The Wonder's of God's Word Part IV: Christ revealed ~ His Holiness

Within the last couple of years, I frequently view Criminal Minds (I know, real poetic right?). It is not because I enjoy gruesome murders and serial killers, it is the psychology and the forensics which fascinates me (though I have had to cease viewing—my dreams became a bit dark and disturbed). I am intrigued by the process of the discovery of a small bit of evidence, and the process by which the Behavioral Science Team is able to assemble a profile on the “unsub” and by the end of the show, know everything about the suspect and why he committed the crimes.

This fascination has infiltrated my study of the Bible. No, I do not compare the Bible with Criminal Minds. But as we examine the Old Testament, we find clues of the promised Messiah, and find ourselves in the middle of a beautiful tapestry of God’s Word, His Logos. By the Revelation—the end of all history, we know exactly who Christ is and why He died and rose again, and why He loves this wretched human race, we know the end of the story. We witness the fulfillment of all that the Old Testament spoke concerning Him. 

C.S. Lewis passionately wrote concerning the Old Testament, 

“But this is one of the rewards of reading the Old Testament regularly. You keep on discovering more and more what a tissue of quotations from it the New Testament is; how constantly our Lord repeated, reinforced, continued, refined, and sublimated, the Judaic ethics, how very seldom he introduced a novelty.”[1] 

I have expressed it before, but the point cannot be overemphasized, the Old Testament lays the ground work for the New. Without the clues (prophecies) concerning Christ woven in the Old Testament Writ by the poets and prophets—we would not be certain that Jesus is who He claimed to be. The Lord in all His wisdom created the world and set forth a path, a story to follow; His passion for humanity and the promise of redemption for a despairing, discouraged, dying people. His story begins in Genesis. 

“Since in the end we are to come to baptism and the Eucharist, to the stable at Bethlehem, the hill of Calvary, and the emptied rock-tomb, perhaps it is better to begin with circumcision, the Passover, the Ark, and the Temple for 'the highest does not stand without the lowest.' Does not stand, does not stay; rises, rather, and expands, and finally loses itself in endless space. For the entrance is low: we must stoop till we are not taller than children in order to get in.” [2] 

I pray that as you read the prophecies concerning Christ and their fulfillment, that the Holy Spirit awakes in you a love for the Word. A love that fills your heart to overflowing and unstops the wells of living water down inside you.

Christ’s character will be revealed to you through these poetic prophecies. Everything you need, Christ is—He is good; trustworthy; He is just; guiltless and obedient. He is patient and benevolent; He is full of Mercy and Grace and longs to pour it upon you like rain. Let’s begin with His holiness….

His Holiness

Prophecy:

Who is like You among the gods, O LORD? Who is like You, majestic in holiness, Awesome in praises, working wonders? Ex. 15:11 NASB

But as for Me, I have installed My King Upon Zion, My holy mountain. Psalm 2:6 NASB

Fulfillment:

The angel answered and said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God. Luke 1:35 NASB

Which one of you convicts Me of sin? If I speak truth, why do you not believe Me? John 8:46 NASB

For truly in this city there were gathered together against Your holy servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel. Acts 4:27 NASB

He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. 2 Corinthians 5:21

And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: He who is holy, who is true, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, and who shuts and no one opens. Revelation 3:7 NASB

I pray that The Holy Spirit hover over you as you read the Word fulfilled; that He whisper into your ears and awaken you to His glory.

And one called out to another and said, "Holy, Holy, Holy, is the LORD of hosts, The whole earth is full of His glory. Isaiah 6:3 NASB

And the four living creatures, each one of them having six wings, are full of eyes around and within; and day and night they do not cease to say, "HOLY, HOLY, HOLY is THE LORD GOD, THE ALMIGHTY, WHO WAS AND WHO IS AND WHO IS TO COME. Revelation 4:8

[1]C.S. Lewis, Reflections on the Psalms (San Diego: Harvest/HBJ Publishers,1958), 26.
[2] Ibid., 88.

The Wonder of God's Word: The Prophecies of Christ's Birth Part I 

The Wonder of God's Word: The Prophecies of Christ's Birth Part II

The Wonder of God's Word: The Prophecies of Christ's Birth Part III

Piper's Pen and Prose: I Write For The Glory Of The City of God~ .Augustine

City of God- Saint Augustine

Book I

Chapter II.

