Last time we closed our post by saying, In Genesis 1, The emphasis is on the creation in power.
But, Now, it is creation in love, and the word changes from ''God'' to ''Lord God''-A
Gracious, Sovereign Preserver, Protector, and Benefactor.
The name ''Lord,'' refers to Jesus Christ, Who, at this point, discusses Himself.
God the Father, has been seen by no man, but God the Son, constantly appeared as The Jehovah of
The Old Testament.
Now, there must be a progressive revelation of God to Man, because of Man's limitations, by
Nature.
And The Old Testament is a record of that progressive Revelation.
The Lord Jesus is God's last word to Man-Hebrews 1;1-3-[Turn].
Jehovah first appears in Genesis 2;4 as The God of Providence.
The next occurrence is related to The Creation of Man-
Genesis 2;7-''And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.''
God's dealings with man, in kindness and love, come through Jehovah.
It was Jehovah, Who announced The Redeemer-Genesis 3;11-[Turn].
It was Jehovah, Who accepted Abel's offering [Genesis 4], and Who gave Noah, the pattern of The Ark [Genesis 6], and Who demanded the sacrifice of The Passover in Exodus 12.
Jehovah gave The Law, at Mount Sinai [Exodus 19-20].
It was by the significant introduction of the name, ''LORD God,'' that we are led to apprehend the true nobility of man, as the offspring and product of Divine forethought and affection.
He, Who was promised to Adam, as The Seed of the Woman, was declared to be The Seed of
Abraham-Genesis 3;15; Galatians 3;16-[Turn].
It was not through Abraham's progeny, but through Christ, The Earth was blessed-John 8;58-
[Turn].
Christ had to be the seed of Abraham, so He became a man-And He could not be The Saviour of men, unless He is God.
In Genesis 22, God commanded Abraham, to offer up Isaac, as a sacrifice. But The Angel of
Jehovah arrested his hand, at the moment of sacrifice-Let's see what He said-Genesis 22;12, 16-17-[Turn].
The Angel of Jehovah, and Jehovah, are names given to the same Person, Who swears by Himself, and promises the blessing of a numberless posterity to Abraham-Thus, He is a Divine
Person
In Exodus 1, We have the revelation of God, as Moses, on Mt. Horeb related.
The Angel of the Lord appeared to Moses, at the burning bush.
The Angel of the Lord is identical with Jehovah, and is declared to be The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
Exodus 23;20-21-''Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared. Beware of him, and obey his voice, provoke him not; for he will not pardon your transgressions; for my name is in him.''
The phrase, ''for my name is in him,'' is equivalent to ''I am in him''.
The name, ''God'' often means God Himself, as manifested.
It is said of The Temple, in I Kings 8;29-''My name shall be there.'' I.E. ''There will I dwell''.
Isaiah 9;6-[Turn].
''A child is born'' refers to The Eternal Son-ship of The Lord Jesus Christ.
The Elect of God were chosen in Christ-Ephesians 1;3-14-[Turn].
The Name ''Son'' was eternally in The Mind of God the Father.
4 factors are absolutely necessary, to understand Christ's Person--
Number 1-He was truly human, so all declared of man as man-not of man as fallen-can be said of
Him.
Number 2-He was truly Divine.
Number 3-He was one person with 2 natures.
Number 4-The 2 Natures in Christ, could not be separated, yet were not mingled, nor confounded.
Jesus Christ was both Son of Man and Son of God-These names imply a present humiliation, a future glory, and a heavenly pre-existence.
The Eternal Son in becoming Man, descended to reach Man's highest conceivable exaltation.
His origin was from Heaven, and He came to save men.
END OF BLOG
Friday, May 2, 2008
JESUS CHRIST IS THE REVEALER OF REGENERATION-Part 7
Last time, we ended our remarks, by saying, that to everyone, who believes that Jesus Christ is truly God, as well as, truly Man, His Word on Manhood and Son-ship is fatal.
Luke 24;27-'' And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.''
Jesus regarded Moses, not as a title, by which, certain books are known, but, as the instrument, used by God, in giving both History and Prophecy, concerning The Lord Jesus Christ--
John 5;45-47-'' Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father; there is one that accuseth you, even Moses in whom ye trust. For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me; for he wrote of me. But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my words/''
Jesus Christ is The God man, Son to both.
When He said, ''. . .Abraham rejoiced to see my day; and he saw it and was glad'' [John 8;56], He was referring to the Day, The Son of Man should be revealed.
