Reconsidering the Cornerstone
of the Christian Faith
Mark H. Graeser John A. Lynn John W. Schoenheit

Reconsidering the Cornerstone
of the Christian Faith
By
Mark H. Graeser
John A. Lynn
John W. Schoenheit

ii
One God & One Lord
Note: Most Scriptures quoted in this book are from The New International Version (NIV).
References taken from other translations or versions will be noted, i. e. King James Version =
(KJV).
In verses or quotations from other authors, words in all capital letters or in bold type
indicate our own emphasis. Words inside brackets within quotes are also our additions.
Unless otherwise noted, scripture is taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL
VERSION.
Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984 by the International Bible Society. Used by permission
of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked (AMP) are taken from The Amplified Bible, Old Testament,
©1965, 1987 by The Zondervan Corporation. The Amplified New Testament, ©1954, 1958, 1987
by the Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA. Used by permission.
Scripture quotations marked (NRSV) are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, ©
1989, by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ
in the U. S. A Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked (NASB) are taken from The New American Standard Version
Bible,
© 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977 by the Lockman Foundation, La
Habra, CA. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked (NEB) are taken from The New English Bible, © 1970.
The sacred name of God, Yahweh, is indicated by "Lord. "
ISBN #0-9628971-4-0
FIRST EDITION
©1999
Published by
CHRISTIAN EDUCATIONAL SERVICES, INC.
(Referred to in footnotes as "CES")
Post Office Box 30336
Indianapolis, Indiana 46230
Phone (317) 255-6189
Fax(317) 255-6249
E-mail: jesusces@aol. com
Website: Christianeducational. org
All rights reserved.
Printed in the United States of America.

Dedication
We would first like to express our deepest love for our heavenly Father and His wonderful
Son. We are ever so thankful to be allowed the privilege to study and teach the Word of God to
people who hunger and thirst for the truth.
We are also very thankful for the many men and women who have gone before us to make
this book possible. Through the ages the people who have held the beliefs espoused in this book
have been hated, hunted, persecuted, tortured and killed by professing Christians. Noble and
godly men and women suffered terribly, yet went into exile or to their graves rather than deny
the Christ they were convinced of from Scripture. The examples of these great men and women
are a constant source of courage and conviction to us, and, in part, we dedicate this book to their
memory.
I, Mark, gratefully acknowledge the support and love of my dear wife Karen and my four
children — Nate, Anita, Julia and David — whose patience and love have enabled me to often
sequester myself during the past two years so I could complete my portion of the book. I also
dedicate it to our many friends who have made this book possible by their prayer, financial
support and hunger to know and speak the truth in love.
I, John L., dedicate this book to my daughter Christine, who, as much as anyone I have
ever known, manifests the heart of our Lord Jesus. I also dedicate it to my parents, John and
Jane, who all my life have been living examples of God's love, and of faithfulness to the truth they
knew.
I, John S., gratefully recognize the love and support of my wife Jenivee, and my children,
Sam, Sierra and Karly. I also owe a great debt of gratitude to those who have helped train me to
respect the great integrity of God's Word.

Table of Contents
Acknowledgments ........................................................................................................................vi
Preface ........................................................................................................................................vii
Introduction Who Do You Say That He Is?...............................................................................1
PART ONE: THE MAN, MAN'S REDEEMER
Chapter 1: Christianity 101: Two Adams........................................................................13
Chapter 2: The Destiny of Mankind...............................................................................29
Chapter 3: Jesus Christ: The Purpose of the Ages..........................................................53
PART TWO: THE MESSIAH IN PROPHECY
Chapter 4: A Prophetic Portrait of the Messiah.............................................................81
Chapter 5: The Messiah the Jews Expected...................................................................99
PART THREE: THE MESSIAH IN PERSON
Chapter 6: The Four Gospels: The Fourfold Portrait of Christ...................................135
Chapter 7: The Synoptic Gospels: Open or Veiled Messiah?......................................153
Chapter 8: The Gospel of John: Great Scott! He's Back from the Future!.................173
Chapter9: "But What About John 1: 1?".......................................................................205
PART FOUR: JESUS: BOTH LORD AND CHRIST
Chapter 10: The Book of Acts: "A Man Accredited by God".........................................237
Chapter 11: The Church Epistles: The Head of His "Body"..........................................249
Chapter 12: God's Namesake in Action.........................................................................275
Chapter 13: Our Fellowship with Jesus Christ...............................................................287
Chapter 14: The Book of Revelation: "King of Kings and Lord of Lords"....................299
PART FIVE: AN HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE
Chapter 15: The Expansion of Piety...............................................................................317
Chapter 16: The Beginnings of Heresy: Gnosticism and Neoplatonism.....................335
Chapter 17: Jesus Christ: Incarnated or Created?.........................................................353
Chapter 18: The Rejection of Both Scripture and Logic...............................................381

Table of Contents í
Chapter 19: Socinianism and the Radical Reformation................................................401
Chapter 20: Modern Trends and Final Thoughts: Ecumenism, Biblical
Unitarianism and Trinitarian Renewal..................................................413
Appendices:
A.  An Explanation of Verses Used to Support the Trinity......................................429
B.  Use and Usages of Kurios ("Lord") .....................................................................537
C.  Orthodoxy, Heterodoxy, Heresy..........................................................................545
D.  Divine Agents: Speaking and Acting in God's Stead..........................................557
E.  Names and Titles of Jesus Christ.........................................................................565
F.  Satan vs. Christ: Head to Head............................................................................567
G.  Beyond a Reasonable Doubt: Historical Proofs of the
Resurrection......................................................................................................569
H.  46 Reasons Why Our Heavenly Father Has No Equals or "Co — Equals"...........579
I.  34 Reasons Why the "Holy Spirit" Is Not a "Person" Separate from the
One True God, the Father................................................................................587
J. The Order and Structure of the Church Epistles...............................................597
K. Logical Fallacies Employed in Trinitarian Theology.........................................599
L. The Name Yahweh...............................................................................................607
M. Modern Versions and Trinity "Proof Texts".......................................................611
N. Textual Corruptions Favoring the Trinitarian Position....................................613
O. 22 Principles of Bible Interpretation...................................................................623
P. Prayer Words Used Regarding God and / or Christ............................................633
Glossary .....................................................................................................................................635
Bibliography ..............................................................................................................................639
Scripture Index .........................................................................................................................645
Topical Index ............................................................................................................................657
What Is Christian Educational Services? ................................................................................673

Acknowledgments
We want to especially thank our CES staff — Eleanor Branch, Barbara Jones and John
Michalak — for their steadfast daily service, both to us and to the many people around the world
in association with us. Although faced with far more work than three people would normally
be asked to do, they have cheerfully and admirably come through time and again and greatly
helped to make it possible for us to complete this work.
We give special thanks to the many individuals who have contributed in specific ways to
help us produce this book:
Brian Bassindale
Steve LaDieu
Gwynn Bowen
Jim Landmark
Vancy Brown
Steve Lefevers
Sue Carlson
Jane Lynn
Michael Cutuli
John S. Lynn
Eddie DeBruhl
Pat Lynn
Rita Fiorentino
Ivan Maddox
Giles Fischer
Jan Magiera
Nancy Friscia
Don Snedeker
Vince Friscia
Cynthia Snyder
Rick Golko
Suzanne Snyder
Robert Hach
Michael Steinberg
Wayne Harms
Richie Temple
Keith Jackson
Jim Vehonsky
Corban Klug
Doug Wilkin
Judi Klug
Bob Wassung
Thanks to Steve Kilborn for a great cover design.
Thanks to Joe Ramon for his diligent work on the internal layout.
Thanks to Johnna Van Hoose for her wonderful job on the Topical Index.

Preface
The last verse of the Gospel of John contains an amazing statement about the life of Jesus
Christ:
John 21: 25 (NRSV)
But there are also many other things that Jesus did; if every one of them were written
down, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.
Just writing about his doings would fill the earth with books, and when there are already
innumerable books about him written from almost every conceivable perspective, any new
book must be vigorously justified. The vast majority of the books in print about Jesus have been
written from the "orthodox" perspective of his "deity" by authors who believe in a "triune
Godhead. " These folks, called Trinitarians, believe that Jesus is "God" the Creator in human
flesh and have held the majority position since the Council of Constantinople in 381 AD. 1 This
position is embraced by all mainline denominations of Christendom and constitutes the
linchpin of the movement toward ecumenical unity among Christians. For the most part, it is
assumed that all true Christians hold this position.
A few books challenging the orthodox view have made it into print, but most of these
promote the idea that Jesus was someone less than the unique Son of God, as we believe the
Bible clearly identifies him to be. Trinitarian authors then strongly argue that unless a person
fully embraces Trinitarian doctrine concerning Christ, he will have a truncated and powerless
view of him that threatens the integrity of the Christian message. So closely identified with
Christianity is Trinitarianism that few of the major Christian book publishers will publish a
book unless its author affirms allegiance to the orthodox view.
Thus, we find ourselves representing a distinct minority position among Christian leaders
and teachers. If you are not yet a Christian, and have never been able to accept the claims made
by "orthodox" Christians concerning the identity of Jesus Christ, we implore you to read this
book before you reject him. Perhaps we will be able to communicate his great love and wisdom
in such a way that you will be able to say from your heart, like the blind man who was healed in
John 9: Lord I believe! We believe that if you read this book with an open mind and careful study,
comparing what we say with the Word of God you may well be persuaded that what we write is
true. If not, we would love to have the opportunity to speak with you further. You will find our
address and website at the beginning and end of this book. We love you, and want to convey to
you how much you are loved by God and the Lord Jesus Christ. That is our hope and our passion
as we request that you continue to read on. May your eyes be opened, and your heart touched
by the life and true identity of the greatest man who ever lived.
If you are already a Christian, and currently hold to "traditional" theology about the
identity of Jesus Christ, we promise you that this book will challenge what may be your deepest
1. The orthodox definition of the Trinity is as follows: There is One God who co-exists in three eternal and co-equal
persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The Son, therefore, is fully "God" as much as the Father is. We respectfully dissent
from this orthodox position, and the rest of this book will be devoted to explaining why.

One God & One Lord
convictions. We ask you to maintain a mind open to the possibility of being persuaded by
greater light from Scripture. It is our experience that many people who say they believe in the
"Trinity" do not actually know what the orthodox definition of the Trinity is. When we explain
it to them, a typical response is, "Well, I do not believe that. " The basic tenet of the traditional
doctrine of the Trinity is that "the Father is God, the Son is God, the Holy Spirit is God, they are
coequal and coeternal and together the three of them make one God. " Many people think the
Trinity is simply belief in the Father, the Son and Holy Spirit, but that is not so. Although it may
seem to you at first that this book teaches a doctrine that is heretical and dangerous, perhaps
you will discover that it is actually teaching something very close to what you already believe.
You may have been taught that Jesus Christ is devalued by any concept of him other than
the Trinitarian perspective, and this is understandable. We acknowledge that throughout
history many of those who have rejected the Trinity have also rejected the uniqueness of Christ
as the only-begotten Son of God, reducing him to the level of only a great prophet or teacher.
For us, however, Christ is also devalued by the Trinitarian concept of him, because "nothing is
impossible with God. " But for a man to do what Jesus did is not only a sterling accomplishment
worthy of everlasting merit, it also sets a legitimate standard for what we too can do as we follow
his example of faith in God. In this book, you will find a perspective of him that recognizes his
uniqueness (his virgin birth, sinless life, resurrection) and emphasizes his exaltation to his God-
given position as Lord (Phil. 2: 8-11).
We acknowledge the fact that Trinitarian Christians have through the centuries advanced
the cause of Christ with millions of people. But, in light of their own admission that the doctrine
of the "Trinity" is at best hazy in Scripture, we would ask: has this doctrine limited the outreach
of the Gospel? How many more people, in particular staunch monotheists such as Jews and
Muslims, as well as those rational thinkers for whom a mystical faith is unsatisfying, could have
been reached not only for salvation but also for maturing into committed followers of the Lord
Jesus Christ?
Perhaps you have been so persuaded by Trinitarian rhetoric that you are afraid to even
consider our views, because you have been told that the only people who espouse a non-
Trinitarian Christian gospel are heretics and members of "cults. " But, on the other hand, you
may still be willing to hear a different perspective. The question is whether or not what you
believe corresponds with what the whole of Scripture actually says. If it does not, you cannot
lose anything by letting go of beliefs that are not truly grounded in the Word of God. We hope
that what can be gained will become evident as you continue to read. We will do our best to show
you the biblical evidence for our convictions, and we trust that you will find our position as
persuasive and compelling as we do. If not, we invite you to dialogue with us.
Why do we feel compelled to undertake the project of penning yet another book about the
greatest man ever to draw breath? First and foremost, because we feel that our Lord Jesus Christ
has been so misrepresented by traditional or "orthodox" Christianity that countless people
have been denied the opportunity to meet the real Jesus as he appears in the pages of God's
Word. The second reason we are constrained to write this book is because, although we have
not read every book written about Jesus Christ, we know of no other book that says what we say
in this one. Yes, we have found some of the ideas in the works of others, but this is the only one
we know of that puts all these parts together. As for its validity, we hope that you will hear us out
and judge for yourself.

Preface
ix
Of course, the most important book ever written about Jesus Christ is the first one written
about him—the Bible, which we believe to be authored by the Creator of the heavens and the
earth. We will be providing you with a lot of evidence that the Bible is a highly credible
document, despite what you may hear to the contrary from many sources today. If you are not
even sure that you believe in God, please consider that the value of understanding Jesus Christ's
identity and accomplishments is that he is the best representative that God has ever had. He is
truly the "image of God. " The God revealed by Jesus is "the only true God" (John 17: 3).
Although some may call this work a "doctrinal treatise, " it is far more than that. We write
with a burning love for The Man who chose to be obedient unto death, even the death of the
Cross, for it is through his death that we have life, life with meaning and purpose now and life
everlasting in Paradise with him and our Father, God. Our goal is to help people exalt the Lord
Jesus as God has exalted him, no more and no less, to the end that they know, love, trust and obey
Jesus as their Lord. Seeing the doctrinal truth from Scripture as to who Jesus Christ is and what
he is now doing as Head of the Church is the most effectual means to identify with him to the
end of doing the works that he did and thus glorifying our Father in heaven. You may notice that
in this book we do not capitalize the pronouns referring to Jesus Christ. We do this in keeping
with the editorial practice of the vast majority of Bible translators and publishers, who also do
not capitalize the pronouns referring to God, which we do. Nothing should be read into this
punctuation practice other than a simple desire to distinguish between God and His Son.
It is of the utmost importance that each person comes to a true understanding of who this
person called Jesus Christ is, because understanding who he is gives the unbeliever an open
door to everlasting life, and the Christian a blueprint for living life in a fallen world. The truth
about the identity and work of Jesus Christ satisfies the deepest longings of the human heart—
the desire to be loved, understood and appreciated for who we are. We hope to so vividly set
forth the heart of our Savior that you develop an insatiable passion to know him intimately.
Rest assured that we have walked the same path of overturned mindsets that we are asking
you to now walk, or at least consider walking. As long as God's Word marks that path, we need
not fear. Our experience during the past thirty years has been that many people have been
searching the wilderness of religion, philosophy and theology for that path of logic and truth,
and that they rejoice when they find it. To us, it is the one that is most scriptural and rational,
and it leaves the fewest questions unanswered. Most importantly, it is the perspective that we
believe God has revealed in His Word, the primary source of truth about Jesus Christ. Remem-
ber that truth is not determined by whether the majority of people believe it, as the once-upon-
a-time-widely-held "flat earth" theory so plainly proves. Each person must be willing to subject
even his most deeply held convictions to the scrutiny of God's written Word.
Everyone applauds accuracy as essential to nearly every field of human endeavor. What
endeavor could be more important to a person than accurately understanding the written
revelation of his Creator? Such an understanding is the basis of one's whole attitude toward
God, and affects nearly every aspect of his life. We find it unfortunate that many well-meaning
Christians have attempted to characterize, define and understand Jesus Christ more from
extra-biblical sources such as Greek philosophy, theological reflection and human speculation
than from the Bible alone. All representations of Christ arrived at via these avenues are, to many
thoughtful and spiritually hungry people, distorted, unsatisfying and mere caricatures of the
real person that he is.

