I
wrote to you in an earlier post that Christ
did not begin to exist at His birth in Bethlehem. He has always existed; the
Godhead Trinity are co-equal, co-eternal, one in essence, nature, power, action, and will;
all uncreated, and all three are eternal without beginning. Jesus
Himself told the Jews that “…Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham
was, I am” {Jn. 8:58 NASB}, and He said in John 6:62, “What then if you see the Son of Man
ascending to where He was before?” (NASB). Not only does Scripture
affirm the pre-existence of Christ, but the earliest leaders of the church,
from the Patristics to the Reformers, concluded that Scripture taught that Christ
eternally existed with the Father (One of the greatest works being St. Athanasius’ On The Incarnation). His pre-existence is revealed
throughout the Old and New Testaments, the prophets, and by Jesus Himself,
which I will discuss all in later posts. Christ’s divine nature is the very
same nature as the Father and the Holy Spirit. Christ, according to His divine
nature is immutable, impassible, and neither lessened nor weakened by the
incarnation.[1]
The
pre-existence of Christ is essential to the Incarnation. If Christ pre-existed
eternally with the Father, He was God. If He did not pre-exist, He could not
have been God. If He is God, He is to be worshiped as God, and the attributes
of God should be ascribed to Him. The complete teaching of Scripture about
Jesus Christ is that He was fully human and fully divine. “Although the Word
does not explicitly occur in Scripture, the church has used the term Incarnation
to refer to the fact that Jesus was God in human flesh. The Incarnation was
the act of God the Son whereby he took to himself a human nature.”[2]
Scripture implies and assumes that Jesus was God. The nature of Christ’s
pre-existence deals with the nature of His deity. If Jesus’ birth was His
beginning, He was not God, and it negates any idea that He is the Word in the
flesh. He simply could not be God incarnate if He did not pre-exist eternally
with the Father. “The world was from the beginning, but the Word was in the
beginning. The Word had a being before the world had a beginning. He that was
in the beginning never began, and therefore was.”[3]
Another aspect of the nature of His pre-existence is that He is the Second Person of the Trinity. The implications of this are imperative to His pre-existence. Christ was not only human, but He also claimed to be equal with God; sharing the very same essence of the Father. Jesus prayed in John 17:5, “Now, Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.” This is a clear statement by Christ that He existed before the world. This means Jesus existed before His birth and was as God in nature and attributes.
There
are several key events in Scripture that speak to the eternal Second Person of
the Trinity. It is these events that solidify His pre-existence. We will
examine these events in the next post with the appearances of Christ in the Old
Testament.
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[1] Timothy Pawl, In
Defense Of Conciliar Christology: A Philosophical Essay (Oxford: Oxford University
Press., 2016), 16.
Why did Christ come to earth? Why would He leave the glory of heaven to live in human skin and suffer the things this world has to offer?
The Incarnation is essential to God’s plan of redemption. Salvation comes by believing in Him as Lord and Savior and accepting the sacrifice He made for mankind. Packer writes,
“Take the atonement, how can we believe that the death of Jesus of Nazareth—one man, expiring on a Roman gibbet— put away the world’s sins? How can that death have any bearing on God’s forgiveness of our sins today?”[1] The writer of Hebrews answers Packer’s query, “Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people” (Heb. 2:17 NASB).
He came and died as a sacrifice for sin. We are incapable of making the sacrifice for ourselves. It is only by the sacrifice made by Christ, that we can be forgiven and reconciled to God. If Jesus were a mere human being, He would in the end amount to nothing more than a great religious teacher or spiritual guide. However, in the Incarnation, God bears the brunt of suffering and evil by subjecting Himself to the cruelty and horror of the world.[2]
Mankind was made in the glorious image of God:
“Then God said, ‘Let Us make mankind in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the livestock and over all the earth, and over every crawling thing that crawls on the earth’” (Gen. 1:26 NASB).
The Potter molding His clay; The divine Creator creating. He separates mankind from the rest of creation to be made in His holy image:
“The image of God in Genesis 1 functions as a calling for humankind: to use all their capacities, those they share with the other animals and especially those that set them apart, in establishing a community that exercises dominion over God’s world, a dominion that reflects God’s faithfulness, wisdom, benevolence, and creativity.”[3]
Satan came to the garden and broke the earthen vessels and tempted them to sin by choosing to believe his lies. They fell, damaging the beautiful image that God bestowed on them. This was too big for them to repair; they had dug a hole too big to climb out themselves. God had to cast them from His presence. He longed to restore mankind to Himself so they could once again be in His presence.