As the Son of God, He had no Day; as the Son of Man, He was revealed.
Hebrews 5;8--''Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered;''
He was not a Son by Creation; Adoption, or Office; He was a Son by Nature, being the Only
Begotten of the Father, and having the same Nature and Perfection as the Father.
Genealogies of Christ were given by Matthew and Luke. Matthew places his, at the beginning of his Book; Luke doesn't give his, until after Christ was baptized.
The first important thing with Matthew, was to establish our Lord's Davidic Lineage.
Luke's concern was the real human birth and growth through boyhood to youth, to manhood.
Our Lord's Pedigree, as given by Luke, ends with a wonderful leap from Earth to Heaven.
Matthew gives The Genealogy, through Joseph, who was legally, although not actually, The
Father of Jesus Christ.
Luke gives it through Mary, Who was really the Mother of His Manhood.
Matthew's Genealogy comes down from Abraham to Jesus Christ, while Luke comes from
Jesus Christ to Adam, and to God.
Here is the reason, for the two views of the Genealogies;
[1] The Jew found the basis of his thought, in a revelation, which proceeds from cause to effect.
[2] The Greek possessed nothing, beyond the fact, and proceeded from the effect to the cause.
The first time, the full title of ''The Son of God'' is used, in The New Testament, is found in;
Matthew 16;16-17-''And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona; for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.''
Notice, Peter's Confession, was a Revelation from Heaven.
I John 4;15-[Turn].
By the title, ''The Son of Man,'' Christ claimed to be man, in the highest and absolute sense, and
by the title, ''The Son of God,'' He laid claim to Deity.
Now, as there is more than one person, in the Godhead, so there's a distinction between ''God,''
and ''Lord God''.
Genesis 1;26-''And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air; and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.''
Genesis 2;4-''These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens.''
In Genesis 1;26, the word, ''image,'' means that Man was fitted with capacities, as God's
Representative.
The word, ''likeness,'' means that, Man, before The Fall, was inclined towards God.
In Genesis1, the uniform word for The Almighty is ''God'' [Elohim].
In Genesis 2;4, a new name is introduced-''LORD God''.
Now, the change is significant.
When Moses advances to Man's Creation, he reveals a more intimate side of God's Character.
''Lord,'' means owner, possessor; One Who treasures and cherishes; Whose affections center upon what He has made.
In Genesis 1, the emphasis is on creation in power.
Luke 24;27-'' And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.''
Jesus regarded Moses, not as a title, by which, certain books are known, but, as the instrument, used by God, in giving both History and Prophecy, concerning The Lord Jesus Christ--
John 5;45-47-'' Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father; there is one that accuseth you, even Moses in whom ye trust. For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me; for he wrote of me. But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my words/''
Jesus Christ is The God man, Son to both.
When He said, ''. . .Abraham rejoiced to see my day; and he saw it and was glad'' [John 8;56], He was referring to the Day, The Son of Man should be revealed.
As the Son of God, He had no Day; as the Son of Man, He was revealed.
Hebrews 5;8--''Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered;''
He was not a Son by Creation; Adoption, or Office; He was a Son by Nature, being the Only
Begotten of the Father, and having the same Nature and Perfection as the Father.
Genealogies of Christ were given by Matthew and Luke. Matthew places his, at the beginning of his Book; Luke doesn't give his, until after Christ was baptized.
The first important thing with Matthew, was to establish our Lord's Davidic Lineage.
Luke's concern was the real human birth and growth through boyhood to youth, to manhood.
Our Lord's Pedigree, as given by Luke, ends with a wonderful leap from Earth to Heaven.
Matthew gives The Genealogy, through Joseph, who was legally, although not actually, The
Father of Jesus Christ.
Luke gives it through Mary, Who was really the Mother of His Manhood.
Matthew's Genealogy comes down from Abraham to Jesus Christ, while Luke comes from
Jesus Christ to Adam, and to God.
Here is the reason, for the two views of the Genealogies;
[1] The Jew found the basis of his thought, in a revelation, which proceeds from cause to effect.
[2] The Greek possessed nothing, beyond the fact, and proceeded from the effect to the cause.
The first time, the full title of ''The Son of God'' is used, in The New Testament, is found in;
Matthew 16;16-17-''And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona; for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.''
Notice, Peter's Confession, was a Revelation from Heaven.
I John 4;15-[Turn].
By the title, ''The Son of Man,'' Christ claimed to be man, in the highest and absolute sense, and
by the title, ''The Son of God,'' He laid claim to Deity.