÷
One God & One Lord
At this point we think it would help you to learn a bit about our own spiritual backgrounds.
John Lynn was brought up in a traditional Presbyterian Church (actually he lived at home). John
Schoenheit was raised as an atheist. Mark Graeser was exposed to the Unitarian Universalist
Church as a small child, and received no formal Christian education while growing up. John
Schoenheit majored in philosophy and Mark minored in it. John Lynn has heard of it. We have
a background in logic and debate. However, we do not intend to be antagonistically argumen-
tative or controversial, but are simply pursuing the truth with everything we have.
At one time we were all spiritual seekers who had been left cold by traditional Christians
and "churchianity. " We were reached by an unorthodox group called The Way International,
considered by some to be a "cult, " but for us it was a lifesaver. We were very involved in that
ministry for the better part of 20 years, serving in a variety of teaching and leadership positions.
We were taught a staunchly non-Trinitarian Christian gospel, but one that viewed a personal
relationship with Jesus Christ as at best suspect, and at worst idolatrous. We came to recognize
that Jesus Christ was not being exalted and honored as Scripture indicates, so we parted
company with The Way so that we might better follow The True Way, Jesus Christ.
In the process of our spiritual journey, we have realized that many "Trinitarians" do have
a dynamic and personal relationship with Jesus, whom they exalt and honor as "God. " We have
been humbled to see this. Nevertheless, we remain unable to accept the "logic" of the Trinity,
and we find it not only unscriptural but also antagonistic to our passionate desire to identify
with The Man Jesus Christ and be like him. Furthermore, our study of Church history has shown
us that the Trinity is a concept developed through nearly four centuries with the help of extra-
biblical concepts and language. As the reader will discover in this book, this fact is widely known
by theologians and Church historians. Amazingly, it is still not recognized by the average
Christian.
In writing this book, our purpose is not to be controversial or iconoclastic, nor is it to
assault Christian orthodoxy or Trinitarianism, per se. Rather, it is to herald what we believe is
by far the greatest truth in the Bible, the truth about who Jesus Christ is, what he reveals about
his Father God and what he has done, is doing and will do for mankind. We will do our best to
allow the living Word of God to "jump start" the minds of any readers who are stalled on the off-
ramp of impractical religious tradition.
We have written this book for readers to enjoy and utilize in several ways, depending on
their interest in the subject. Many of the appendices in the book are for those who are serious
students of the Bible and want reference tools to assist them in their personal, ongoing study of
God's Word.
If you are of a more scholarly bent, we have left a trail in the footnotes of this book for you
to analyze our methods and reasoning and check our sources. We have made every attempt to
provide scholarly support for the positions we take in this book because we admit that we are
not recognized Bible scholars. We are largely self-taught, primarily because we do not sub-
scribe to the fundamental beliefs of virtually every Christian seminary at which we might pursue
advanced degrees. We would ask those who are impressed by worldly credentials to consider
that neither Jesus himself (John 7: 15) nor his followers (Acts 4: 13) were considered properly
educated by their contemporaries. The best recommendation of this book is that through logic

Preface
xi
and Scripture, it enables men and women to be devoted followers of the Lord Jesus Christ. Any
other validation is secondary at best.
Though we obviously consider the subject of this book a serious one, we often employ
humor or irony to both entertain and inspire our readers to think logically according to biblical
truth. We realize that we will likely offend some of our readers in the process of pursuing truth,
but that is not our intention. We simply desire to be faithful teachers of the Word of God, the
literature of eternity that is filled with "exceeding great and precious promises, " chief among
which is Jesus Christ, the Promise. We pray that what you find herein will engender a passion
to know him, love him and be like him.

INTRODUCTION
Who Do Yon Say
That He Is?
One evening Jesus was in a boat with his disciples crossing the Sea of Galilee. A sudden,
violent storm enveloped them, high waves filled the boat with water and the disciples were
terrified. Jesus, however, remained asleep. They awakened him and said, "Don't you care that
we are going to die?" Of course Jesus cared about them, and after all, he was on the boat with
them. He arose, rebuked the storm, and the turbulent sea calmed right down. The terrified
disciples said among themselves, "What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea
obey him?" They had never seen anyone act with such fearlessness and such authority, nor
wield such godly power. In the Greek text, the apostles' question reads: "Who then is this One?"
Indeed, this is the question of the ages, and one that every person must answer for himself.
Some time later as his ministry developed and his fame grew, Jesus asked his disciples a
question of his own: "Who do men say the Son of Man is?" (Matt. 16: 13). After they reported to
him the various opinions circulating among the people concerning who they thought he was,
Jesus asked them: "But what about you? Who do YOU say that I am?" Peter's response was "You
are the Christ, the Son of the Living God. " Jesus affirmed that not only was that the correct
answer, but that Peter knew it because God Himself had revealed it to him.
His question continues to hang in the air even two thousand years later, and it is the
question that one day every man and woman will be required to answer. Why? Because God
"has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by THE MAN he has appointed" (Acts
17: 31). There is no more important quest facing mankind than finding out the true identity of
Jesus Christ and understanding the significance of his life. The issue is a matter of life and death,
both in regard to the quality of one's life now, and his future eternal destiny.
Suffering and Glory
The coming of this Man was first announced in Genesis 3: 15, and at that time the two
principal aspects of his life were described: suffering and glory. The entire scope of Christological
history (that is, "the study of Christ") revolves around these two themes. The multiplicity of
misconceptions about him also can be distilled into this paradigm. In general, people have

2
One God & One Lord
either demeaned him or elevated him inappropriately. Another way to state the problem is that
people have either prevented him from truly suffering or prevented him from being truly
glorified. Either way, the true significance of his identity and accomplishments has been
distorted, and therefore the essence of the Christian Gospel compromised.
At Jesus Christ's first coming to the Jews, many wrongly expected the Messiah to be more
than he was at that time. Their one-sided theological conception of him as the conquering,
glorified King kept them from recognizing and appreciating who he was and what he was sent
to do. There was no room in their theological inn, so to speak, for him to be the suffering Savior
of mankind, and when he was manhandled and crucified, many were offended at him and
thought him to be a pretender to the throne of David. On the other hand, others saw him only
as the bastard son of Joseph, a mere man who died the death of a common criminal.
Subsequent misconceptions about Jesus Christ have run the gamut, either demeaning or
exalting him according to man's imagination. Untethered to biblical truth, these musings of
men have included bastard child, extraterrestrial, mushroom cult leader, charlatan, mystic or
angelic being. Many Christians have been taught that Jesus must be elevated to the status of a
"God-man. " Others think of him as just a "good man. " Some people believe that we cannot
really know if there even was an historical figure called Jesus of Nazareth, while others believe
him to be a mythological creation. In fact, every Christological position of which we are aware,
at some point either artificially elevates or ignorantly degrades the Lord Jesus. Our quest, then,
is to find the true and balanced perspective of this remarkable man who in our view is the very
focal point of human history. To do so, we will find that many traditional ideas will have to be
jettisoned in favor of the clear testimony of the only credible source of information about this
Jew from Galilee who was called in his own tongue, Yeshua ha Mashiyach, Jesus the Messiah.
A Spiritual Battle
The battle over the true identity of Christ is a very spiritual one with high stakes for
mankind. Unquestionably, this Jesus of Nazareth has been the object of more speculation and
demonic assault than any other person in the history of man. It is no accident that the name
"Jesus Christ" springs spontaneously from the lips of all kinds of people, from the pious priest
to the construction worker who has just dropped a cinder block on his foot. Even when Jesus
Christ is rejected as an object of faith, he is chosen as an object of derision.
This is predictable based upon what the Bible says is really going on around us. In fact, a
major theme of Scripture concerns the ever-raging battle between the true God, the Father of
Jesus Christ, and the false god, the "god of this age, " whom we now know as Satan, the Devil. He
is a shrewd general, directing the main thrust of his attack upon the most vital truths in God's
Word. The chief object of his hatred is The Man who now sits at the right hand of God.
Accordingly, his primary goal is to blind the minds of men to the truth of the glorious gospel
about Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 4: 3, 4). It is sad to say that by a number of means he has been very
successful in at least distorting, if not totally obscuring, the simple truth of who Jesus Christ is.

Introduction
3
As Satan once inspired the evil king Jehoiakim to cut up and then burn the Word of God
written by Jeremiah (Jer. 36), so he inspired evil men to destroy the Living Word, Jesus Christ.
His relentless assault continues unabated, attempting to undermine the authority and credibil-
ity of the written Word of God that makes known the Living Word. His assault is primarily
carried out on the battlefield of the mind. Today, we see fewer and fewer Christians who actually
honor the written Word of God as their only rule of faith and practice. Instead, too many
Christians give lipservice to biblical authority but in reality rely upon other standards for faith:
the historic position of the Church, the testimony of their favorite preachers, the "leading of the
spirit, " their own feelings, etc.
But as Satan failed to destroy either the scrolls of Jeremiah or the Living Word, Jesus Christ,
so he has failed to destroy the written Word of God. In fact, after the original scroll was
destroyed, God told Jeremiah to dictate more words than the first scroll contained. Likewise,
after Jesus Christ was killed, God raised him from the dead, highly exalted him and gave him the
authority to give to all those who believe on him the power to live like he did, doing the works
that he did. Thus, Jesus Christ now exerts far more influence on the world than he did when he
walked the earth.
In light of this spiritual battle, it is certainly not surprising that through the centuries the
Christian Church could be seduced by Satan's subtlety from the simplicity that is in Christ (2
Cor. 11: 3). This is why for the better part of nineteen hundred years the "historic" Christian
Church has unwittingly clung to and promoted "a different gospel" about "a Jesus other than
the Jesus we preached" (2 Cor. 11: 4). The other "Jesus" of historical Christian orthodoxy is a
mystical "God-man" who existed before he was born. In this book, we will do our best to provide
an alternative to this traditional position, one that we believe fits the evidence and logic of
Scripture as a whole. We sincerely believe that a careful, logical and objective consideration of
the evidence will lead the reader to the same conclusions that we have reached.
Resetting the Cornerstone
Jesus Christ is, by the agreement of all Christians, the subject of the Bible from Genesis 3: 15
to Revelation 22: 21. He is the very cornerstone of the edifice of biblical teaching. In Ephesians
2: 20 and 1 Peter 2: 6, he is called the "chief cornerstone. " 1 Corinthians 3: 10 and 11 make it very
clear that he is also the foundation for the building of the Church. The cornerstone sets the
angles and dimensions for an entire building, which can rise only as high as the foundation and
cornerstone permit. If the corner is cut inaccurately, the walls of the building will be skewed and
its height will be limited. 2 Timothy 2: 15 cautions the student of the Bible to "rightly divide"
(orthotomed) the Word of truth. This Greek word, derived from orthos, "right" or "straight, " and
temno, "to cut, " literally means a "right or straight cutting. "
Cutting the cornerstone accurately, therefore, is of the greatest importance for biblical
understanding and exegesis and the furtherance of the Christian Gospel worldwide. We must
therefore be diligent and skillful in the choice and application of the tools we will use to
accomplish this crucial task. As we will attempt to demonstrate, the history of the Church's

4
One God & One Lord
Christology is a tale of misdirected zeal and the use of inappropriate tools, in particular
theological reflection, Gnostic mysticism and Neoplatonic speculation. Diligent, even heroic
effort has been made to rationalize the historically "orthodox" position, despite much contrary
evidence from the scope of the Bible and logic. 1 In our view, the result is a view of Christ that
cannot stand up to rational or scriptural scrutiny, thus emboldening the critics of Christianity,
notably Muslims, Jews and intellectuals. Indeed, we speculate that for every person who has
embraced the orthodox view and become a Christian, there is at least one who has rejected
Christianity because he or she could not believe in its central teaching of the "divinity of Christ. "
It is for this reason and because we believe that the truth honors both God and Jesus that we
propose resetting the cornerstone for the Christian faith in a more biblically tenable and
supportable position. We also believe that the truly biblical understanding of Christ's identity
is imperative to strengthen the faith of Christians against the onslaughts of the modern and
"post-modern" world.
As for the true identity of Jesus Christ, the thesis of this book is as follows: The Jesus of
Scripture is the "Last Adam" whom God created as the only possible remedy for the problem of
sin and death brought on by the first Adam. What Adam was before his fall is what Jesus was,
a man made the way Man was intended to be. God's Word tells us that Jesus was "made like his
brothers in every way. " It says he was "touched with the feeling of our infirmities. " It says that
he was "tempted in the same ways we are. " It says that he was tired, hungry and thirsty and that
he experienced the full range of human emotions. As the "Last Adam, " Jesus Christ truly was a
one-hundred-percent human being.
As human beings with limited ability and perception, it is impossible for us to accurately
conceive of, or identify with, the eternal God whose throne is the heavens and footstool is the
earth (Isa. 66: 1). A blind man might as easily describe the color "yellow. " We can, however,
conceive of and identify with The Man Jesus Christ, who exemplified what God is all about. Jesus
Christ perfectly represented his heavenly Father. How? By always saying what God would have
said and by doing what God would have done. Remember such statements of Jesus as: "My
doctrine is not mine, but His who sent me"; "The Son can do nothing of himself, but only what
he sees the Father do; " "I always do my Father's will. " Because Jesus perfectly lived the Word
and will of God, he could say, "If you've seen me, you've seen the Father. "
The converse is also true—if Jesus Christ is distorted, misrepresented or obscured, the
identity of his Father, the "only true God, " is also obscured. This is why the title of this book is
One God and One Lord, because knowing the true identifies of both God and Christ hinges on
our correct understanding and usage of biblical language. The Bible is very clear in this regard:
there is only One God, a unitary personal being, and this God is not Jesus Christ, who is His Son.
And there is only one Lord, a separate being who is not God, his Father. He is the Lord Jesus
Christ.
1 Timothy 2: 5 tells us that "There is one God, and one mediator between God and men,
THE MAN Christ Jesus. " Jesus said that no one could truly know the Father except by coming
1. We place quotes around the word "orthodox" because what is considered "orthodox" and "heretical" has changed
many times throughout Christian history. As we will point out in Chapter 17 on the beginnings of heresy, what came to be
considered "orthodoxy" was in reality a heretical view of Christ that won out. It won out not on the strength of its biblical
logic, but by intimidation and force.

Introduction
5
through him. Jesus is "the way and the truth and the life. " He is "the way" (the Greek word
means "the road") to God. He is "the truth" that marks that road, and he is "the life" found by
those who choose to follow the road. Thus, if we are to know, love, honor and obey the Creator
of the heavens and the earth, it is imperative that we know the one He sent to reveal Himself, the
Lord Jesus Christ. In fact, it is a matter of life and death, for he is the only way to the one true God.
We believe that when Jesus' true identity is skewed, those desiring to follow him on the road of
life may find themselves disoriented and frustrated. We find it an inescapable conclusion that
an erroneous concept of who Jesus is basically leaves Christians with a "you-can't-get-there-
from-here" attitude in their quest to be like him. And after all, that is to be the goal of every
Christian — to be like him. Any doctrine of Christ that subverts, hinders or obscures this goal in
any way should be held suspect and finally discarded.
So how are we to come to know the truth about who Jesus was, and is? There is no way to
know Jesus Christ but to rely on the Bible, the written Word of God, and let God tell us the truth
about His only-begotten Son. Our entire argument rests upon this premise: the Bible is the
revealed Word and Will of God. If it is anything less than that, our argument will fall to pieces.
But we believe there has been an abundance of evidence of the precise inspiration of Scripture
that will support this premise.
Ultimately, our goal is to rest upon the authority of the testimony of the biblical text itself
so precisely that if the Bible is right, we will be right, and if the Bible is wrong, we will be wrong.
If our interpretation of the Bible is wrong, we will take full responsibility for it and be willing to
stand corrected. Our goal is not to be right in order to make others wrong, and thereby make
ourselves look good. Our goal is to assist the reader in heeding the two great biblical command-
ments:
Mark 12: 29-31 (NRSV)
(29) Jesus answered, "The first is, 'Hear, Ï Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one;
(30) you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with
all your mind, and with all your strength. '
(31) The second is this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself. ' There is no other
commandment greater than these. "
This love for God and Christ will reveal itself in loving obedience, and this obedience will
enable Christ to reveal himself to us. Consider the following verse:
John 14: 21 (NRSV)
"They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me; and those
who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them. "
To know the Lord Jesus Christ, one must first have the Word of God, that is, understand it.
Then one must also put the Word into practice, that is, obey it. To those who do both, the Lord
Jesus will make himself real. Knowing the Lord Jesus is the key to loving him, and loving him is
the key to serving him. Serving him is the key to a joyous and fruitful life.