It was not in fact, the men who were pressured by the image, but the image by the men. How, then, was she invoked to defend the city and the citizens, she who could not defend her own defenders.

Chapter III

I will briefly, and to the best of my ability, explain what I meant to say about these ungrateful men who blasphemously impute to Christ the calamities which they deservedly suffer in consequences of their own evil ways, while that for which Christ’s sake spared them in spite of their wickedness they do not even take the trouble to notice; and in their mad blasphemous insolence, they use against His name those very lips wherewith they falsely claimed that same life that their life might be spared. In the places consecrated to Christ, where for His sake no enemy would injure them, they restrained their tongues that they might be safe and protected; but no sooner do they emerge from these sanctuaries than they unbridle these tongues to hurl at Him curses of hate. 

VII

From them none forcibly dragged; that into them many were led by their relenting enemies to be set at liberty, and that from them none were led into slavery by merciless force. Whoever does not see that this is to be attributed to the name of Christ, and to the Christian temper, is blind; whoever sees this, and gives not praise, is ungrateful; whoever hinders anyone from praising it, is mad. Far be it from any prudent man to impute this clemency to the barbarians. Their fierce and bloody minds were awed and bridled, and marvelously tempered by Him who so long before said by His prophet, “I will visit their transgression with the rod, and their iniquities with stripes; nevertheless my lovingkindness will I not utterly take from them.” 

VIII

For the good man is neither uplifted with the good things of time, nor broken by its ills; but the wicked man, because he is corrupted by this world’s happiness, feels himself punished by its unhappiness. Yet often even in the present distribution of temporal things, does God plainly wince His own inference. For if every sin were now visited with manifest punishment, nothing would seem to be reserved for the final judgment; on the other hand, if no sin received now a plainly divine punishment, it would be concluded that there is no divine providence at all. And so of the good things of this life; if God did not by a very visible liberality confer these on some of those persons who asks for them, we should say that these good things were not at His disposal; and if He gave them to all who sought them, we should suppose that such were the only reward of His service; and such a service would make us not godly, but greedy rather and covetous.

Chapter IX

These selfish persons have more cause to fear than those to who it was said through the prophet, “He is taken away in iniquity, but his blood will I require at the watchman’s hand.” For watchman or overseers of the people are appointed in churches, that they may unsparingly rebuke sin-nor is the man guiltless of the sin we speak of…

Chapter XII

Carnage then occurred, the bodies could not even be buried. But godly confidence is not appalled by so ill-omened a circumstance; for the fruitful bear in mind that assurance has been given that no a hair on their head should parish, and that therefore, though they have been devoured by beasts, their blessed resurrection will not hereby be hindered. The truth would no wise have said, “Fear not them which can kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul,” if anything whatever that an enemy could be detrimental to the future life.

And so there are indeed many bodies of Christians lying unburied; but no one has separated them from heaven, nor froth that earth which is all filled with the presence of Him who knows whence He will raise again what He created.

XXIX

For the family of Christ is furnished with this reply; our God is everywhere present, wholly everywhere; not confined to any place He can be present unperceived, and be absent with moving;

But who are you, that we should design to speak with you even about your own god’s much less about our God, who is to be feared above all gods? For all the gods of the nations are idols; but the Lord made the heavens.” Ps. XCVL 4, 5.

XXX

That those who complain of Christianity really desire to live without restraint in shameful luxury.

For why in your calamities do you complain of Christianity, unless because you desire to enjoy your luxurious license unrestrained, and to lead an abandoned and profligate life without the interruption of any uneasiness and disaster? 

XXXIII

Scipio wished you to be hard pressed by an enemy, that you might not abandon yourselves to luxurious manners; but so abandoned are you, that not even when crushed by the enemy is you luxury repressed. You have missed the profit of you calamity; you have been made most wretched, and have remained and most profligate.

XXXV

In truth, these two cities are entangled together in this world, and intermixed until the last judgment effects their separation. I now proceed to speak, as God shall help me, of the rise, progress and end of the two cities; and what I write. I write for the glory of the city of God, that being placed in comparison with the other, it might shine with brighter lustre.