Now, as there is more than one person, in the Godhead, so there's a distinction between ''God,''
and ''Lord God''.
Genesis 1;26-''And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air; and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.''
Genesis 2;4-''These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens.''
In Genesis 1;26, the word, ''image,'' means that Man was fitted with capacities, as God's
Representative.
The word, ''likeness,'' means that, Man, before The Fall, was inclined towards God.
In Genesis1, the uniform word for The Almighty is ''God'' [Elohim].
In Genesis 2;4, a new name is introduced-''LORD God''.
Now, the change is significant.
When Moses advances to Man's Creation, he reveals a more intimate side of God's Character.
''Lord,'' means owner, possessor; One Who treasures and cherishes; Whose affections center upon what He has made.
In Genesis 1, the emphasis is on creation in power.
Thursday, May 1, 2008
JESUS CHRIST IS THE REVEALER OF REGENERATION-Part 6
Today, There are some Theologians, Who believe in The Divine Trinity, but have some strange views about the names of Father and Son.
They emphasize expressions such as,''Eternal Generation,'' and '' Eternal Son-ship, which should never be used. They maintain that these experiences, involve the serious error, that, in some way,
The Deity of The Son is derived, or, is communicated from The Father, and is, therefore, of subordinate character.
They also maintain that Theologians of the past, failing to see that word ''Begotten,'' refers to Jesus
Christ, as One born of the virgin, in time, tried to escape the difficulty by inventing non-scriptural phrases of ''Eternal Generation,'' and ''Eternal Son-Ship''.
Now, the answers to these terms, are very simple, to The Bible Student. The word, ''Generation'' means individuals, having equal status, at the same time. This simply means that both Father and Son, have always been Co-Equal and Co-Eternal.
Now, Get this thought; THERE NEVER WAS A TIME, WHEN THE THOUGHT OF FATHER AND SON, WAS NOT, IN THE MIND OF GOD.
God knows Future, Present, and Past, all at once;
He is one mind--Job 23;13-''But he is in one mind, and who can turn him/ and what his soul desireth, even that he doeth.''
Now, There is no succession in God's knowledge and understanding, but there is, in Man's.
God's knowledge is from Eternity; He is before and above Time.
God knows all things by one act of intuition; and there is no division in His knowledge.
God's name of Father was not revealed until there was a Divine Person on Earth, as Man, to declare Him--
John 1;18-''No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.''
The Son of God, as The Divine Person, in manhood, spoke of The Glory, He had with The Father;
Before The Foundation of The World--
John 17;5, 24-''And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.
Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me; for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world.''
The Glory, which Jesus had with the Father, before the foundation of The World, was a glory proper to His Eternal Person.
He descended from the Glory, which he had with the Father, for the purpose of completing the work given to Him, to perform.
A Divine Person couldn't remain in humiliation;
thus after finishing the work, the Father sent Him to do, He ascended back, to The Father.
He is now glorified, as man, with the Father, and the Glory, which He has with the Father, is the same Glory, He had with Him, BEFORE THE WORLD WAS.
The Deity of Jesus Christ is asserted in Hebrews, chapter One. It is in Manhood, that God spoke by Jesus Christ.
And, as man, He set Himself down, on the Right Hand of the Majesty on High.
As man, God addressed Him, as His Son.
As man, He was brought into The Habitable World as Firstborn, and worshipped by all God's Angels.
As man, He will have The Millennial Throne and Scepter.
But this man is God, and is addressed as God;
His Deity is unquestionable.
The subject of Hebrews 1;5-13, is The Greatness and Deity of the Messiah, God's Anointed Man, as prophesied, in Old Testament Scriptures.
Let's now consider the main objections, to the statement of Christ's Eternal Son-ship.
Number 1-Some take the proposition, that the 2nd Person, of The Trinity, is known to us, as having become man, and bearing the titles, ''Son of Man,'' ''Son of God''.
They assert that The Bible speaks of The Eternal Spirit [Heb. 9;14], but that doesn't justify the position of those, Who speak of Christ, as The Eternal Son.
Now, They also state,the fact of advancing such an argument, soon finds difficulty in securing a Scriptural Foundation.
then, They say, the use of the word ''eternal'' in Hebrews contradicts what God has brought in, now, through Christ, and His Death, with what was known as Judaism.