6
One God & One Lord
In this book, we will allow the Word of God to magnify to us its main subject, Jesus Christ.
In order for it to magnify the Lord Jesus to us, we must be careful to pay close attention to the
signposts of biblical terminology. If we use words the way God does in His Word, we will not drift
into the theological shallows. The Word of God says to be cautious not to add to nor subtract
from its words. Extra-biblical vocabulary can easily introduce extra-biblical concepts that are
often contradictory to God's original intent. A classic example is the introduction of the Greek
word homoousian at the council of Nicaea, which we will be exploring in Chapter 18 on the
rejection of Scripture and logic. Also, in many cases, equivocation of important terms has led
the way to mysticism and incomprehensible dogmas. Therefore, defining words accurately
according to their biblical usage will be a major preoccupation of this book.
We will be focusing on the identity of Jesus Christ and his relationship with God. Other
books could be written on the subject of his work, which we will not be focusing on in this book.
The foundation for understanding and appreciating Christ's accomplishments lies in properly
discerning his identity as "the Last Adam. " We are also limiting our historical overview to those
ideas, developments and influences that directly bear upon the formation of Christian doctrine
concerning his identity and the role that this doctrine has had in Church history. In particular,
we will argue that because Christian orthodoxy adopted the means and methods of mysticism,
the resulting rejection of reason became a major hindrance to individual spiritual growth and
liberation.
In fact, we believe that the historical record shows that the Christian church became an
authoritarian and monarchial hierarchy held in place by a set of unintelligible doctrines that
needed an elite class of priests to interpret to the masses. The average Christian believer was
thus held captive to unquestionable dogmas replete with mystery and paradox until the
dawning of the Reformation began to make available intellectual freedom. This book is in line
with a historical trajectory begun in the 14th century by John Wycliffe, who began the process
of retrieving the Bible from the clutches of spiritual tyrants and returning it to the common
sense of the common man. Numerous others since then have reached many of the same
conclusions that the reader will encounter in these pages, and most of them have been branded
heretics, cultists or blasphemers by the institutional church. Many of them died in pursuit of
the truths that the readers of this book will be able to encounter in the safety of modern
toleration of religious pluralism and, beyond that, growing indifference to the very idea of
"truth. " Nevertheless, like grass poking up through cracks in concrete, the living truth of who
Jesus Christ is keeps popping up in the pages of Scripture, out from under centuries of
misunderstanding, and despite modern indifference.
Part of our intention in writing this book is to acquaint the reader with the large volume
of support for our position extant in the literature of modern biblical scholarship, particularly
in the past 20 years. Since it does not support traditional theology, much of this work has not
found a popular audience and is therefore not found in standard Christian bookstores. We have
endeavored to reduce to footnotes most of the references to the work of these scholars in order
not to bog down the reader in often tedious and difficult scholarly jargon. But if the reader will
be brave and read the footnotes carefully, he will almost find another book within this book.
Our purpose is to strengthen the faith of those who are dissatisfied with traditional
Christology by directing them to recognized scholars who have reached the same conclusions
as a result of their research. But our fundamental commitment is not to the intellectual

Introduction
7
stimulation of our readers with the often detached perspective of the scholar or historian. We
write as believers, intent upon learning the truth that might set us free and kindle a fire of desire
to further the Gospel of Christ to the ends of the earth. For those who think this book too
scholarly, we would plead for grace and understanding and a second or third reading if
necessary. In our view, it is the scholars whose theological speculations, often little more than
pedantic sophistry, have muddied the waters. To clear things up, we have found it necessary
to engage the scholars' arguments head on, and that often requires a commitment to logical
reasoning that some readers may find difficult or tedious.
This book has actually evolved over a ten-year period beginning from a paper titled
"Rethinking Christology" that Mark Graeser presented to a group of Trinitarian ministers who
were attempting to dialogue with and minister to "cultists. " Mark's paper forms the basis of
several of the chapters of this book. In 1991, John Lynn taught an audio seminar called Jesus
Christ: The Diameter of the Ages.
Its colloquial and devotional flavor is preserved in a number
of sections of the book, which will appeal to those readers who are looking for the more
entertaining and readable and less scholarly material. We would particularly recommend for
their readability and devotional appeal Chapters 1-3, the last section of Chapters 8, 12 and 13.
In 1997, John Schoenheit published a work on the Trinity, the highlights of which are repre-
sented in Appendix A that handles the verses often used to argue for the Trinity.
Thus, this book represents a collaboration of many years, several people and much study.
A subject this important, and so complicated by tradition and misunderstanding, could hardly
be handled by any one person. As of result of the team approach to the writing of the book, the
reader may at times sense a "patchwork" aspect to the style, as it reflects our different thinking
and writing. We trust that the book as a whole will not be skewed in the direction of any personal
style, but reflect our unified desire to "speak the truth in love. "
Overview
We will now provide an overview of the entire book. In Part 1, we will look at why Jesus
Christ is called in Scripture "the Last Adam, " and how each of them was the image of God. We
will consider the mechanics and the legality of the redemption that the Savior made available
to all men. We will consider what Scripture says about Man as "the image of God, " and how
Jesus, the perfect Man, is now fulfilling the intended destiny of Mankind. Chapter 3 will
examine the way Jesus Christ is literally the "purpose of the ages, " and look at his post-
resurrection glory.
In Part 2, we will then discuss what the Old Testament tells us about the identity of the
Messiah in prophecy from two perspectives. The first is the detailed prophetic portrait that is
painted by the Hebrew Scriptures about the coming one, and the second is the way the Jews
interpreted these prophecies, which were sometimes ambiguous or difficult to interpret. This
helps us understand why even today Jews have difficulty believing that Jesus is the promised
Messiah.

8
One God & One Lord
Part 3 is a detailed analysis of the Four Gospels, which describe the Savior in person.
Chapter 6 is an overview of the Gospels, and explains why there are four, Chapter 7 handles the
evidence from the Synoptic Gospels (Matt., Mark and Luke), particularly the view presented
there of the apparently "reluctant Messiah" who veiled his identity throughout his life. Chapter
8 will handle the Gospel of John in detail, since this is the section of Scripture used to anchor
orthodox Christianity. Chapter 9 will look at the relationship between Jesus and the logos and
handle the first 18 verses of John, called "the prologue, " which are often misunderstood and
misinterpreted.
Part 4 will look at the evidence of the remainder of the New Testament, which clearly
identifies Jesus of Nazareth as both Lord and Christ. The Book of Acts, the Church Epistles and
the Book of Revelation have much to say about who Jesus Christ is and his" functionally equal"
relationship with his Father.
Part 5 will focus on the practical aspects of who Jesus Christ is, what he is doing now, and
our potential to identify with him to the end that we become like him in thought, word and deed.
We will close with a look at the true hope of each Christian, that hope made available by the work
of Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God.
Part 6 is an historical perspective on the development of traditional Christology. First we
will look at the phenomenon called "the expansion of piety, " which explains corruptions of the
text of Scripture and the historical tendency to elevate the identity of Christ. We will then
identify the beginnings of heresy as addressed in the epistles of 1 and 2 John, where we can see
that an illogical, confusing and self-contradictory view of Jesus Christ had already taken root in
the first century of Christianity. We will also look at the influence of Gnosticism and Neoplatonism
on the development of Christian doctrine in the centuries after Christ.
The doctrine of the "incarnation" of Christ will then be examined in light of the Apostle
Paul's prophecy in Timothy that Christian leaders would turn away from the truth unto myths.
Then we will see how the rejection of Scripture and logic, a crucial element of true faith, led to
the idea that God was beyond reason. To conclude our historical perspective, we examine
Socinianism as the historical movement most closely aligned to our position, and one that
validated the importance of reason and liberty. We will then consider modern trends in the
development of both Trinitarianism and Christian unitarianism.
Another virtual "book within a book" is the appendices, which are intended to be used for
reference more than to be read straight through. Our hope is that this book will be one that is
not read only once and then put away to gather dust, but one that continues to edify, enlighten
and inspire the reader to pursue his or her relationship with both the Living Word and the
written Word.
What Is at Stake
Some readers may take the position that what we are arguing for is just nitpicking over
equally probable biblical interpretations that have no significant practical ramifications. From
this perspective, it looks like the world is already full of books detailing every possible theologi-

Introduction
9
cal and Christological position, few of which interest the average person. So, they ask, what
difference does it make who Jesus really was and is? That is a very good question.
Beyond what we have already asserted about the importance of this subject, we believe
there are five ways in which this topic is vitally significant. In the first place, the issue of biblical
integrity is at stake. Some interpretations do damage to the integrity of Scripture, even though
there may be a few verses that can be squeezed to support them. The question is, does an
interpretation fit with Scripture as a whole? This is demanded by logic. If the Bible is not to be
the foundation for our belief, then we must accept some other basis. If the Bible is taught in such
a way that contradictions are ignored, tolerated or created, the Word of God is thus corrupted
and made less credible to those people who are unwilling to embrace contradiction in the
pursuit of truth.
Second, spiritual tyranny is encouraged when confusing and self-contradictory dogma is
required as an object of faith. Rather than honestly persuade people by logically consistent and
scripturally sound principles, tradition and man-made "authorities" are set up as lords de-
manding submission. Spiritual leadership of this sort does not engender authentic disciple-
ship, but in too many cases unquestioning and rigid adherence to incomprehensible doctrines.
The shaky underpinnings of their faith are evidenced by their angry and emotional reaction to
rational and scriptural challenges. Convictions based in truth empower a patient and loving
response toward those who present challenging ideas.
Third, all false interpretations of the identity of Jesus Christ demean both his accomplish-
ments and the nature of the one true God, his Father. Something is inevitably lost when God's
people are unable to clearly discern the face of God, for whatever reason. Any doctrinal system
that makes it more difficult to understand the nature of God or appreciate the life and work of
the Savior is not in the best interests of Christians or of Christianity itself.
Fourth, false teaching concerning Christ makes it difficult for us to identify with him and
believe that it is possible to do the works he did. Since we are commanded to walk in his steps,
and are told that we can do the works that he did, any doctrine antagonistic to this is suspect.
We assert that our ability to identify with Jesus as a man facilitates our following him, and that
any doctrine that hinders our identification with him will correspondingly hinder our ability to
do what he did.
Lastly, evangelizing the world is made much more difficult by centering the Christian
Gospel on a "God-man, " who is basically a mythological figure and one who does not harmo-
nize with common sense. It is our contention that children, Jews, Muslims and thoughtful
truth-seekers everywhere are hindered from believing in Christ when told that he is "fully God
and fully man, " "God the Son, " or some other unbiblical description. Jesus commanded his
followers to "go into all nations and make disciples. " There is an implied promise in this
commandment, which is that as we obey it, he will open the doors for us. The sad state of the
world nearly two thousand years after Christians first received this commandment is most
telling — there are billions of people who still need to hear the Gospel of Christ. We believe this
is because too few human beings have ever heard the unadulterated Gospel ("good news")
about the Savior. What they have heard has been a blend of truth and pagan philosophy. How
can this be? Please continue reading!

10
One God & One Lord
In the process of writing this book, we have found it necessary to aggressively rethink our
own Christological position with scriptural diligence, intellectual honesty and rigorous ratio-
nality, being ever-willing to challenge even our most deeply held convictions, assumptions and
beliefs. We now invite the reader to join us in this quest, regardless of how uncomfortable the
journey may be for him at times. If our beliefs are scripturally sound, they will hold up to
scrutiny. If not, we must let them go in favor of something better, by which both our personal
lives and the life of the Church can only be enriched. In the course of accompanying us on this
path to the truth, we pray that the reader will clearly recognize that our motivation is fervent love
for our heavenly Father and our Lord Jesus, and that our main goal in writing this book is that
both would receive all the credit and glory due them.

PART ONE
The Man,
Man's Redeemer


CHAPTER ONE
Christianity 101:
Two Adams
From the classified section of The Jerusalem Herald, Nisan 1, AD 27:
HELP WANTED
Redeemer for Mankind
Job description: Man needed to pay price for sins of mankind. Must live totally sinless life.
Demanding schedule, constantly on the go. No guaranteed home or income. Must be willing to train
forgetful staff who tend to quit under pressure. Must totally fulfill law of Old Testament. Must be
absolutely obedient to the will of management. Will ultimately be beaten and humiliated and
experience indescribable suffering and anguish. Will become sin offering and die on job.
To qualify: Must be male, minimum age 30. Father must be God, mother must be of house
and lineage of David, must have been virgin when he was born. Adopted father must also be of house
of David. Must have sinless blood and spotless record. Must have been born in Bethlehem and raised
in Nazareth. Must be self-motivated, with aggressive personality and burning desire to help people.
Must have tremendous knowledge of Old Testament and firm reliance on biblical principles. Must
incorporate the foresight of Noah, the faith of Abraham, the patience of Job, the faithfulness of Joseph,
the meekness of Moses, the courage of Joshua, the heart of David, the wisdom of Solomon, the
boldness of Elijah, the power of Elisha, the eloquence of Isaiah, the commitment of Jeremiah, the
vision of Ezekiel and the love of God.
Wages: Holy spirit (without measure) to start. Additional payoff in intimacy with God and
receiving revelation as necessary to complete job. Constant on-job training, supervision and
guidance by top-level management.
Benefits: Position could lead to highly exalted position in future if job carried out successfully.
Workman's compensation: Injuries sustained on job, including death, well compensated by
promotion including new body. Management will highly promote name upon successful completion
of job, and entire publicity department will be devoted to getting name before multitudes. Will assume
presidency of expanding international venture (The Ministry of Reconciliation), as Head of Body of
well-equipped members ready to move dynamic new product on world market. All in all, tremendous
eternal potential for growth and rewards in return on initial investment of giving life.
If qualified, management will contact you. No need to apply.