“What was God to do? What else could He possibly do, being God, but renew His Image in mankind, so that through it men might once more come to know Him? And how could this be done save by the coming of the very Image Himself, our Saviour Jesus Christ? Men could not have done it, for they are only made after the Image; nor could angels have done it, for they are not the image of God. The Word of God came in His own Person, because it was He alone, the Image of the Father, Who could recreate man made after the Image…He assumed a human body in order that in it death might once for all be destroyed, and that men might be renewed according to the Image. The Image of the Father only was sufficient for this need.”[4]
That is His purpose—that we may know Him. That we have a personal relationship with Him. That He be our everything. He loves us that much.
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[1] J.I. Packer, Knowing God (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press., 1973), 52. [2] Michael Green, The Truth Of God Incarnate (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1977), 103. [3] C. John Collins, Reading Genesis Well (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2018), 164. [4] Athanasius, On The Incarnation (Yonkers: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press., 2011), 41.
The Old Testament is a wonderful and
beautiful book that contains some of the richest prose and poetry. I love the
Old Testament. I am saddened with the trend in some of today’s churches who exhort
their flocks to detach from the Old Testament. Without the Old Testament, it is
impossible to understand the New Testament.
The Apostle Paul teaches us that “All Scripture is inspired by God and beneficial for teaching, for rebuke, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man or woman of God may be fully capable, equipped for every good work” {2 Tim. 3:16-17 NASB}. When Paul wrote these great words, the New Testament had not been compiled; the Scriptures were the Law and the Prophets—the Old Testament. Yet, he teaches the new church to use them to equip and build up the saints.
Jesus Himself, tells the disciples
that the Old Testament is where to find the writings concerning Him. In Luke,
we find that Jesus after the resurrection told the two weary disciples on the
road to Emmaus, “beginning with
Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning
Himself in all the Scriptures” {24:27
NASB}.Again in John’s Gospel, He spoke of the Old Testament that “It
is they that bear witness of me” {Jn.
5:39}.
The Old Testament contains nearly three hundred references to the
coming Messiah, all of which were fulfilled in Jesus Christ. The chance that
Jesus is the fulfillment of all three hundred references is overwhelming. In
his classic book, Science Speaks, Peter Stoner calculated the
chance of any man fulfilling just eight of the three hundred prophecies
concerning the coming Messiah to be 1 in 100,000,000,000,000,000 (10 to the
17th power) or one hundred quadrillion.[1] Yet
the Bible affirms that Jesus did fulfill the prophecies concerning Him (Lk.
24:32).
The
first Messianic prophecy or the Protoevangelium is found in Genesis
3:15: “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your
seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise him on
the heel.” This prophecy is fulfilled in Matthew
1:18 and Galatians 3:16, 19 refers to Jesus as being the promised seed of the
woman.
The Old Testament is saturated with rich symbolism of Christ. Jesus was from the beginning; He was with the Father before all things. His beautiful High Priestly prayer in John 17: 5, reveals His preexistence, “Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world existed”{NASB} {Read Part One}. He is present from the very first in Genesis and through to The Revelation of Christ.
The Incarnation was predicted in the Old Testament and is the
fulfillment of prophecy. {I wrote about the fulfilled prophecies
in Jesus previously}. It was part of
God’s perfect plan. The prophet Isaiah predicted that the Messiah would be both
human and God: “For a child will be born to us, a son
will be given to us; And the government will rest on His
shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty
God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace” (Is. 9:6). These
names refer simultaneously with the Father, indicating that the Father and the
Son are One.
Many
years ago, there was a beautiful song recorded by Aaron Jeoffery concerning
who Jesus is in every book of the Bible {Find it here}. This is
an old song but a beautiful one that speaks to the symbolism of Christ
throughout the Old and New Testaments:
In Genesis, He’s the Breath of Life In Exodus, the Passover Lamb In Leviticus, He’s our High Priest Numbers, Fire by night Deuteronomy, He’s Moses’ Voice In Joshua, He is Salvation’s Choice
Judges, Law-Giver In Ruth, the Kinsmen-Redeemer First and Second Samuel, our Trusted Prophet In Kings and Chronicles, He’s sovereign Ezra, True and Faithful Scribe Nehemiah, He’s the Rebuilder of broken walls and lives
In Esther, He’s Mordecai’s Courage In Job, the timeless Redeemer In Psalms, He is our Morning Song In Proverbs, Wisdom’s Cry Ecclesiastes, the Time and Season In the Song of Solomon, He is the lover’s Dream
He is, He is, HE IS!
In Isaiah, He’s the Prince of Peace Jeremiah, the Weeping Prophet In Lamentations, the Cry for Israel Ezekiel, He’s the Call from sin In Daniel, the Stranger in the fire In Hosea, He is forever Faithful In Joel, He’s the Spirit’s power In Amos, the Arms that carry us In Obadiah, He’s the Lord our Savior In Jonah, He’s the Great Missionary In Micah, the Promise of Peace In Nahum, He is our Strength and our Shield
In Habakkuk and Zephaniah, He’s pleading for revival In Haggai, He restores a lost heritage In Zechariah, our Fountain In Malachi, He is the Sun of Righteousness rising with healing in His wings
He is, He is, HE IS!
In Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, He is God, Man, Messiah In the Book of Acts, He is Fire from Heaven In Romans, He’s the Grace of God In Corinthians, the Power of Love In Galatians, He is Freedom from the curse of sin
Ephesians, our Glorious Treasure Philippians, the Servant’s Heart In Colossians, He’s the Godhead Trinity Thessalonians, our coming King In Timothy, Titus, Philemon, He’s our Mediator and our Faithful Pastor In Hebrews, the Everlasting Covenant In James, the One who heals the sick In First and Second Peter, He is our Shepherd In John and Jude, He is the Lover coming for His Bride In the Revelation, He is King of kings and Lord of lords
He is, He is, HE IS!
The Prince of Peace The Son of Man The Lamb of God The great I AM
He’s the Alpha and Omega Our God and our Savior He is Jesus Christ the Lord And when time is no more He is, HE IS!
Jeff Silvey
and Jeoffrey Keith Benward, He Is (Brentwood and Nashville:
Birdwing Music (Capitol Records), and Shepherd’s Fold Music (EMI),) 1995.
[1] Peter Stoner, Science
Speaks (Chicago: Moody Press., 1963), 104.
“And He said to them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’ And
Peter answered and said, ‘The Christ of God’” (Lk. 9: 20 NASB).
There are many different beliefs concerning Jesus. Many
believe that He was a good teacher. Some hold that He was a prophet deserving
of great honor. The pages of the Holy Writ declares who Jesus is through the
Old and New Testaments. Peter utters such words of truth in answering Jesus’
question, you are “The Christ of God.” One would think that Jesus would
have them announce this revelation on every mountain top! Jesus knew however,
that His time had not come. His identification would be well known—after His
resurrection.
Though far removed from the loaves and fishes it seemed the provision and sufficiency that Jesus provided sealed the revelation of who He was in Peter’s mind. Though later in a separate Gospel, we see that this revelation came directly from the Father.
“I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: ‘I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God.’ That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic—on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg—or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.”
~C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity
Jesus asked this question of the Twelve because throughout Israel many different reports exited of Him throughout, that He desired to make it clear to them who they were following. He is the Christ, sent by God; the Incarnate Son of God.
During this time of Advent—the season of waiting on
Christ—reflection on the person of Christ is imperative. Who is Jesus to you? Is
He just an idea that you see at Christmas time and passively give thought to?
Is He a great prophet, a Rabbi, or a teacher? Or is He the Son of the Living
God; the
Messiah who left the glory of heaven, became a man—the perfect, spotless Lamb
of God, to redeem you? Who do you say that He is?
Happy Sunday. Happy Sabbath. I pray you are resting this Sabbath. Just a few lovely pictures and beautiful, holy words for your sabbath.
“Rest shows us who God is. He has restraint. Restraint is refraining from doing everything that one has the power to do. We must never mistake God's restraint for weakness. The opposite is true. God shows restraint; therefore, restraint is holy.” Matthew Sleeth, 24/6: A Prescription for a Healthier, Happier Life
“Sabbath is a time to transition from human doings to human beings.” Matthew Sleeth, 24/6: A Prescription for a Healthier, Happier Life
“We cannot turn back the hands of time. Our 24/7 world is not going to change. Life will only get more intense. New communication tools, nanotechnology, and human engineering will increase the number of tasks an individual can do simultaneously. We will look back with nostalgia at the 24/7 world once these “advances” make 48/7 a reality. If we wish to have a weekly day of rest, it will no longer happen as a societal default. It will happen only as a result of a conscious choice.” Matthew Sleeth, 24/6: A Prescription for a Healthier, Happier Life
“The bow cannot be always bent without fear of breaking. Repose is as needful to the mind as sleep to the body. . .Rest time is not waste time. It is economy to gather fresh strength. . .It is wisdom to take occasional furlough. In the long run, we shall do more by sometimes doing less.
Matthew Sleeth, 24/6: A Prescription for a Healthier, Happier Life
“Thou madest us for Thyself, and our heart is restless until it rests in Thee.” Augustine of Hippo
“The rhythm of work and rest seems to help us function more purposefully and energetically, living in the responsive obedience to the pattern God designed for us.” Lynne M. Baab
“A world without a Sabbath would be like a man without a smile, like a summer without flowers, and like a homestead without a garden. It is the joyous day of the whole week.” Henry Ward Beecher
I pray that you have a wonderful, restful, grace-filled sabbath.
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