Their argument concludes by stating, ''The Spirit is not a name of relationship like father and son; The Spirit has not been manifested like the Son, or, revealed like the Father. He remains in
His eternal character, as The unseen Spirit, and can therefore, be spoken of as ''Eternal Spirit''.
But The Spirit does not speak of the eternal Father, or the ''eternal Son,'' because the Father and Son are names, which give character as our present knowledge of God. They are names which can be known, only through the incarnation'' [UNQUOTE].
Now, to everyone, who truly believes that Jesus Christ is truly God, as well as, truly Man, His
Word on Manhood and Son-ship is fatal, [which we will see next time.
They emphasize expressions such as,''Eternal Generation,'' and '' Eternal Son-ship, which should never be used. They maintain that these experiences, involve the serious error, that, in some way,
The Deity of The Son is derived, or, is communicated from The Father, and is, therefore, of subordinate character.
They also maintain that Theologians of the past, failing to see that word ''Begotten,'' refers to Jesus
Christ, as One born of the virgin, in time, tried to escape the difficulty by inventing non-scriptural phrases of ''Eternal Generation,'' and ''Eternal Son-Ship''.
Now, the answers to these terms, are very simple, to The Bible Student. The word, ''Generation'' means individuals, having equal status, at the same time. This simply means that both Father and Son, have always been Co-Equal and Co-Eternal.
Now, Get this thought; THERE NEVER WAS A TIME, WHEN THE THOUGHT OF FATHER AND SON, WAS NOT, IN THE MIND OF GOD.
God knows Future, Present, and Past, all at once;
He is one mind--Job 23;13-''But he is in one mind, and who can turn him/ and what his soul desireth, even that he doeth.''
Now, There is no succession in God's knowledge and understanding, but there is, in Man's.
God's knowledge is from Eternity; He is before and above Time.
God knows all things by one act of intuition; and there is no division in His knowledge.
God's name of Father was not revealed until there was a Divine Person on Earth, as Man, to declare Him--
John 1;18-''No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.''
The Son of God, as The Divine Person, in manhood, spoke of The Glory, He had with The Father;
Before The Foundation of The World--
John 17;5, 24-''And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.
Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me; for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world.''
The Glory, which Jesus had with the Father, before the foundation of The World, was a glory proper to His Eternal Person.
He descended from the Glory, which he had with the Father, for the purpose of completing the work given to Him, to perform.
A Divine Person couldn't remain in humiliation;
thus after finishing the work, the Father sent Him to do, He ascended back, to The Father.
He is now glorified, as man, with the Father, and the Glory, which He has with the Father, is the same Glory, He had with Him, BEFORE THE WORLD WAS.
The Deity of Jesus Christ is asserted in Hebrews, chapter One. It is in Manhood, that God spoke by Jesus Christ.
And, as man, He set Himself down, on the Right Hand of the Majesty on High.
As man, God addressed Him, as His Son.
As man, He was brought into The Habitable World as Firstborn, and worshipped by all God's Angels.
As man, He will have The Millennial Throne and Scepter.
But this man is God, and is addressed as God;
His Deity is unquestionable.
The subject of Hebrews 1;5-13, is The Greatness and Deity of the Messiah, God's Anointed Man, as prophesied, in Old Testament Scriptures.
Let's now consider the main objections, to the statement of Christ's Eternal Son-ship.
Number 1-Some take the proposition, that the 2nd Person, of The Trinity, is known to us, as having become man, and bearing the titles, ''Son of Man,'' ''Son of God''.
They assert that The Bible speaks of The Eternal Spirit [Heb. 9;14], but that doesn't justify the position of those, Who speak of Christ, as The Eternal Son.
Now, They also state,the fact of advancing such an argument, soon finds difficulty in securing a Scriptural Foundation.
then, They say, the use of the word ''eternal'' in Hebrews contradicts what God has brought in, now, through Christ, and His Death, with what was known as Judaism.
Their argument concludes by stating, ''The Spirit is not a name of relationship like father and son; The Spirit has not been manifested like the Son, or, revealed like the Father. He remains in
His eternal character, as The unseen Spirit, and can therefore, be spoken of as ''Eternal Spirit''.
But The Spirit does not speak of the eternal Father, or the ''eternal Son,'' because the Father and Son are names, which give character as our present knowledge of God. They are names which can be known, only through the incarnation'' [UNQUOTE].
Now, to everyone, who truly believes that Jesus Christ is truly God, as well as, truly Man, His
Word on Manhood and Son-ship is fatal, [which we will see next time.
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