14
One God & One Lord
Why did God need to fill this position of Redeemer? Because He had to "fire" the original
general manager of His creation for gross impropriety and malfeasance. When God delegated
the oversight of Creation to a man with free will, He anticipated the possibility of that man's
failure, and formulated a plan to solve the problem. The plan was for another man to rectify the
catastrophic situation. Why another man, when He had such poor success with the first one?
Why did He not just march down here and take care of things Himself? Many Christians believe
that is exactly what God did — that He became a man in order to redeem mankind. But since
man was in such a sorry state that he could not redeem himself, was the only alternative for God
Himself to
do the job? We think there are a number of problems with this theory.
First of all, one of the most defining attributes of God is His absolute holiness. 1 This means
that He transcends His creation the way Henry Ford transcended the automobile that he built.
Though God can be intimately involved with His creation, He, by definition as "the Creator, "
stands distinct and apart from it. He cannot make Himself into a rock or a tree or a frog or a man,
because these are all created things. Neither is He "one" with them, as pantheism suggests—
that God is "in" the rocks and trees and frogs and men. This is a very basic biblical truth.
Because He is so holy, God knew that He Himself could not legally redeem mankind by
becoming one of us. Neither can He just make up the rules as He goes along. His righteousness
and integrity are absolute, and He cannot break the rules that He has established. One of those
rules is that He keeps His Word. That is important, because God never promised to send Himself
to ultimately redeem mankind. Rather, He promised that "the seed of the woman" (Gen. 3: 15)
would come, and that this man would do the necessary work.
Furthermore, there is nothing in the Bible to indicate that God can become a true man,
because He is God. One of the boundaries of God's nature is given in Numbers 23: 12: "God is
not a man... " And from the beginning, one of Man's defining boundaries was that the
consequence for disobeying God's command was death. Potential mortality, then, was always
a defining part of man's existence. God, therefore, cannot actually be a man, because He cannot
die. 2 He is immortal, by definition. 3 The great pattern of the Bible is that God equips others to
serve Him and act as His agents. Moses, Gideon, David and Jesus were each sent by God to
perform a necessary job. In Jesus' case, the job was the ultimate redemption of mankind and
creation. But how could a man do such a job? He could do it by following the pattern established
by all the men God sent to perform a task — being equipped by God and then precisely obeying
His plan. This is exactly how Jesus Christ accomplished his task as Redeemer. Not only could
a man do the job, but the job required that a man do it, since God Himself could not legally do
so. To understand why this is so, we will now turn our attention to the source of the problem
that necessitated the sending of another Adam to be Man's Redeemer.
-
1. See Lev. 19: 2; 20: 7, 26; 21: 8; Josh. 24: 19, et al.
2. However, He can (and occasionally did) "appear" as a man. Regarding the rare examples of God coming into
concretion in the form of a man, see Appendix A (Gen. 18: 1, 2). In these cases, however, God did not actually transform
Himself into a man, but took on the appearance of a man so that He could have fellowship with certain people at crucial
times in redemption history.
3. 1 Timothy 1: 17 clearly identifies God as being immortal, meaning that He cannot die. In fact, He is the very Author
of Life itself. An enormous burden of proof is laid upon those who would argue that God Himself could die for our sins.
If He were able to die, who would raise Him from the dead? (See Appendix A (1 Tim. 1: 17).

Chapter 1: Christianity 101: Two Adams
15
The First Adam
Exploring the biblical background of the need for a Redeemer is crucial to understanding
both the integrity of the Bible and the identity of Jesus. Before we subject this remarkable man
from Galilee to a needless onslaught of theological speculation, we must carefully analyze the
biblical relationship between the "first Adam" and the "Last Adam. " Even modern biblical
scholars are recognizing that this parallel between the two "Adams" was a key element of
apostolic Christianity, and is probably the earliest and richest biblical insight concerning the
identity of this unique man named Jesus Christ. 4 We, too, have come to the conclusion that this
relationship is the key to understanding and appreciating Jesus' identity, and that it establishes
the first boundary marker in our survey of this subject.
Once upon a time—"in the beginning"—God was all by Himself. His heart's desire was,
in essence, a family to love and be loved by. First, He created angels and other spirit beings. He
then made two people — a man and a woman — and gave them dominion over the earth, their
home. God's instructions were simple — He told them to multiply and to fill up the earth with
more people after their kind, i. e., mankind. He gave them only one prohibition — not to eat of
a particular tree in the garden. They chose to disobey their Creator, and thus wreaked havoc not
only upon His originally perfect creation, but also upon their own offspring.
The first Adam was part of a creation that God declared to be "very good. " His "seed, "
therefore, was perfectly designed to reproduce "fruit after its kind, " even as the plants and
animals were. Therefore we can assert that Adam was genetically flawless, but he was not a
robot. He had the quality that goes a long way in defining what a human being is, as distinct from
animals: freedom of will. Where animals are governed by instinct, man was made with a brain
that made him able to be self - aware and govern himself. He was therefore well equipped to
understand that he was a being that owed his existence to his Creator. He could learn from his
environment and choose his behaviors. It was up to him to make decisions in response to God's
commandments, whereas animals receive their "commandments" as a part of their genetic
packaging. Raccoons do not choose whether or not to raid a garbage can.
This privilege to choose was not granted only to Adam. The same held true for his "wife, "
Eve (they never had a formal ceremony — Adam just awoke from a nap and found out he was
married!). It is not our purpose here to examine the mechanics of Adam and Eve's original sin,
but suffice it to say they did the one and only thing they were not supposed to do — they ate of
the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Though they both partook of it, God held Adam
responsible. His disobedience revealed that in the depth of his heart, Adam came to doubt
4. In theological terms, this is called "Adam Christology, " and many scholars acknowledge that this was the "Apostles'
doctrine" concerning the identity of Jesus. James D. G. Dunn, Christology in the Making (Grand Rapids MI, W. B.
Eerdmans, 1989) notes on pp. 114, 115: "We have... seen how widespread [his emphasis) was this Adam Christology in
the period before Paul wrote his letters — a fact not usually appreciated by those who offer alternative exegeses of the
[Phil. 2: 6-13] hymn. " Dunn also quotes Young: "It is eschatology, not incarnation, which makes Christ final in the New
Testament... Christ is final for Paul, not as God incarnate, but as the Last Adam. " The Apostle Paul compares and
contrasts Jesus and Adam in three key places in Scripture: Romans 5: 12ff, 1 Corinthians 15: 22 and 45, and Philippians
2: 6-13 (and also Hebrew 2: 8 if Pauline authorship is accepted). We will visit and revisit these passages throughout the
book.

16
One God & One Lord
God's true love for him. Thus, he did not believe that God would provide for him what he really
needed, and he chose to take matters into his own hands and provide for himself. Of course, the
consequences were far reaching — for him, his wife and all their descendants.
In fact, Adam's disobedience set the general pattern of all men's subsequent disobedience
to God (Rom. 1: 18-21). He also set the pattern for the coming Messiah in other ways as well, in
particular as the following scripture indicates:
Romans 5: 14 (NRSV)
Yet death exercised dominion from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sins were
not like the transgression of Adam, who is a type of the one who was to come.
There are many people in the Old Testament who could be called "types of Christ." But
this is the only place in the New Testament that directly points back to a particular person who
would set the pattern for who the Messiah would be like. Adam was a "pattern of the one to
come," in that both Adam and Jesus Christ were men who by one act had a universal effect on
mankind.
The record of Adam's transgression makes it clear that the verb "to sin" means to disobey
the Word of God. By his action of sinning, he introduced "sin" into God's perfect creation. Thus,
a state of corruption was imposed upon God's perfect Creation, which was now indelibly
tainted and would require a process of redemption. For the catastrophic consequences of sin
to be completely rectified, a new heaven and earth were necessary.
The entrance of sin caused an even greater problem for God to solve — death. The
following verse clearly illustrates this:
Romans 5: 12
Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and
in this way death came to all men, because all sinned.
Thus, the twofold problem that God had to solve was sin and death. Adam and Eve
disobeyed God, which was an individual act of "sin. " But by this one unrighteous act, they
catalyzed a transformation of creation from a state of perfection and righteousness to a state of
"sin. " When they did, they and all their descendants became subject to death, the direct result
of sin. After that, the only kind of children they could produce were children "separated from
the life of God" (Eph. 4: 18), and hence, from the moment of their birth destined to die.
God's Solution: Another Adam
What was God's solution to the problem of sin and death? The only solution legally
available: another Adam! In fact, if we had to sum up the whole Bible in five seconds, we could
say: "It is the story of two men and their affect on mankind. The first man wrecked everything;
the second man is fixing it. "

Chapter 1: Christianity 101: Two Adams
17
Like the first Adam, the Last Adam would have to be, first of all, genetically flawless and
without a sin nature. 5 It was God's responsibility to create him that way, which He did via the
virgin birth. But more than that, the Last Adam had to be behaviorally flawless. God could not
be responsible for that. He could only hope that, in contrast to the first Adam, the Last Adam
would be obedient throughout his life and thus accomplish the redemption of mankind. In
essence, God took a risk and trusted that the Last Adam would trust Him. This is love - in - action:
taking a risk, giving second chances, demonstrating commitment to a promise. As the Bible
says in 1 John 4: 8, God is love, and He has therefore modeled it perfectly. In our view, His plan,
as revealed in His Word, exemplifies a far greater love than if He had somehow become a man
Himself.
Before looking at God's initial reference in Genesis 3: 15 to the special promised offspring
of Adam and Eve, we want to get a running start in the broader context of the passage.
Genesis 3: 21 (NRSV)
And the Lord God made garments of skins for the man and for his wife, and clothed
them.
Were Adam and Eve's outfits the first clothing ever mentioned in the Bible? No, they had
earlier become the first tailors in the Bible, as the following verse indicates:
Genesis 3: 7
Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they
sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.
Here we have, in essence, the birth of "religion. " After having failed to keep God's
commandments and thereby stand righteously before Him, the first humans tried to cover their
own sin, to "justify" themselves. This marked the beginning of a sinful human pattern: man
attempting to cover his guilt with the works of his own hands in a self-righteous effort to earn
favor with God. The futility of such religious efforts to remove the guilt inherent in all mankind
is revealed by the fear that gripped them in the presence of God, as the next verse shows.
Genesis 3: 8 (NRSV)
They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden at the time of the evening
breeze, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God
among the trees of the garden.
We can see that religion is a very poor substitute for a personal relationship with the
Creator based on trust in Him, and it failed to produce any confidence or faith in God's loving
care. In fact, the first humans tried to hide from Him, which is precisely the naked effect of sin—
it drives a wedge between God and man!
5. Because the first Adam was genetically flawless, we can safely conclude that the Last Adam was also. Scientific
evidence corroborates this truth. In his book, The Seed of the Woman (Brockville, Ontario, Doorway Publications, 1980),
Arthur Custance does an admirable job on the subject of the genetic perfection of Jesus Christ. Although the entire
thesis of the work is important to our point, pp. 282-286 are especially relevant.

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One God & One Lord
It is very significant, then, that the first thing God did for mankind after they sinned but
before He ejected them from Paradise, was to get rid of their fig leaf underwear and make them
some new clothing. In effect, He said to them, "You can't go out looking like that — and you are
going out!" The clothing they had made for themselves was not a sufficient covering as far as
God was concerned. Most significant is the material from which the new clothes were made—
animal skins. Did God get the skins from animals who donated their extras? No, animals like
to be clothed too. What we have here is the first shedding of blood in the Bible. In His grace and
mercy, God instituted a substitutionary sacrifice for the sin of Adam and Eve, one that clothed
them in a temporary righteousness and allowed them to live until the seeds of death planted in
them came to fruition some 900 years later. The blood of animals was shed to provide a covering
for mankind that was "suit - able" in God's sight.
Remember that from Genesis 3:15 on, Scripture is pointing toward the coming Redeemer.
The shedding of the animals' blood was a foreshadowing of the shedding of the blood of "the
Lamb of God," a sacrifice necessary for God to be able to clothe with His righteousness those
who would believe on this Redeemer. With the sacrifice of animals, and the subsequent
clothing of Adam and Eve in their skins, God made temporary atonement for the sin they had
just committed. In light of this pattern, we can appreciate that the shed blood of Christ, the
"Lamb of God, " made permanent atonement for mankind, and also made it possible for people
to be "clothed with power from on high" (Luke 24: 49). No longer is anyone who believes in Jesus
Christ spiritually "naked. "
Jesus Christ had to be the Last Adam, a "lamb from out of the flock," but "without spot or
blemish" so that he could die as an acceptable sacrifice.6 By being both genetically and
behaviorally flawless, the Last Adam's life would be a sufficient sacrifice for the sin nature
inherent in all men, as well as for all their sinful behavior in the future. We will see in the Book
of Hebrews that the reason the Last Adam had to be a true man was so that he could die to pay
the price for the sins of all men. We will also see that via his death, he "took the Devil's best
punch, " and that in his resurrection, he got up "off the canvas. "
In Genesis 3: 9-13, God questioned both Adam and Eve about their disobedience, and then
prophesied concerning the consequences of their sin. But God's harshest judgment was
reserved for His nemesis, the "Serpent, " Satan. He turned to Satan and pronounced the death
sentence upon His archenemy, the one who had masterminded the downfall of the first man.
How fitting that the first announcement of the coming Redeemer was made "in your face" to the
one responsible for the introduction of sin, evil and death into God's creation.
Genesis 3: 15 (NRSV)
I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring [seed] and
hers; he will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.
Let us now unpack this verse, which is one of the most loaded - with - truth verses in the
entire Bible. Theologians refer to this verse as the "proto-evangelium" because it basically
6. We use "lamb from out of the flock" to bring together two concepts — first, that Jesus was the true Passover lamb,
a lamb taken from the flock of sheep, and second, that there are many scriptures that say that Jesus was one of us. He
was one of the "brothers" (Deut. 18: 18; Heb. 2: 11), he was a man, the Last Adam, and thus he was like the Passover Lamb
in that he was "of the flock, " not an outsider, but truly one of us.

Chapter 1: Christianity 101: Two Adams
19
capsulizes all the rest of Scripture by foretelling both the sufferings and glory of the Messiah. It
also foretells the "head-to-head" conflict between the promised seed and the serpent, until the
destruction of Satan is accomplished in one of the final acts of redemption before Paradise can
be restored.7 To us, this verse stands as a marvel of God's poetic and literary genius. It is no
wonder that the Bible has been called "the literature of eternity. " In two simple sentences this
verse sets forth the promise, the conflict and the destinies of both Christ and Satan, who were
to be the two principal antagonists in the great struggle to complete the process of redemption.
Today we can view this verse with 20/20 biblical hindsight and see in it truths that those of Old
Testament times did not clearly understand.
It is very significant that Satan is presented as a serpent crushed under the foot of the
woman's offspring. First of all, we should note how appropriate this image is, because
poisonous snake are best killed by crushing its head, so it cannot rear back and strike. But before
being crushed, the serpent would bite "the heel" of the promised seed, causing a time of
suffering.8 This was the first prophecy of his suffering and death required for the redemption
of mankind.
It is obvious to us today that there is a temporal sequence of events being set forth. This
coming seed would recover from being struck in the heel and then strike the head of his
adversary after that. 9 What we see foreshadowed here is the resurrection of Jesus Christ and his
future destruction of the Devil. Revelation 20: 10 tells us that the old serpent will one day be cast
into the lake of fire where he will burn for "ages unto ages, " and Ezekiel 28: 18 tells us that he will
eventually "be brought to ashes. " 10 From our vantage point in the Church Age, we can see that
the serpent's head will be crushed by the exalted one who was raised from the dead with a new,
glorious body and made Head, first of the Church and then of the whole earth in his Millennial
Kingdom. As we will see in 1 Corinthians 15: 24-28, Christ must reign until all God's enemies are
subdued, and Satan is "Public Enemy #1. "
The next truth in this verse is that the coming one, the solution to the problem of sin and
death, would be a man. We know this by the reference to him as a "seed. " Adam and Eve were
the only two people ever to start tall and without navels, that is, they did not begin as seeds in
the wombs of their mothers. Of course, Adam and Eve could not be born because there was no
7. See Appendix F on the Satan/Christ parallelism, which will also be addressed in Chapter 3.
8. It is significant that only two body parts are mentioned in this verse: the head and the heel. The heel represents the
time when Messiah had a body vulnerable to the serpent's bite, which caused death. The "head" foretells a time in the
future when the Redeemer would be in a place of authority, and able to crush the Serpent's head. God has given the
promised seed all the authority he needs to complete the job he has been given.
9. The NlV and some other versions make a differentiation in the verbs usually translated "bruise, " "strike" or "crush. "
The Hebrew text uses the same word for both verbs used in this sentence. The Hebrew word is shup and it means "to
bruise" or "to crush. " Although it could be shown from the entire scope of the Word that the Serpent would only "bruise"
Jesus' heel, and that Jesus will "crush" his head, that truth is not clearly brought out here. It is more accurate to translate
the verb shup the same way, either "bruise" or "crush. " The Serpent did crush Jesus' heel, but having a crushed heel
only put him down for a short time—three days and three nights. When Jesus crushes the Serpent's head, it will put him
"down for the count. "
10. Is There Death After Life?, (Ch. 4, pp. 45-49), available from CES.