Piper's Pen and Prose: Holy Saturday I

Between Cross and Resurrection: A Theology of Holy Saturday 

by Alan E. Lewis

Prologue:

~ Greek Father Gregory of Nyssa has perceived much dogmatic significance in Holy Saturday, while Martin Luther daringly expressed the thought that after Good Friday God’s very self lay dead in the grave.

~The crucifixion deliberately timed to precede the Sabbath Day (which in John’s chronology was the Passover itself)

~Through a few hours of worship and many of ordinary life, they relive annually the growing tensions of the climactic week; the grieving farewells, shameful betrayal, guilty denial and agonizing fear of the night before the end; the long dark, deadly day of pain and forsakenness itself; and ecstatic daybreak of miracle and color, song and newborn life; and in between one eerie, restless day of burial and waiting perhaps for nothing; a say which forces us to speak of hell and to conceive how it might be that God’s own Son, and therefore God’s own self lay dead and cold in a sepulcher. 

Chapter 1: The Easter Saturday Story

~In God’s kingdom there is a justice which sets free and makes joyful all who stand before it: the guilty are not condemned, the fallen are picked up; nobodies are promoted; the hungry are sated; and the lost are not permitted to remain abandoned. And all of this through a love which knows no sensible bounds and breaks every principle of decorum, prudence, and tradition.

~ Since it is the story of stories, there must be more reflection, more meditation, more theology about the events between Good Friday and Easter than of anything else in our Scriptures.

~ Consciously or unconsciously, the Church is aware that constant retelling and rehearing of the “old, old, story” is not redundant and counterproductive, but essential and effective.

Chapter 2: On The Boundary Between Yesterday and Tomorrow

~ Christ has sinlessly borne the sins of the world. In His innocence he has submitted first in the full waters of the Jordan and then in the bloody waters of the cross, to baptism for sin’s repentance becoming cursed for us in order to deliver us and save us from our sin.

~As at the first, bringing form out of chaos, calling existence out of nothing, so now the Lord is again self-justified as creative in barrenness, life giving in the midst of death (Gen. 1:1 ff., Rom. 4:17 ff.) and far from being abandoned, we, too, may be persuaded now that nothing in life or death shall finally separate us from God’s love (Rom. 8:39).

To be continued…

The Wonders of God's Word Part III: Prophecies of Christ's Birth

Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:8-11 NASB


The name Jesus is the most powerful Name—at His Name, every knee will bow and tongue will confess Him Lord (Phil. 2:8-10); And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved (Acts 4:12 NASB); demons hear His Name and tremble (see James 2:19). Jesus encapsulates His identity; it is not merely His first name. The Father was very purposeful in the Name given to His only begotten Son. The name Jesus was used more than any other in the New Testament. Jesus means Salvation of Jehovah.

He is found in the Old Testament as well—the pre-incarnate Christ, appearing in the sacred pages. The Name Jesus is actually hidden in the Old Testament, being found about one hundred times from Genesis to Habakkuk.

Strong’s 2424 defines the name Iēsoús – Jesus, the transliteration of the Hebrew Yehoshua /Jehoshua, or Joshua which means Yahweh saves or Yahweh is salvation.
When we utter His beautiful Name, it is properly Jesus the Christ. Jesus is His human name, as the incarnate, eternal Son of God (see Mt. 1:21,25 and Lk. 1:31). He is the Christ, the divine Messiah, the second Person of the holy Trinity. The title Christ means the Anointed One, the eternal pre-incarnate, Logos (see Jn. 1:1-18).

“Every time the Old Testament uses the word “salvation” (especially with the Hebrew suffix meaning “my”, “thy”, or “his”, with very few exceptions (when the word is used in an impersonal sense) it is identically the same word as “Yeshuah” (Jesus). This is actually what the angel said to Joseph—Thou shalt call His name Yeshua (salvation).”[1]


That I may tell of all Your praises, that in the gates of the daughter of Zion I may rejoice in Your salvation (Yeshua). Psalm 9:14 NASB parenthesis mine.

Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid; For the Lord God is my strength and song, And He has become my salvation. Isaiah 12:2 NASB

Names Given In Birth

Called Christ

Prophecy:

You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You With the oil of joy above Your fellows. Psalm 45:7 NASB

Fulfillment:

[F]or today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. Luke 2:11 NASB

Prophecy:
So you are to know and discern thatfrom the issuing of a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince there will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; it will be built again, with plaza and moat, even in times of distress. Daniel 9:25 NASB

Fulfillment:

Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. Matthew 16:16 NASB

Called Lord

Prophecy:

I will surely tell of the decree of the Lord: He said to Me, ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You. Psalm 2:7

Fulfillment:

[F]or today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. Luke 2:11 NASB

Ye call me Master and Lord…so I am. John 13:13

Sanctify the Lord God in your hearts. 1 Peter 3:15

Called Emmanuel (Immanuel)

Prophecy:Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel. Isaiah 7:14 NASB

Then it will sweep on into Judah, it will overflow and pass through, It will reach even to the neck; And the spread of its wings will fill the breadth of your land, O Immanuel. Isaiah 8:8 NASB

Fulfillment:

Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: 23 “Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which translated means, “God with us.” Matthew 1:22-23 NASB

Governor

Prophecy:

He is governor among the nations. Psalm 22:28

Their governor shall proceed from the midst of them. Jeremiah 30:21

He shall be as a governor in Judah. Zechariah 9:7

The government shall be on his shoulder. Isaiah 9:6

Fulfillment:

Out of thee shall come a Governor. Matthew 2:6

All dominions shall serve and obey him. Daniel 7:27 with Colossians 1:16

Son

Son of AbrahamIn thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. Genesis 12:3; 22:18

The Son of Abraham. Matthew 1:1

The blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ. Galatians 3:14

Son of David

I have made a covenant with…David…Thy seed will establish forever. Psalm 89:3

Jesus Christ the son of David. Matt 1:1

Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh. Romans 1:3

Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.
Prophecy:

Who is He that…things too wonderful for me. Job 42:3

Thy testimonies are wonderful. Psalm 119:129

Such knowledge is too wonderful for me. Psalm 139:6

Thou hast done wonderful things. Isaiah 25:1

The Lord of hosts, which is wonderful in counsel. Isaiah 28:29

Fulfillment:
The chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that he did. Matthew 21:15

Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God…by wonders. Acts 2:22

Wonders done by the name of the holy child Jesus. Acts 4:30


Counselor

Prophecy:

Who…being his counselor hath taught him? Isaiah 40:13

Thy testimonies also are…my counselors. Psalm 119:24

Fulfillment:

Who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will. Ephesians 1:11

The immutability of his counsel. Hebrews 6:17

Christ…the wisdom of God. 1 Corinthians 1:24

The Mighty God
Prophecy:

His name shall be called…The mighty God. Isaiah 9:6

Great in counsel, and mighty in work. Jeremiah 32:19

Thy name is great in might. Jeremiah 10:6

Fulfillment:

He that cometh after me is mightier than I. Matthew 3:11

His mighty works were done. Matthew 11:20

All power is given unto me. Matthew 28:18

In him should all dullness dwell;…The fullness of the Godhead bodily. Colossians 1:19; 2:9

Everlasting Father
The name of the Lord, the everlasting God. Genesis 21:33

From everlasting to everlasting thou art God. Psalm 90:2

I am the Lord, I change not. Malachi 3:6

His name shall be called…the everlasting Father. Isaiah 9:6

Fulfillment:

Before Abraham was, I am. John 8:58

Christ abideth forever. John 12:34

Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever. Hebrews 13:8

The Prince of Peace

Prophecy:

His name shall be called the Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6

The mountains shall bring peace to the people. Psalm 72:3

This man shall be the peace. Micah 5:5

He shall speak peace unto the heathen. Zechariah 9:10

Fulfillment:

Born…a Saviour…on earth Peace. Luke 2:11-14

In me ye might have peace. John 16:33

Jesus…saith unto them, Peace be unto you. John 20:19, 21, 26

He is our peace…He preached peace. Ephesians 2:14, 17

Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful. John 14:27 NASB

This is far from an exhaustive list of the glorious names of Jesus Christ, and the prophecies foretold concerning Him. I pray this sparks a fire in you to search through the Word of God and find Jesus Christ in the Old and New Testaments.

In His Grace,

The Wonder of God's Word: The Prophecies of Christ's Birth Part I 

The Wonder of God's Word: The Prophecies of Christ's Birth Part II

The Wonder of God's Word: The Prophecies of Christ's Birth Part IV

[1] Herbert Lockyer, All The Messianic Prophecies Of The Bible (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1973), 66. (Arthur Glass quoted by Lockyer)