's eternal purpose. And witnesses of that resurrection birth are also important in that covenant purpose. God is infinite in all His glorious person, and it is His good and righteous pleasure to demonstrate His attributes (His praises) in the person of those who believe and find inexpressible delight in the hope of sharing in God's divine essence. Jesus revealed a bit of that eager and loving compassion toward the two disciples on the road to Emmaus:
      25 "Then He said to them, "O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!
      26 "Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?"
      2font class="itext">27 "And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself,.....
      32 "And they said to one another, ‘Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us? Lk 24:25-27, 32, 44-46.
      Later that same night Jesus appeared to His church and showed them His resurrected and divinely born again body:
      45 "And He opened their minds, to understand the Scriptures,
      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,'" Lk 24:45-46.
      Jesus used Jonah being in the belly of the fish for three days and three nights as a sign of His resurrection the third day, Mt 12:39-40. Could Nicodemus or others in his day have recognized this as a sign of the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ? Would Jonah being in the belly of the fish for three days and nights become a sign after Christ arose from the grave or was it a sign before the fact, or both? If it was to serve as a sign before the fact, then who was to recognize it as a sign, unless it was Nicodemus and others in Israel? The Old Testament Scriptures revealed that Christ would die, be buried, and would arise the third day in a new born divine body, 1Co 15:3-4.

THE SURE MERCIES OF DAVID

      "Incline your ear, and come to Me. Hear, and your soul shall live; And I will make an everlasting covenant with you -- The sure mercies of David,"Isa 55:3.
      How awesome is the Lord's correlation of scriptures! How beautiful indeed to observe the harmony of the Old and New Testaments! For the moment we will begin by pointing out from the above passage that the sure mercies of David constitute an "everlasting covenant" – the New Covenant, Act 13:34 (29-35); Act 13:35 (Ps 16:10 (7-11)). This means the covenant promises and the sure mercies of David are one and the same. The sure mercies of David are God's covenant promises to David through the Son of David, who is Jehovah Elohim, whom David, of course, called Lord, Ps 110:1; Mt 22:41-46.
      Now let us look again at the New Covenant and observe the correlation the Holy Spirit makes:
      29 "Now when they had fulfilled all that was written concerning Him, they took Him down from the tree and laid Him in a tomb.
      30 "But God raised Him from the dead.
      31 "He was seen for many days by those who came up with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are His witnesses to the people.
      32 "And we declare to you glad tidings -- that promise which was made to the fathers.
      33 "God has fulfilled this for us their children, in that He has raised up Jesus. As it is also written in the second Psalm: 'You are My Son, To-day I have begotten You,'" Act 13;29-33.
      This is a promise made to the fathers – that the human body of Jehovah Elohim would be born of God from the dead. We will return to that promise shortly. We are here looking at the resurrection birth of Christ – the very heart of the firstborn sonship of Christ. In our minds we immediately associate this passage in Acts with 1Co 15:44-50. But look at what the Spirit put immediately after Acts 13:29-33 – the next verse:

THE SURE MERCIES OF DAVID

      34 "And that He raised Him from the dead, no more to return to corruption, He has spoken thus: 'I will give you the sure mercies of David,'" Act 13:34.
      What does the resurrection birth of Christ (of Jehovah Elohim) have to do with "the sure mercies of David?" Why did the Holy Spirit put that expression in here? Remember that the sure mercies of David are the same as the covenant promises. This correlation reveals that "the sure mercies of David" are intimately and vitally a part of the resurrection birth of Christ. And one of these covenant promises is a resurrection birth into divine life – into the divine nature (keep Isa 55 in mind).
      Isa 55:3 says, "...Hear and your soul shall live..." This is an often repeated promise in the Old Testament, and here it is a promise of divine life in this same verse with the everlasting covenant and the sure mercies of David. The Bible is a covenant book written to covenant people about covenant promises made to those who will endure the rigid covenant discipline and thereby qualify for a divine "oneness"with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Eph 1:22-23; 3:19; Col 1:19; 2:9-10; 5:30-32; Jn 10:30-36; 14:8-11; 17:21-23; et al.
      15 "See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil," Deu 30:11-15; Rom 10:4-11.
      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 30:19.
      The scripture says that life and death are set before the covenant people that they may live. This includes both physical life and spiritual life: that you may live physically in order that you may overcome in the covenant testing requirement and thereby live with divine life in the firstborn sonship of Christ.
      Let us again look at this same covenant promise of life made to covenant people who have already obtained "like precious faith" – "the faith of Christ," that is in the body of Christ:
      "By which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these (promises) you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust," 2Pe 1:4 (1:1-10).
      These promises are made to saved, scripturally baptized church members (covenant people), who are in the body of Christ and thereby have already "obtained like precious faith," 2Pe 1:1. This is the strait and narrow way that leads to divine life, Mt 7:13-14. This promise is part of the sure mercies of David which leads to divine life, and is made to those who are "the pillar and ground of the truth," 1Ti 3:14. We must not transgress that doctrine of Christ by fellowshipping spiritually with those who do not have the doctrine of Christ, 2Jn 8-11; 1Jn 2:23-25; 5:9-13 (Observe Gr tense); Mt 19:16-30; Mk 8:34-38; 10:17-30; Lk 9:23-26; 10:25-37; 18:18-30; Jn 12:25; et al.
      Observe a further correlation by the Holy Spirit in Act 13:29-35:

YOU WILL NOT ALLOW YOUR HOLY ONE TO SEE CORRUPTION

      35 "Therefore He also says in another Psalm: 'You will not allow Your Holy One to see corruption,'" Act 13:35; Ps 16:10.
      But this is only one half of one verse in the context of Ps 16:7-11. We will quote the whole verse and more of the context that we must correlate with Act 13:29-34. Analyze and see that these words are the words of the Son of David (Jehovah Elohim) about His death and the resurrection of His body into divine life. Here we see Jehovah Elohim in a human body (and as a human) looking toward the death of that body, His Spirit descending into sheol, ascending out of sheol, reentering the body, that body being given a divine birth into "the path of life" (divine life for the human body), and then ascending into the divine presence of the Father:
      7 "I will bless the LORD who has given Me counsel; My heart also instructs Me in the night seasons.
      8 "I have set the LORD always before Me; Because He is at My right hand I shall not be moved.
      9 "Therefore My heart is glad, and My glory rejoices; My flesh also will rest in hope.
      10 "For You will not leave My soul in sheol, nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.
      11 "You will show Me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore," Ps 16:7-11.
      The same Holy Spirit who revealed this to Paul, revealed it to Jesus (Mt 16:21; Lk 23:43), and to Simeon (Lk 2:25-35), and to Mary, Mt 26:6-13. God revealed much to Daniel because he fasted and prayed that he might know the meaning of these things. Nicodemus and others would have known about the new birth if they had done the same, Ps 25:14. Jesus applied Himself to the study of the Scriptures, and as a result He knew about the new birth and kindly rebuked Nicodemus for not doing the same. Nicodemus should have know about the new birth – a birth from this mere flesh body into a divine body of divine glory. And, not surprisingly, this context in Act 13:29-35 has further correlations:

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 scripture:

1. A Covenant Promise.

      This is that promise made to the fathers just mentioned in Act 13:33. The promise was made many, many times in different words and types, but this is specifically referenced in Act 13:33. The resurrection of Christ's human body into a divine body was vital in 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," is an action determined before the ages, but not taken before the ages began. In God's purpose, Christ was a Lamb slain before the foundation (creation) of the world, but the crucifixion was 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 for Christ's faithful covenant companions.

4. Of Mature Age.

The normal reading of these verses reveals the Son was of grown, mature age when these words were spoken to Him. The Father was not speaking to a newly born child, but to Jehovah Elohim (the Son of David) in a human body, following His crucifixion, death, burial, descent into hades, ascent out of hades, 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 Nicode-mus and all others in his day just as it is for us today. We can easily trace Jehovah Elohim from Isa 7:14 to Dan 7:27 and 12:3,12, and unequivocally establish the new birth of the human body of Christ as it happened, and of the saints in the future at the beginning of the seventh day (seventh millennium) – from the Old Testament.

5. Having Been Perfected.

      Jehovah Elohim in this passage (Ps 2:7-9) is speaking to Jehovah Elohim 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, consummate accomplishment. This could not be said to Christ until the His human life-struggle was over, death, hell, and the grave was conquered, and He had passed through the divine threshold into a fully 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 sal-vation to all who obey Him," Heb 5:8-9.
      12 "Blessed is the man who endures temptation (trials, covenant discipline); for when he has been 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 approved, he will receive the crown of life, which the Lord has promised to those who love Him," Ja 1:12. NAS.
      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 covenant 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.

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 said to Jehovah Elohim in a new born divine human body, " Today.....Ask of Me...."

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 already qualified for the greatest inheritance of all: the justification or deification of an innumerable host of deified human companions – all who qualify for the firstborn sonship, Rev 7:9-17; 14:1-5; 19:7-8. However, a much lesser, but still an important covenant promise, was that of sitting on the throne of David as the Son of David (as Jehovah Elohim) and ruling the nations (and all creation) as also promised, Isa 9:6-7; et al.

8. An Advocate with the Father.

      "Today I have begotten You" also announces the arrival of 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 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 that 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 be figured in between Ps 110:1-4 and Zec 14:1-4.

INTRODUCTION TO THE OLD TESTAMENT

IN THE BEGINNING

WHAT IS MAN

THE SURE MERCIES OF DAVID

THE SURE MERCIES OF DAVID

YOU WILL NOT ALLOW YOUR HOLY ONE TO SEE CORRUPTION

TODAY I HAVE BEGOTTEN YOU

CLICK FOR NEXT ISSUE