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One God & One Lord
one to father and mother them, so God created them. Then He made it plain that they were to
"be fruitful and multiply and fill up the earth. " God wanted them to do this while they were in
their original state, so that their descendants would live forever in the original Paradise.
However, as we know, they disobeyed God and thus could produce nothing but a race of
mortals — people doomed to die.
Because the Last Adam had to be a man, he had to start as a seed and be born of a woman.
But in order to have the potential to become the Redeemer of mankind, he had to start with a
sinless nature like the first Adam did. Genesis 3: 15 predicts how God would accomplish this
seemingly impossible feat, and that is the next great truth revealed in this verse. Note that God
referred to the seed as "her" seed. In retrospect, we see in these words a foreshadowing of the
virgin birth. 11 In a normal birth, it is the man who puts the seed into the woman, where it
combines with an egg and grows for nine months. When it came to Jesus Christ, however, it was
God who put a perfect human seed (the Greek word for "seed" is sperma) into the womb of a
virgin named Mary. 12 The child resulting from this union, therefore, had the same genetic
flawlessness as the first Adam. The following verses make it plain that God was the direct cause
of Jesus' conception.
11. It is often taught, and until recently we also believed, that Genesis 3: 15 was a specific prophecy of the virgin birth
because of the phrase "her seed. " We assumed a literal meaning of the word "seed, " equivalent to "sperm, " and took
that to be a figure of speech to emphasize that God was the author of such a seed, since a woman does not generate
"seed" herself. While the Hebrew word zera, here translated "seed, " occurs more than 200 times in the Hebrew text of
the Old Testament, and does mean "seed" (literally, like what is sown in the ground — See Gen. 1: 11, etc. ), or "semen"
(Gen. 38: 9; Lev. 15: 16), it can also mean "offspring, " "descendants, " or "children" (Ps. 22: 23; Isa. l: 4).
It was quite understandable to the Hebrews, then, that in this sense a woman could have "seed, " i. e., children.
That fact is very clear in the Old Testament. In Genesis 4: 25, when Seth was born, Eve comforted herself over the death
of her firstborn, Abel: "Adam lay with his wife again, and she gave birth to a son and named him Seth, saying, 'God has
granted me another child [seed] in place of Abel, since Cain killed him. '" This verse makes it very clear that Eve had
"seed. " In Genesis 16: 10, an angel was talking to Hagar, Abraham's Egyptian slave, about her children: "The angel
added, º will so increase your descendants [seed] that they will be too numerous to count. ' " The angel was talking to
Hagar, and spoke about her "seed, " yet she was not even in the genealogy leading to Christ. Later, when Abraham
wanted a wife for his son, he sent his servant, who found Rebekah. As her family sent her away to Abraham, they blessed
her and spoke to her of their hopes for her children: "And they blessed Rebekah and said to her, 'Our sister, may you
increase to thousands upon thousands; may your offspring [seed] possess the gates of their enemies'" (Gen. 24: 60).
The book of Leviticus also speaks of a woman having seed: "But if a priest's daughter becomes a widow or is
divorced, yet has no children [seed], and she returns to live in her father's house as in her youth, she may eat of her
father's food. No unauthorized person, however, may eat any of it" (Lev. 22: 13). The book of Ruth contains a pertinent
reference. The elders of Bethlehem spoke to Boaz, who had just stated that he would marry Ruth. The elders said,
"Through the offspring [seed] the lord gives you by this young woman, may your family be like that of Perez, whom
Tamar bore to Judah" (Ruth 4: 12). In this verse, the offspring, the seed, was the gift of the Lord given to Boaz by Ruth.
Obviously we are not talking about the sperm, but we are talking about the children, because it would be by Ruth that
the Lord would give children [seed] to Boaz. This same truth is found in 1 Samuel 2: 20: "Eli would bless Elkanah and
his wife, saying, 'May the lord give you children [seed] by this woman to take the place of the one she prayed for and
gave to the lord. ' Then they would go home. " Again, the husband is being given "seed" by the wife.
From Hebrew lexicons and from the text of Scripture itself, the word "seed" can mean "offspring" or "children. "
Women did have "seed, " not in the sense of "sperm, " but in the sense of" children. " This fact explains why the Jews were
not expecting Christ to be born of a virgin, and even Mary herself, a believer and descendant of David, asked the angel
how she could give birth to Israel's Messiah without having a husband (Luke 1: 34). We now know that Christ was born
of a virgin, and looking back we can see that the possibility is allowed for in Genesis 3: 15. However, to say that Genesis
3: 15 specifically prophesies a virgin birth is not correct. The verse was written by Israelites for Israelites, and presumably
they knew their own language well, yet they read the verse for centuries and understood that it referred to the Messiah,
without knowing or believing it foretold a virgin birth.

Chapter 1: Christianity 101: Two Adams
21
Luke 1: 30-35 (NRSV)
(30) The angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God.
(31) And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him
Jesus.
(32) He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will
give to him the throne of his ancestor David,
(33) He will reign over the house of Jacob forever; and of his kingdom there will be no
end. "
(34) Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I am a virgin?"
(35) The angel said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the
Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be
called Son of God. "
Mary asked the angel Gabriel a very logical question: How would a baby be conceived in
her womb without a man being involved? Gabriel's reply contains a great truth that many
Christians throughout history have overlooked because of their theological assumptions. In
verse 35, the Greek conjunction translated "so" (NIV) and "therefore" (KJV) indicates the cause
responsible for the eventual birth of "the holy one, " the Son of God. From the Greek word for
"born" (genao), we get the word "Genesis, " and it denotes the beginning of Jesus in the womb
of Mary. 13 This makes it very plain that Jesus Christ began in the womb of Mary, just as every
human being begins in the womb of his or her mother. If Jesus Christ is truly a man, the Last
12. It could be argued that God did not create "seed" or "sperm" in Mary that then fertilized her egg, but rather that He
created a zygote, a fertilized egg inside Mary that then grew into the child, Jesus. This latter view is the view of all
Trinitarians who argue that Jesus, who pre-existed his birth as some form of spirit being, "incarnated" (literally, "came
into flesh") in the womb of Mary. Scripture is not explicit about this, which is not surprising since the conception of
Mary occurred long before test tube babies, surrogate mothers and in vitro fertilization. Nevertheless, we believe the
language of Scripture is still capable of revealing to us what happened. If God created a zygote in Mary's womb, we
believe the language of creation would appear somewhere in the records of the conception and birth of Christ. Instead,
we find that Christ is called the "seed" (Greek=sperma) in the Bible. Also, the Word of God talks of Mary's "conception, "
which would not really be accurate if she had not in fact conceived. Furthermore, when the angel was explaining to
Mary how she would become pregnant, the terminology he used of God's interaction with Mary, i. e., "come over you"
and "overshadow you, " seems to portray God's role as a Father and impregnator, not as a creator. Lastly, we would point
out that Jesus is said to be from the line of David through his father and his mother. For us it is easier to understand him
being called that if Mary were his mother in the ordinary sense of the word. We do not believe that Mary having a genetic
contribution to Jesus would have placed his genetic perfection in jeopardy. This is no doubt at least a large part of what
Philippians 2: 6 means when it says that Jesus was in "the form of God. " That is, his body was the result of the direct action
of God, even as Adam's was. The difference between the two Adams in this regard was that one awoke fully formed while
the other was formed in a woman's womb and went through the entire process of human development.
13. Two similar Greek words, genesis and gennesis, can be translated "birth. " But genesis can also mean "creation, "
"beginning" and "origination. " Since these words are very similar, a scribe could have easily changed the one to the
other to eliminate the idea that the so-called "eternal" Son of God had a "beginning, " which was the position of the
"heretical" Arians. Bart Ehrman proposes a reason why the text to be corrupted in this way, with genesis changed to
gennesis:

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One God & One Lord
Adam, he could not possibly have existed prior to his birth. How can one exist before he
exists? 14
The third great truth in Genesis 3: 15 is that the Man, man's Redeemer, would suffer. His
"heel" would be "struck. " This was a prophecy of his suffering and death that was required for
the redemption of mankind. The fourth truth in this verse goes hand-in-hand with the third. It
is obvious to us today that this coming seed would recover from being struck in the heel and
strike the head of his adversary. What we see foreshadowed here is the resurrection of Jesus
Christ and his future destruction of the Devil. Revelation 20: 10 tells us that the old Serpent will
one day be cast into the lake of fire where he will burn for" ages unto ages, " and Ezekiel 28: 18
tells us that he will eventually "be brought to ashes. "
The last truth that we see in Genesis 3: 15 is perhaps the piece de resistance! It also relates
to the other reason why Jesus Christ is called a "seed" in this, the first mention of him in
Scripture. What is the purpose of a seed? To produce fruit after it's kind. This is clearly
communicated in the first chapter of the Bible, where we see God establish the fruit—seed—
fruit cycle. Every plant produces a "fruit" wherein is "seed, " which when germinated will
reproduce the same "kind" of plant.
Genesis 1: 11-13 (NRSV)
(11) Then God said, "Let the earth put forth vegetation: plants yielding seed, and fruit
trees of every kind on earth that bear fruit with the seed in it. " And it was so.
(12) The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and
trees bearing fruit with seed in it. And God saw that it was good.
(13) And there was evening and there was morning, the third day.
God also made the animals to reproduce their own "kind. " That is, the "seed" of the male
would combine with the egg of the female and reproduce the same "kind" of animal. Is not this
same principle also being communicated in connection with the Last Adam in the following
verse?
John 5: 26 (NRSV)
For just as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in
himself.
When one now asks why scribes might take umbrage at Matthew's description of the "genesis" of Jesus Christ, the
answer immediately suggests itself: the original text could well be taken to imply that this is the moment in which Jesus
Christ comes into being. In point of fact, there is nothing in Matthew's narrative [nor Mark's or Luke's, for that matter!],
either here or elsewhere throughout the Gospel, to suggest that he knew or subscribed to the notion that Christ had
existed prior to his birth... Anyone subscribing to this doctrine [of Christ's "pre-existence" and "incarnation"] might
well look askance at the implication that Matthew was here describing Jesus' origination, and might understandably
have sought to clarify the text by substituting a word that 'meant' the same thing, but that was less likely to be
misconstrued. And so the term gennesis in Matthew 1: 18 would represent an orthodox corruption.
Bart D. Ehrman, The Orthodox Corruption of Scripture (Oxford University Press, N. Y., 1993), pp. 75, 76. See also
Chapter 13 on "The Expansion of Piety. "
14. The concept of "the pre-existence" of Christ, and its companion concept, "the incarnation, has caused many
problems for theologians. We discuss the issue in detail in Chapter 17.

Chapter 1: Christianity 101: Two Adams
23
The chief property of a seed is that it has "life in itself. " That is what enables it to reproduce
after its kind. One day, as we will see in Chapter 12, Jesus Christ will produce a new race for a
new age. He will do this by reproducing himself after his kind. " This truth is clearly communi-
cated in the following verses.
Philippians 3: 20, 21 (NRSV)
(20) But our citizenship is in heaven, and it is from there that we are expecting a Savior,
the Lord Jesus Christ.
(21) He will transform the body of our humiliation that it may be conformed to the body
of his glory, by the power that also enables him to make all things subject to himself.
Adam: The Pattern of the Coming
Redeemer — Two Men, Two Acts,
Two Universal Results
The plan of redemption summed up in Genesis 3: 15 is from then on unfolded throughout
the rest of Scripture. Another "Adam, " who could exist only by means of birth, had to come and
live a life of perfect obedience to God, all the way to a torturous death on the Cross. As we have
pointed out earlier, some say that the redemption of mankind could have been accomplished
only by God becoming a man and laying down his life, and this is known by the non-biblical
term, "the incarnation. "15 The answer to this very common teaching is so important that we
must repeat it here. Such a "man" could not be a true man, as Adam was. As we are seeing,
Scripture makes it plain that the Redeemer had to be a man so that he could die for the sins of
all mankind (Heb. 2: 9, 14; Rom. 5: 17). Is it really plausible that God, who is the Author and very
essence of life, could die? Justice required that a representative of the race of those who sinned
be the one to die to atone for that sin. This is the irrefutable logic of Romans 5: 12-17, to which
we will refer many times in discussing who Jesus is. 16
15. "The incarnation" is the phrase some theologians have coined to describe "when God became a man. " We assert
that the Bible does not teach that God became a man, but rather that He had a Son. Allow us to point out that the word
"incarnation" never appears in Scripture. See Chapter 17.
16. It is common for Trinitarians to argue that Christ must be God because "a man could not atone for the sins of
mankind. " Theologians through the ages have varied greatly in their opinions of exactly how Christ could accomplish
redemption for fallen man, and these theological musings can be found in any good theological dictionary under the
heading of "Atonement. " However, a standard argument goes something like this: "Mankind has sinned against an
infinite God, and therefore the sin is infinitely great. It takes an infinite being to atone for infinite sin, and the only
infinite being is God. Therefore, since Christ atoned for sin, Christ must be God. " This argument, which seems
reasonable to some people, is man-made, and nothing like it can be found in Scripture. What can be found in Scripture
is simple and straightforward: "For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so

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One God & One Lord
Jesus Christ's original genetic purity, coupled with his subsequent behavioral purity,
made him the perfect sacrifice for both the sin nature all men inherited from the first Adam and
the corresponding sinful behavior of all men who would ever live. 17 Because of His Son's sinless
life and substitutionary sacrifice, God then had the legal right to extend grace to mankind. Jesus
Christ became the perfect sacrifice and died in place of all men. Thus, those who appropriate
unto themselves the benefits of this sacrifice by faith in Christ's atoning death exchange their
inherent guilt for his righteousness. Hallelujah!
Not only did the Last Adam have to be able to die; he had to be able to sin as well. Many
Christians have been taught that it was impossible for Jesus to sin, but, logically, the Last Adam,
of necessity, had to have had the same freedom of will that the first Adam had. To say anything
less is to devalue Jesus' walk of righteousness. His behavioral perfection was ultimately
dependent upon himself alone. He had the choice of whether or not to obey God, and hence
he was temptable. Scripture makes it clear that God cannot be tempted Games 1: 13). If Jesus
had not been able to sin like the first Adam, his temptations would have been inauthentic, and
his "accomplishment" of perfect obedience would have been a foregone conclusion rather than
truly praiseworthy. We will examine this subject further in the next chapter.
Remember that the whole Bible is essentially the story of two men and their affect upon
mankind — the first Adam and the Last Adam. It points up the contrast between the first Adam's
disobedience, death and production of a race of mortals (people destined to die), and the Last
Adam's obedience, life and his production of a race of people who will live forever. This truth
is clearly highlighted in the Book of Romans, which is the foundational doctrinal treatise of the
Church Epistles. The key passage we need to examine is found in Romans 5: 12-19, where we see
summarized the stark contrast between the first Adam and the Last Adam. Verse 12 delineates
the twofold problem of sin and death that all mankind faces due to the sin of the first Adam.
also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous" (Rom. 5: 19). There is not a single verse
anywhere in Scripture that hints in any way that "God" was a sacrifice for sin.
"The Church Fathers" tried to explain in great detail how Christ could atone for the sins of mankind, and offered
many different theories as to how atonement could be accomplished. Origen, Augustine and others believed that Christ
was a payment made by God to Satan. Others taught that Christ was not a substitute for man, but rather a representative
of man, and somehow the effect of his sufferings and resurrection extend to all mankind. In the Middle Ages, Anselm
taught that mankind's sin offended God, and that Christ's redemption was an act of "satisfaction, " to appease God.
Abelard explained Christ's atonement in terms of love and the response of love elicited from the sinner due to Christ's
example. The list of man's theories about exactly how our atonement was accomplished is long, and entire books have
been written on the subject.
The reason for the varying theories is that the New Testament does not set forth a "theory of atonement, " it just
states the facts of the case, i. e., that Christ's death paid for sin. Scripture makes many and varied references to the
atoning work of Christ. Christ is called a "sacrifice" (Eph. 5: 2; Heb. 9: 26), a "sin offering" (Isa. 53: 10; 2 Cor. 5: 21 [NTV
alternate reading]), a "ransom" (Matt. 20: 28; 1Tim. 2: 6; Heb. 9: 5) and an "atoning sacrifice" (Rom. 3: 25; 1 John2: 2; 4: 10).
We do not see the need or reason to build a "theory of atonement" when none is offered in the Word of God. The words
of the Word are sufficient. As far as the subject of this book is concerned, the most important conclusion that can be
drawn from what is revealed in the Word of God is that it is unbiblical to assert that Christ had to be God to pay for the
sins of mankind when the Bible explicitly says that payment for sin came "by man. " See also Chapters 16 and 17.
17. There can be a distinct difference in the usage of the terms "sin" and "sins" in the Word of God. Often, "sins" refers
to the "fruit" of the old nature, while "sin" refers to the "root, " or the old nature itself. See E. W. Bullinger, The Church
Epistles
(1991 reprint Johnson Graphics, Decatur, MI, 1905) pp. 27, 28.

Chapter 1: Christianity 101: Two Adams
25
Romans 5: 12-14 (NRSV)
(12) Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death came
through sin, and so death spread to all, because all have sinned—
(13) Sin was indeed in the world before the law, but sin is not reckoned when there is no
law.
(14) Yet death exercised dominion from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sins
were not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one to come.
There are many people in the Old Testament who could be called "types of Christ. " But
this is the only place in the New Testament that directly points back to a particular person who
would be the pattern for who the Messiah would be like. Adam was a "type (pattern) of the one
to come, " in that both Adam and Jesus Christ had a universal effect on mankind by one act, as
the next verses in the context elucidate:
Romans 5: 15-19 (NRSV)
(15) But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the one man's
trespass, much more surely have the grace of God and the free gift in the grace of the
one man
, Jesus Christ, abounded for the many!
(16) And the free gift is not like the effect of the one man's sin. For the judgment
following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many tres-
passes brings justification.
(17) If, because of the one man's trespass, death exercised dominion through that one,
much more surely will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of
righteousness exercise dominion in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.
(18) Therefore just as one man's trespass led to condemnation for all, so one man's act
of righteousness
leads to justification and life for all.
(19) For just as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the
one man
's obedience the many will be made righteous.
It is easy to see the contrast between the two men in the above verses. This truth about the
two Adams is also featured in another Church Epistle closely related to Romans—1 Corinthians.
It addresses the practical failure of the Corinthians to adhere to the doctrine set forth in
Romans. 18 It is therefore logical that the theme of the Last Adam should be revisited, and it is:
1 Corinthians 15: 21, 22 (NRSV)
(21) For since death came through a human being, the resurrection of the dead comes
also through a human being.
(22) For as all die in Adam, so all will be made alive in Christ.
18. The truth about the position and structure of the Church Epistles is vital for each Christian to understand. See
Appendix J.

26
One God & One Lord
These verses sum up what we already saw in Romans 5: 12-19. The question is, how did the
Last Adam's "one act of righteousness, " his dying on the Cross, make available everlasting life
to all who believe in him? First, we will sum up the answer, and then we will look at a magnificent
section of Scripture that expands upon it in more detail. The answer in a nutshell is this: only
another "Adam, " that is, a man, could rectify the tragic situation caused by the sin of the first
Adam and accomplish the complete redemption of mankind. This is how we know that the Last
Adam was a total human being.
As stated earlier, the problem God faced was twofold: sin and death, not just for the first
Adam, but for all his descendants. The way in which the Last Adam would solve the problem
would be in direct contrast to how the first Adam caused it. The first Adam disobeyed; the Last
Adam was obedient unto death, even the death of the Cross. The first Adam's disobedience
brought death; the Last Adam's obedience unto death brought life, via his resurrection. The first
Adam produced a race of people born dead in sin; the Last Adam made it available to be born
again to life,
and he is now in the process of producing an everlasting race of perfect people. 19
God's original plan was to have many sons and daughters living together in Paradise
forever. The first Adam was supposed to have been the father of that perfect race; the Last Adam
will be the "father" of such a race. Since the ultimate problem that mankind faced was death,
the Last Adam had to defeat this daunting and terrifying enemy. The only way he could do so
was by dying, so that God could then raise him from the dead, thus conquering death and giving
him everlasting life. This truth is clearly conveyed by the following verses:
Romans 6: 9, 10
(9) For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death
no longer has mastery over him.
(10) The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives [by resurrection],
he lives to God.
Hebrews 2: 9, 14 (NRSV)
(9) But we do see Jesus, who for a little while was made lower than the angels [being
made a man of flesh and blood who could die], now crowned with glory and honor
because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for
everyone.
(14) Since, therefore, the children [of Adam] share flesh and blood, he himself likewise
shared the same things, so that through death he might destroy the one who has the
power of death, that is, the devil.
What was God's goal? The restoration of His original dream of humans living forever on
a perfect earth. The entire Bible points to the one who would be God's agent for bringing this
about — Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ saw in the Old Testament Scriptures that if he would be
obedient unto death, God would raise him from the dead and give him the power to produce a
new race for a new age, an age in which he would rule on earth with God. Jesus Christ defeated
our ultimate enemy, death, and he has guaranteed the same victory to all who believe on him.
19. See Chapter 14, and also the audiotapes A New Race for a New Age and The Purpose of the Ages (available from CES).

Chapter 1: Christianity 101: Two Adams
27
As we see in the following verses, when Jesus Christ has completely accomplished the
restoration of Paradise and produced a new race for a new age, he will report to God, his Father,
and say, in essence, "Last Adam reporting; mission accomplished; Paradise regained. " Then he
will take his place as the Head and Firstborn of a great company of redeemed brothers and
sisters in an everlasting family reunion in Paradise with his Father and his spiritual siblings. This
awesome truth is communicated clearly in a section of Scripture that we will be visiting often
in our journey to understanding the relationship between God and His Son Jesus Christ. It is
particularly relevant here in connection with the completion of the Last Adam's work:
1 Corinthians 15: 24-28
(24) Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after
he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power.
(25) For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.
(26) The last enemy to be destroyed is death.
(27) For he "has put everything under his feet. " Now when it says that "everything" has
been put under him, it is clear that this does not include God himself, who put
everything under Christ.
(28) When he has done this, then the Son himself will be made subject to Him who put
everything under him, so that God may be all in all.
This magnificent passage attributes the glory for the entire plan of redemption to its
original Architect, God.
We have now squared off one aspect of the cornerstone for the Christian faith: in order for
him to redeem mankind, Jesus had to be whatever Adam was before his fall.
Jesus Christ is the
Last Adam, a man like Adam who could undo what Adam did. The Last Adam, by dying on the
Cross, sacrificed himself as an offering for the sin that the first Adam introduced into the world.
This Adamic parallelism establishes one of the most foundational biblical truths regarding
Christ, one that allows us to see the entire span of the Bible: two men, two gardens, two
commands, two decisions, two deaths, two universal results, two races of people and two
Paradises.
With such a simple but profound basis for biblical understanding, why engage in theologi-
cal speculation about Christ's identity that can only complicate and compromise the beautiful
literary symmetry and integrity of Scripture? We will now continue to compare and contrast the
two Adams by looking at how both first and last are related to the important phrase, "the image
of God. "

CHAPTER TWO
The Destiny of
Mankind
Man As "The Image of God"
We will now continue to explore the Adam — Christ parallel as it relates to the original
destiny of mankind and the concept of the "image of God. " In America, "Madison Avenue"
advertising moguls would have us believe that "image is everything. " All too often, however, the
"images" that advertisers create make people look like something they really are not, enabling
them to misrepresent themselves. God, because He is invisible, is especially concerned about
His image, but in His case He wants this image to exactly represent His true nature. Who was
the first "image" of God? The first Adam. And, in the beginning, Adam was an able represen-
tation or "image" of God.
Genesis 1: 26 (NRSV)
Then God said, "Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and
let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over the
cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that
creeps upon the earth. "
Adam was the absolute pinnacle of God's creative activities during the six days recorded
in Genesis 1. In fact, Adam (and therefore mankind) was designed to be" the image of God, " the
glorious head of a race of people who would serve as the overlords of God's creation, sharing
authority and dominion with Him over all that He had made. Man was equipped with godly
attributes that enabled him to speak and act on God's behalf. Thus, he began his tenure on earth
"crowned with glory and honor, " as the following verses show.
Psalm 8: 3-8 (NRSV)
(3) When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which
you have established,

30 One God & One Lord
(4) what are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them?
(5) Yet you have made them a little lower than God, and crowned them with glory and
honor.
(6) You have given them dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things
under their feet:
(7) all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field,
(8) the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the seas.
Sections from these verses are quoted in the Book of Hebrews:
Hebrews 2: 6-8 (NRSV)
(6) But someone has testified somewhere [Ps. 8]: "What are human beings that you are
mindful of them, or mortals that you care for them?
(7) You made them for a little while a little lower than the angels; you have crowned
them with glory and honor,
(8) subjecting all things under their feet. "
What we read in Psalm 8 (then quoted in Hebrews 2) is exactly what Scripture tells us in
Genesis 1 and 2, and the writer of Psalms is in awe that God would put "a little dirt man" in charge
of His magnificent creation. 1 In other words, that God would have such gracious regard for man
is to His glory, and not due to man's intrinsic greatness. It is evident that from God's perspective,
man was a lot more than a mere upright, animated dustball with opposable thumbs. God had
big plans for him. But this first man, Adam, fell from his glorious position of responsibility and
authority and ended up bringing suffering upon himself and all mankind. Thus, God's
intention to glorify man was cut short because Adam disobeyed, but it would later be fulfilled
and amplified in the Man Jesus Christ. If we are ever going to understand the nature and role
of Jesus Christ, we must first clearly understand God's exalted purpose for mankind.
We have found that when we assert that Christ is the Last Adam, a fully human being and
not God, orthodox Christians accuse us of making Christ a "mere man. "2 This argument has
force, but only because of what the word "man" has come to mean. To clarify the issue biblically,
we must look past mankind's present sorry state and see the awesome beauty and perfection
of what God originally intended "man" to be. He never intended for people to be dominated by
sin nature — stubborn and rebellious against Him. God created mankind to be a race that would
1. The Hebrew word adam literally means "red earth, " an economical way of describing man whose body is
essentially dust with blood coursing through it.
2. We would call this accusation an example of a logical fallacy called "attacking a straw man." This fallacy is
committed when one party in a dispute misrepresents the position of the other in order to make it easier to refute. Just
as it is easy to knock over a straw man, so it is easy to topple an argument that is patently false. The "mere man" argument
is a straw man because it does not consider the true biblical significance and destiny of mankind as originally conceived
by God. See Appendix Ê for more detailed listing and explanation of logical fallacies employed in the field of
Christology.

Chapter 2: The Destiny of Mankind
31
represent Him well, reflect His character and rule the world in loving submission to Him.
Although today we speak of a "mere man" because sin so dominates our lives, God's original
intention was not to create a "mere man, " but a masterpiece.
Adam was intended as a prototype of that new model of creature that God unveiled in
Genesis 1. But, like many prototypes, he failed to pass the test. However, God did not throw
away the drawings. He hung onto them until the time when he could create another prototype
patterned like the first one, a man who would fulfil mankind's destiny to be the crowning
achievement of God's creation. Jesus Christ was God's second attempt at creating a master-
piece, the ultimate representation of that "masterpiece race" made in the image of God. There
is nothing "mere" about Adam as conceived by God, and nothing "mere" about Christ who was
made according to the same design.
Thus, by his sin, Adam turned the image of God into an image of sinful man. 3 Although
that ended his rulership and dominion, Adam and his progeny continued to dimly reflect "the
image of God. " Although mankind no longer really lives up to the title of "image of God, " God
continued to use it as a reminder of man's destiny and purpose, and to communicate the value
of man from His perspective. 4 It also served to point to the coming one, the Messiah, who would
ultimately fulfill this destiny. Indicative of this is the following verse in Genesis 9, which occurs
many hundreds of years after Adam's sin, in the context of God instructing Noah about the new
arrangement He would have with mankind after the Flood.
Genesis 9: 5, 6 (NRSV)
(5) For your own lifeblood I will surely require a reckoning: from every animal I will
require it and from human beings, each one for the blood of another, I will require a
reckoning for human life.
(6) Whoever sheds the blood of a human, by a human shall that person's blood be shed;
for in his own image God made humankind.
Immortality is a fundamental aspect of God's being and nature, and man, as "the image
of God, " was also made to be immortal. Though he lost this privilege, it is clear that man still
reflected other aspects of God's "image, " no matter how dimly. He can appreciate beauty and
manifest artistic and musical creativity. 5 He has a moral sense of right and wrong, and can
3. See Genesis 5: 3, where Adam is said to have a son "in his own likeness, in his own image. " This son, Seth, was made
in the image of his sinful father Adam.
4. Only by perceiving mankind as made in the image of God is true human compassion possible. If mankind is merely
the leading edge of blind and random evolutionary processes, his value is not patterned after anything, and he has no
destiny. So, as a god - like being relative to lower life forms, man creates his own meaning and purpose by the things he
chooses to do. He is answerable to no higher being, reflects no higher purpose and is headed toward no glorious or
certain future. The concept of man made in the image of God is ultimately the only basis for an ethical system that values
humans for their own sake and discourages the abuses of tyrants, murderers and others who see their fellow men as
nothing more than a means to their own ends.
5. Some may object to the use of the term "create" in connection with man, but we use it not in the sense of truly
"bringing into existence what has not been before, " which is only God's domain. Man has "creativity" by virtue of his
ability to fill an empty canvas with colorful images, a blank page with noble thoughts, or a concert hall with beautiful
sounds.

32
One God & One Lord
choose to do right. He can reason from the known to the unknown. He can use language and
other symbols to communicate his thoughts and intentions. In short, man can exhibit qualities
that are more like those that God has than those that animals have. 6
Because man was still the bearer of His image, God expected him to govern himself in a
godly manner. Once all unrighteous people had been eliminated by the Flood, God held man
accountable to maintain order by investing him with the ultimate civil authority, that of
punishing murderers by putting them to death. 7 God did not tolerate man murdering his fellow
man, because He had invested a lot of Himself in man, and was committed to preserving the
species. Why? Because it was to be through mankind that the Messiah, true Man, the Last Adam
and the Redeemer would come. He would be everything God had hoped for man, fulfill man's
destiny of co-rulership of Creation and become God's true and ultimate "image. "
From Image Bearer to Image Maker
Sadly, man's spiritually childish inclination is to play God, in ways that range from the
subtle to the blatant. Indeed, the essence of "religion" is that man is the subject, the "creator, "
if you will, and what he calls "God" is simply the object of his own vain reasonings. Since this
"god" comes from the mind of man (often with help from Satan), it usually takes on an image
made to look like mortal man" (Rom. 1: 23). In other words, man brings God down to his level,
or even beneath himself. The irony of this is that man ends up groveling before the very things
over which God originally gave him dominion. Because of His love for Man, God strictly forbade
the Israelites to make "graven images" of Him, knowing that any such attempt would result in
at best a grossly distorted representation of Him. But even the Israelites, like the pagans around
them, often made statues and other images of "God. "
Romans 1: 18-23 (NRSV)
(18) The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and wickedness
of those who by their wickedness suppress the truth,
(19) For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to
them.
(20) Ever since the creation of the world his eternal power and divine nature, invisible
though they are, have been understood and seen through the things he has made. So
they are without excuse;
(21) for though they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but
they became futile in their thinking, and their senseless minds were darkened.
6. Ephesians 4: 24 provides additional insight into the meaning of the term, "the image of God. " The" new self or the
"new man" that Christians receive in the New Birth is said to have been "created to be like God in true righteousness
and holiness. " Therefore, God has provided the means by which mankind can return to the state of being he had when
he was originally created "in the image of God, " and reflected the true character of his Creator.
7. See The Bible and Civil Law, an audiotape available from CES.

Chapter 2: The Destiny of Mankind
33
(22) Claiming to be wise, they became fools;
(23) and they exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling a mortal
human being or birds or four-footed animals or reptiles.
God's incredible handiwork, which is often called "nature, " is in reality displaying His
nature and goodness. The wonders of creation, which beg awe and thankfulness, are God's
continual advertising campaign designed to alert people to both His existence and His benefi-
cence (see also Heb. 11: 6). No statue is big enough to block out a sunset. Psalm 115: 1-8
compares the living God with dead pagan idols:
Psalm 115: 1-8 (NRSV)
(1) Not to us, Ï Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory, for the sake of your steadfast
love and your faithfulness.
(2) Why should the nations say, "Where is their God?"
(3) Our God is in the heavens; he does whatever he pleases.
(4) Their idols are silver and gold, the work of human hands.
(5) They have mouths, but do not speak; eyes, but do not see;
(6) they have ears, but do not hear; noses, but do not smell;
(7) they have hands, but do not feel; feet, but do not walk; they make no sound in their
throats;
(8) those who make them will be like them; and are all who trust in them.
The pagan nations surrounding Israel designed their idols just as we read in Romans — in
the image of mortal men. As such, these senseless idols were always idle. No image of God
fashioned by human hands would ever be sufficient to make known His glory. Through the Law
that God gave to Moses for Israel, He provided a foreshadowing of His magnificent blessings yet
to come.
Hebrews 10: 1 (KJV)
For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the
things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually,
make the comers thereunto perfect.
A shadow is only a dark shape, with few defining characteristics. It is not at all a detailed
image. This verse compares a shadow to the "very image [eikon]. " Barclay describes the force
of the word eikon in this verse: "a real, true, accurate, essential reproduction and representa-
tion, as contrasted with that which is shadowy, vague, nebulous, unreal and essentially
imperfect. It is the complete perfection of the reproduction... "8
8. William Barclay, Jesus As They Saw Him (Harper and Row, NY, 1962), p. 89).

34
One God & One Lord
The New Testament Greek word eikon, translated "image, " means "that which resembles
an object, or which represents it, hence, image, likeness. " 9 Our corresponding English
derivative, "icon, " is "a sacred image usually painted on wood or metal, " or "an object of
religious devotion. "
In the Old Testament, God was adamant that His people not attempt to fashion an image
of His likeness. He gave His people His Word, both spoken and written, by way of prophets who
represented Him. From His Word they could know about Him and His love for them, yet all His
revelation to them was but an introduction to His heart, a foreshadowing of a coming reality. It
all pointed toward His ultimate communication to mankind — the Messiah, Jesus, the Christ,
the living Word.
Hebrews Two: Christ As True Man
The New Testament book of Hebrews provides an important and foundational under-
standing of Man as he was made in the image of God, and this insight is crucial to understanding
the identity of the Last Adam. Hebrews 1: 4-2: 4 establishes the superiority of the post-resurrec-
tion Christ over the angels. 10 Then, Hebrews 2: 5-18 elaborates on the necessity that the
Redeemer had to be a true man, another Adam. As we begin to look at this section, the subject
in question is who will be in charge in the world to come.
Hebrews 2: 5 (NRSV)
Now God did not subject the coming world, about which we are speaking, to angels
This verse tells us who will nor be in charge — angels. However, that does not tell us who
will be in charge. Though we have already looked at these next verses in connection with
mankind's original dominion, we now want to examine them more fully.
9. E. W. Bullinger, A Critical Lexicon and Concordance to the English and Greek New Testament (Zondervan, Grand
Rapids MI, 1976), p. 401. This definition is confirmed by Thayer's Lexicon, which says that eikon "adds to the idea of
likeness the suggestions of representation (as a derived likeness) and manifestation. " (Robert H. Thayer, The New
Thayer's Greek - English Lexicon,
(Lafayette, IN, Book Publisher's Press), 1981, p. 175]. Thayer cites Lightfoot's definitive
study on Colossians 1: 15 that identifies two main ideas in the word eikon: representation and manifestation. Barclay,
op. cit., p. 393: "If when we say that Jesus is the eikon of God, it means that Jesus is the representation of God; God is the
divine archetype and Jesus is the human likeness of Him. " The other meaning is manifestation. The eikon is the visible
manifestation of the invisible and the unseen, of that which in itself cannot be seen. Plummer: "Jesus is 'the visible
representative of the invisible God. ' " Vine's, p. 576: "In Hebrews 10: 1, the contrast between the shadow and the very
image has been likened to the difference between a statue and the shadow cast by it. " The statue is the eikon,
representing the real thing. The statue is obviously not the person himself.
10. We will discuss the prologue of Hebrews (1: 1-3) in the next chapter, because it is a key element in the scriptural
depiction of Jesus Christ as "the purpose of the ages. "

Chapter 2: The Destiny of Mankind
35
Hebrews 2: 6-8
(6) But there is a place where someone has testified: "What is man that you are mindful
of him, the son of man that you care for him?
(7) You made him a little lower than the angels; you crowned him with glory and honor
(8) subjecting all things under his feet. "
In putting everything under him, God left nothing that is not subject to him. Yet at
present we do not see everything in subjection to them
We must look at Hebrews 2: 8b again carefully: "In putting everything under him [the first
Adam], God left nothing that is not subject to him. 11 Yet at present we do not see everything
subject to him [Mankind]. " By revelation, the writer of the epistle to the Hebrews refers back to
Psalm 8, but after quoting it, he makes it clear that something has happened to change things
from the way God originally set them up. The word "yet" is a contrasting conjunction,
informing us that something has drastically changed. We can see now that mankind no longer
has dominion over creation, but rather is at its mercy in many ways. 12 Paradise is definitely
"lost, " and the devastating evidence of that is all around us each day. Thank God that the next
verse in Hebrews begins with another contrasting conjunction.
Hebrews 2: 9
BUT we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory
and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death
for everyone.
What do we have in verses 8 and 9 but, once again, the two Adams'1. The first Adam wrecked
everything, and the Last Adam is fixing it. The phrase set off by commas, "now crowned with
glory and honor because he suffered, " ought to be considered as a parenthetical insertion, but
let us hold that in abeyance for a moment while we consider the verse by reading around that
phrase. What it clearly says is that Jesus Christ had to be a man like the first Adam (each was
"made a little lower than the angels") so that he could die in place of all men. Had Jesus not been
a man, he could not have died. The parenthesis tells us what we have already seen: because Jesus
was obedient unto death, God has highly exalted him (Phil. 2: 8ff). In contrast to Jesus who died,
God is "immortal" and therefore cannot die.
11. Note in the words "God left nothing that IS not subject to him" the use of the figure of speech prolepsis or
"anticipation, " wherein future events are spoken of as having already occurred in the present. We know that the use
of "is" is figurative here because the verse goes on to say that "at present we do not see everything subject to him, "
pointing to its future literal fulfillment in Christ. We have a related figure in English that is called the "historic present. "
This important figure of speech is vital to the proper understanding of the Gospel of John, which so anticipates Christ's
glory that it speaks of it in the present narrative of the events of his life. For more on this figure, see Chapter 8.
12. As Jesus demonstrated authority over creation ("even the winds and the waves obey him"—Matt. 8: 27), so those
who believe in him can exercise a measure of authority over fallen creation by obedience and faith in the risen Lord. This
is the significance of Mark 16: 15-18, which describes the authority the disciples could exercise over poisonous snakes
and the like as they went forth to preach the Gospel. This authority is not absolute, however, but relative to faith and
particular revelation from God concerning what is available in any given situation.

36
One God & One Lord
Not only did Adam die, he brought death upon all men. He also brought suffering to
himself and all human beings after him. Adam began in glory and ended in suffering; Jesus
began in suffering, but was glorified in his resurrection and thereby led many "sons to glory, "
as the next verse shows.
Hebrews 2: 10
In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom
everything exists, should make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering.
Here again is the critical truth that we have seen before. The first" son of God, " Adam (Luke
3: 38), was intended to be the source of many sons living a glorious everlasting life, but he
disobeyed God and became the author of death instead. So it would be the other "son of God, "
Jesus Christ, the Last Adam, who would be the "author of salvation" for people who believe in
him. The Greek word archegos, here translated "author, " means the "first one in line in a rank
or file. " 13 Jesus Christ has blazed a trail of perfect faith to the heart of God, and thus he has
become "the way" to life everlasting.
There is another great truth in verse 10: Jesus was "made perfect" through suffering.
Although through the virgin birth Jesus was given genetic perfection by his heavenly Father, he
was not given moral (behavioral) perfection, which he had to learn and earn by obedience, as
the following verses make crystal clear.
Hebrews 5: 8, 9 (NRSV)
(8) Although he was a Son, he learned obedience through what he suffered;
(9) and having been made perfect [by overcoming his trials, including death], he
became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him
The obvious and necessary conclusion of this truth is that it was possible for Jesus to sin.
Just as he had to be able to die to be the Redeemer, so he had to be able to sin, but then resist the
temptation to do so. This rounds out the parallel between Adam and Jesus, because if Jesus
could not have sinned, he would not have truly been a man like Adam, who could and did sin.
Neither Adam nor Jesus had a sin nature from birth, that is, a predisposition to sin, but each had
the freedom and responsibility to choose between obedience and sin. Satan knew this, and thus
unleashed his full arsenal of temptations upon Jesus.
We must repeat this truth for emphasis: without having the potential for moral imperfec-
tion, Jesus would not have truly been like the first Adam.
Although it was possible for Jesus to
have sinned like the first Adam, he chose instead to obey his Father. 14 If Jesus Christ could not
13. E. W. Bullinger, A Critical Lexicon and Concordance to the Greek and English New Testament (Zondervan, Grand
Rapids, MI, 1978), p. 133.
14. By definition, "to sin" means to disobey the will of God. If Jesus were "God, " he could not have disobeyed the will
of "God" because his will, by definition, would be "God's" will. Trinitarians will argue that he was fully tempted in his
humanity, but not tempted in his "divinity. " This "dual nature" doctrine is meant to protect him from the charge that
he could have sinned in any way. But this theological device creates a more serious problem: it breaks the logical parallel
between the first Adam and the Last Adam. Adam did not have a "dual nature" or a "divine nature" that lessened his

Chapter 2: The Destiny of Mankind
37
have sinned, then he could not have genuinely been "tempted in all ways, " as Scripture says,
and certainly not in any way that we, as human beings, can identify with. God's Word makes it
clear that we are to draw strength from his example, so we must be able to relate to his
experience of temptation. How could we possibly draw strength from knowing that "God in
human flesh" resisted temptation? How could anyone be encouraged to overcome temptation
from the example of God doing so? God's Word in Hebrews continues to reinforce this point.
Hebrews 4: 15
For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but
we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are, yet was without sin.
If Jesus had a "divine side" that equipped him to avoid temptation, as tradition teaches,
then he was not tempted "[exactly] as we are. " The rest of humanity must face temptation
without such an advantage, for we are not" 100 percent God and 100 percent man. " If Jesus were
"God, " in any sense that affected his experience, could he really have been tempted just as we
are?
James 1: 13 says that God cannot be tempted, much less succumb to any temptation. If
Jesus could not have actually given in to temptation, then his "temptation" is neither genuine
temptation nor a real test of character. In fact, if Jesus were "God, " to say that he was able to
resist temptation is to say nothing about him at all. In that case, his moral courage and sterling
character become presupposed as a necessary part of his "deity, " a concept that actually
demeans Jesus rather than exalts him. In fact, in our experience, the more the identity of Christ
is pushed toward "deity, " the less meritorious his accomplishments become. They then
become the anticlimactic work of a "God-man" for whom nothing is particularly difficult, and
whose experience is certainly not an authentic struggle against sin to which we "mere humans"
can relate. 15
Hebrews 5: 8 is God's Word, and it clearly says that He made Jesus Christ perfect through
suffering.
In other words, Jesus had to go through a process of purification and trial before he
could be properly termed "perfected. " He did not have this status by virtue of some intrinsic
"deity" derived from his "incarnation, " independent and transcendent of how he lived and
behaved. If that were the case, the monumental heroism of his dogged obedience in the face
of relentless, diabolical opposition would fade into mystical insignificance.
Let us continue to follow the logic of Hebrews 2, looking again at verse 14. God's Word
continues to hammer home the truth that Jesus Christ had to be a one-hundred-percent, red-
blooded human being like Adam was in order to save fallen humanity from the destruction
wrought by the first man.
ability to be tempted. If Christ had a dual nature, but Adam did not, then Christ is not truly the "Last Adam. " Adam had
an unblemished human nature, the commandment of God and the free choice of whether to obey it or not. The fact
that God directly made Adam from the dust of the ground and spoke to him intimately did not prevent him from sinning.
Similarly, the fact that God created the life in Mary's womb and had an intimate relationship with His Son, Jesus, did
not prevent Jesus from sinning either. He too had an unblemished human nature, the commandment of God and the
free choice to obey it or not. Unlike Adam, Jesus chose to obey.
_
15. Dunn, op. cit., Christology in the Making, p. xxxiv. "It might be pointed out that a Jesus who makes an Adamic choice
is more of a model for Christian behavior (Phil 2: 1-13) than a pre — existent Christ. "

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One God & One Lord
Hebrews 2: 14, 15
(14) Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by
his death he might destroy [render powerless] him who holds the power of death—that
is, the devil—
(15) and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.
Once again we see that the reason Jesus had to be a man was so that he could diem order
to conquer death. As the fact of death all around us makes clear, the Devil has not yet been
destroyed, but his doom is certain — Jesus Christ is coming again to crush his head.
Hebrews 2: 16, 17 (NRSV)
(16) For it is clear that he did not come to help angels, but the descendants of Abraham.
(17) Therefore he had to become like his brothers and sisters in every respect, in order
that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make a
sacrifice of atonement for the sins of the people.
Verse 17 clearly tells us that Jesus is not a spirit being like angels are, but rather a human
being like
unto the "brothers" he came to save. This likeness was not just superficial, or in
appearance only. He was made like his brothers " in every respect. " He was a partaker of man's
limitations and need for dependence upon his Maker to avoid sin and find fulfillment. The only
exception to this statement is that Jesus did not inherit man's sinful nature.
It is common even for people who do not believe in the Trinity to think there is a big
difference between themselves and Jesus Christ, because they know that he did not have the sin
nature they inherited from Adam. Most people are so dominated by their sin nature that they
cannot even imagine what life would be like without it. But we must remember that the sin
nature was not part of our humanity as God designed it. Adam and Eve did not originally have
it, yet they were fully human, just as we are. The sin now inherent in us is an intrusion into our
lives, like a virus in our blood. Although it is infecting us, it is not an intrinsic part of who we are.
It is common for Christians to believe that they are tempted only because of their sin nature, but
this is clearly not the case. Both Adam and Jesus Christ were tempted, and Scripture also speaks
of things such as "the lust of the flesh" and the "lust of the eyes. " The fact that we are in a human
body means that we become tempted by hunger, tiredness, wanting more than we need and by
many other things as well.
God's Word tells us that as a young man, Jesus "grew in wisdom and in stature and in favor
with God and men" (Luke 2: 52). It also tells us that Jesus " learned obedience by what he suffered
and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him" (Heb.
5: 9). These truths are important in light of the word "become" in Hebrews 2: 17 above. It took
Jesus living a life of perfect obedience unto his death on the Cross for God to be able to raise him
and make him the perfect High Priest who is "touched with the feeling of our infirmities" (Heb.
4: 15 KJV). We have now reached the apex of this magnificent section of Scripture describing the
true humanity of Christ. It is because he actually suffered when tempted that he can now relate
to our suffering and help us in the hour of our need.

Chapter 2: The Destiny of Mankind
39
Hebrews 2: 18
Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are
being tempted.
The truths of God's Word that we have thus far set forth in these first two chapters are the
foundation of our redemption, that is, "Christianity 101. " Only a man could redeem fallen
mankind, but that man would have to be a perfect sacrifice, one who could fully atone for both
the sin nature and the sinful behavior of all the descendants of the first Adam. Only one man
in history could have filled the bill: Jesus of Nazareth. God created him with genetic perfection
just like the first Adam had. In contrast to the first Adam, however, Jesus Christ chose to obey
his heavenly Father all the way to his death on the Cross. God then crowned him with glory and
honor because of the things he suffered, raising him from the dead. He also made him the
perfect High Priest, the Head of the Body of Christ and the Lord over all. Truly, Jesus Christ has
blazed a trail of perfect faith for us to follow, and, as the Savior, he invites all men to walk in his
steps. Those who accept his invitation are born into the family of God and can mature into
dynamic representatives of his character and love.
The Last Adam's "Nature"
Since we have been arguing for a precise parallel between the first Adam and the Last
Adam, and have asserted that neither had a "sin nature, " we must address the issue of what kind
of "nature" each had. This subject has been hotly debated for centuries, before and after the
"orthodox" position of the "dual nature" of Christ was formulated at the Council of Chalcedon
in 451 AD. 16 There it was decided that the official position of the Church was that Christ had
both a human and a divine nature. That is to say, he was 100 percent God and 100 percent man.
The orthodox believers asserted his complete humanity against the Gnostics and Docetics, who
argued that Christ was not really a man at all, but only appeared to be a man. On the other hand,
they asserted his "divinity" against the Arians, who argued that he was not God, but rather a
created being. They also defended his divinity against those who questioned his virgin birth and
divine Sonship.
We have already discussed some of what is wrong with the "orthodox" position, namely
that Jesus could not have been truly tempted if he were in some way "God. " But let us add a few
other objections to this doctrine before attempting to determine a more biblical and rational
alternative. First, the Chalcedonian formula is guilty of a logical fallacy called "equivocation. "
Equivocation involves the changing of the meaning of a term in the middle of an argument. 17
In equivocating the terms "man" and "God, " Trinitarians create a separate category of being for
Jesus Christ and remove him from the normal and customary meaning of each term as it is
understood both biblically and experientially. Furthermore, what is asserted about Jesus Christ
16.  See Chapter 19 on the seven Church Councils and their role in the development of Christian doctrine.
17.  See Appendix Ê for a more complete discussion of logical fallacies, particularly equivocation.

40
One God & One Lord
could not be asserted about Adam, who was truly the archetypal "man. " Unless Jesus' nature
before his resurrection was completely comparable to Adam's, he cannot properly and without
equivocation be categorized as "man. " To teach that Jesus is "100 percent God and 100 percent
man" is 200 percent logical equivocation.
But merely to say that both Adam and Jesus had a "human nature" is inadequate,
particularly since this term has become identified with the sinful aspects of man's being. We
often say, "That's human nature, " after someone has just done something wrong. Without
getting mystical, theological or too speculative, we need to assess what we know about this thing
called "human nature. " There are no scriptures that definitively answer the question, so we
must begin our reasoning from a clear conception of what it means that Adam was made in "the
image of God. "
We know that Adam was designed to represent his Maker and be able to have intimate
fellowship with Him. This means that he would have to have known God well enough to act on
His behalf. It seems logical that Adam would also had to have been able to relate to who God
was by sharing some of His attributes and capabilities. We can see from the context of Genesis
1 that God endowed Adam with the capacity to rule and have dominion over the animals. God
gave Adam a personality18 and a temperament, or disposition. 19 As anyone who has raised
animals knows, most have characteristics individual to their personalities. Some are more
dominant than others, some are more playful, some more trainable, etc. Every human parent
learns that his or her children are each unique from the womb with a particular temperament
or "nature" right from "the factory. "
Medieval physiology proposed four basic conditions of body and mind: the sanguine,
phlegmatic, choleric and melancholic. Each was a basic kind of temperament that human
beings manifest, with both good and bad qualities. For instance, one with a sanguine tempera-
ment is a "take-charge" kind of person. However, he may lack sensitivity toward the feelings of
those he attempts to lead. One with a phlegmatic temperament is very calm and unruffled, but
may be slow to act, and tend toward laziness. Though the systems vary, human personality
research continues to support the basic concept that people fall loosely into these general
categories of temperament types. That is, every human being has a particular nature that
predisposes him toward certain kinds of behavior. We should note that this "predisposition"
does not cause one to act in a certain way, but it does mean that in the absence of any
determination or will to the contrary, the odds are good that the predisposed behavior will be
carried out, often unconsciously. 20
18. "The quality or fact of being a particular person; personal identity; individuality. " Also, then, "habitual patterns and
qualities of behavior of any individual as expressed by physical and mental activities and attitudes; distinctive
individual qualities of a person, considered collectively. " Webster's New Unabridged Universal Dictionary (Deluxe
Second Edition, NY, Simon and Schuster, 1983).
19. Ibid. A disposition is defined as "one's customary frame of mind; one's nature or temperament; as in an amiable
or an irritable disposition. "
20. The study of personality types goes way back into ancient history. The fourfold models go back at least as far as the
Greeks and were often related to air, fire, earth and water. The nine-fold enneagram goes back to long before Christ to
the Middle East and perhaps specifically Babylon. The terms we use in the text of this work are Medieval in origin. Books
to study these personality types are available in any good library.

Chapter 2: The Destiny of Mankind
41
These behaviors can be evaluated biblically and morally to determine whether they are
right or wrong, but much sinful behavior occurs by impulse without reflection. This is the
influence of what Scripture calls "the flesh, " that is, the sin nature inherent in all men. In the
absence of strong moral training and education as children, humans tend toward selfish and
careless behavior that the Bible defines as sinful. Also, we should note that whether people
choose the kind of behavior for which they have a predisposition or whether they choose
something else is a function of their free choice. Yet there seems to be nearly universal
agreement among modern researchers about the influence of the genetic component on
human personality and temperament. This "nature versus nurture" debate will continue to
rage on, however, because of the intricate and delicate balance that seems to exist within the
various aspects of human beings and their environments.
Since a genetic "nature" or "temperament" is so clearly an ongoing part of human being
and personality, it stands to reason that it was also a part of the first human's being. Before he
fell, Adam had a nature perfectly suited to bearing the image of God. Therefore, he had a
"divine" nature, meaning that he shared some of the qualities and attributes of God, who was
their source. By studying the character of God in His dealings with man, and also in the actions
of Jesus and other men representing God, we can conclude that God is loving, peaceful, joyful,
slow to anger, kind, good, faithful, gentle and self-disciplined, just to name a few. 21 These
qualities must have been in abundance in Adam, who was the son and image of God, as he
administered Paradise and carried out the will of his Creator. He had every quality in whatever
measure necessary for him to exercise his dominion over the earth. And because there was no
sin, there was nothing sinful in his disposition, that is, nothing that would cause him to act
contrary to the will of God.
If we think of Adam as a perfect image of God's character, one of the consequences of the
Fall was to shatter that "mirror" into pieces. Now, instead of one man exhibiting the totality of
God's attributes without sin, mankind would continue to reflect these qualities in a collective
way, but mixed with sin. This explains why we continue to see human beings demonstrating
compassion, creativity, moral strength, intellectual and scientific brilliance and feats of selfless
courage. These godly qualities in man are consistent with what we would predict if mankind
were in fact made in the image of God. Obscuring these godly qualities, however, are traits such
as sinful self-interest, cruelty and indifference. These seem to often characterize man's
behavior and experience, which is predicted by the Bible as a result of the consequences of sin.
Based upon this reasoning then, we believe that Jesus Christ had a perfect human nature,
just as Adam originally had before it became fragmented and stained by sin. This means that
Jesus exemplified in a single person every godly quality ever seen in mankind collectively. These
qualities were present in his nature from his mother's womb, even as our children's tempera-
ments are. He was the perfect blend of qualities and characteristics that God intended for man,
as His "image, " to manifest. In observing Jesus' behavior, we see his ability to be tough, yet
tender; patient and slow to anger, yet appropriately aggressive and passionate. In short, Jesus
Christ was a man as Man was intended to be — the reflection of his Creator and his Father — like
Father, like Son.
21. See The Fruit of the Spirit: The Character of Christ (audiotape seminar by CES).

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One God & One Lord
One further note: Jesus Christ did not fulfill his ministry by virtue of some inherently divine
nature that he brought with him through an "incarnation. " The New Testament makes it very
clear how he was able to do the messianic works that he did—by being anointed with holy spirit
at the baptism of John.
Luke 3: 21, 22 (NRSV)
Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and
was praying, the heaven was opened, and the holy spirit descended upon him in bodily
form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, "you are my Son, the Beloved; with
you I am well pleased. "
Luke 4: 18 (NRSV)
"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to
the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the
blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor. "
Acts 10: 38 (NRSV)
How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power; how he went
about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with
him.
As wonderful a human being as Jesus was, it is not recorded that he performed any miracle
or preached a word until he was empowered by holy spirit. It was this spirit, then, and not his
temperament, personality or intrinsic "divinity, " that enabled him to do the works that he did.
This is crucial to understand, and yet few Christians recognize this important point. 22 This is
yet another truth that should profoundly encourage us as Christians, because it explains how
we can do the works that Jesus Christ did.
John 14: 12 (NRSV)
Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in
fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father.
Jesus Christ received from his Father the promised holy spirit and shed it on his disciples
on the Day of Pentecost.
22. One of the main reasons so few understand this is the common teaching that "the Holy Spirit" is one of the persons
in a "triune Godhead. " Thus, they have difficulty explaining how Christ could be "God in human flesh" through the
incarnation, yet still need to be empowered by "the Holy Spirit, " another member of the Godhead, before he could begin
to do his work. To many orthodox Christians, Christ is in some sense the eternal God from his birth, yet is indwelled
at his baptism by another "person" called "the Holy Spirit, " another member of the triune God. It is no wonder that
some Christians refer to him as the "Christ event, " since he was apparently three persons happening at one time. If
Christ were "true God" from his birth, would he not have had God's power from his birth and not needed any
subsequent anointing? See Appendix I.

Chapter 2: The Destiny of Mankind
43
Acts 2: 33 (NRSV)
Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father
the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you both see and hear [i. e.,
holy spirit]
The holy spirit enabled them to do the same works that Jesus had been doing. The Book
of Acts records the disciples doing just that. But if Jesus did his mighty works by being "God, "
how can we "mere men" hope to do the same?
The Last Adam's Family
Set in the heart of Hebrews 2: 5-18 is a profound truth: every Christian is related to Christ
in the most intimate, family way. He is not a being of such exalted status that we cannot relate
to him. In fact, he is called our "brother. " Let us now look at verses 11-13.
Hebrews 2: 11
Both the one [Christ] who makes men holy and those who are made holy are of the same
family
[have the same Father]. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers. 23
This verse is brimming with truth. It clearly states that God is the original author of life for
both Jesus Christ and all who believe in him. Yet Jesus Christ is the one who sanctifies those who
believe in him. It was God who gave him the authority and the ability to do so. As Jesus is the
Son of God, so those whom he sanctifies are "sons. " Jesus Christ is not ashamed to call us his
brothers. Amen!
In the next two verses from the same context, there are three quotations from the Old
Testament about the coming Redeemer.
Hebrews 2: 12, 13 (NRSV)
(12) Saying, "I will proclaim your name to my brothers and sisters; in the midst of the
congregation I will sing your praises. "
(13) And again, "I will put my trust in him. " And again, "Here am I, and the children
whom God has given me. "
The first quote is from Psalm 22: 22, found in one of the sections of the Old Testament most
clearly referring to Jesus Christ. It is a prophecy that the Messiah will one day stand amidst a
great congregation and praise God with them. Could those people be the "many sons in glory"
of Hebrews 2: 10? Absolutely. It is noteworthy that Psalm 22 is a prophecy of both the suffering
23. Consider also the following translation of the above verse, which clarifies the distinction between God and Christ:
"The truth being that he who bestows the hallowing [Jesus Christ) and those who are being hallowed derive their origin,
one and all, from the One |God). And that is why the Son is not ashamed to call them his brothers. " Heinz Cassirer, God's
New Covenant: A New Translation
(William B. Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, MI, 1989).

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One God & One Lord
and the glory of Christ. What was Jesus thinking about when the Roman soldiers pounded the
first spike into his wrist? No doubt he was thinking about his future destiny, that is, "the joy that
was set before him" (Heb. 12: 2).
The second quote from the Old Testament (" I will put my trust in Him") is from Isaiah 8: 17.
Jesus Christ was the first man to perfectly trust God. He was the epitome of faith. Because he
put his trust in God, we can put our trust in him. The NIV Study Bible note on Hebrews 2: 13
recognizes that the point of this quotation is to assert the perfect manhood of Christ. will put
my trust in Him. 'An expression of true dependence on God perfectly exemplified in Christ. In
him, humanity is seen as it was intended to be. " Amen. We could not have said it any better.
Jesus Christ was able to do what he did because of his "true dependence on God. " Man was
originally made to have intimate communion with his Maker, trust in His superior wisdom and
love and, through obedience to his Creator, share with Him in the management of His affairs on
the earth. Jesus epitomized this dependency on his God, his Maker.
The third quote from the Old Testament in this section of Hebrews comes from Isaiah 8: 18,
and could hardly be extracted from a more pertinent context, which reveals that Isaiah and the
people of God were surrounded by a much larger number of unbelievers bent on their
destruction. Death was certain unless God delivered them. God did deliver them by way of
Isaiah, who said in essence, "Stick with me and you will be saved. " He then referred to them as
"the children God has given me. " In that record, Isaiah is a "type" of Christ. 24
Here we come face to face with a tremendous truth of Scripture not often realized—that
those who believe in Christ are, figuratively speaking, his " children. "25 To see this, let us go back
to Isaiah 53, another Old Testament passage of Scripture that specifically speaks of the coming
Christ. As in the initial revelation about Christ in Genesis 3: 15, where God prophesied both his
suffering and his glory, so Isaiah 53 portrays both his hideous death and his glorious future life.
24. A "type" is a specific parallel between two historical entities. Biblical typology involves a correspondence by
analogy such that earlier persons, places or events are patterns by which later events can be better understood or
interpreted. The study of typology comes out of a study of the Bible itself. The New Testament uses both the words
tupos, or "type, " and antitupos, or "antitype. " The Greek word tupos can refer to the original model, prototype or stamp
as well as to the copy, imprint or mark that was left by the original. The word antitupos refers only to the copy, imprint
or mark and not to the original or stamp. Romans 5: 14 calls Adam a "pattern" (a tupos) of "the one to come, " i. e., Christ,
while Hebrews 9: 24 calls the earthly sanctuary a "copy" (antitupos) of the real one in the heavens. There has been great
debate among Christians as to what are the true types of Christ in the Bible and what is strained imagination and fanciful
thinking. For example, just because someone was whipped in the Old Testament does not mean he was a "type" of
Christ, but, on the other hand, the clear parallels between Joseph and Christ or Abraham/Isaac and Christ have been
recognized for centuries. In this case, the fact that what Isaiah said is quoted in Hebrews as being prophetically spoken
by the Messiah makes the type axiomatic and abundantly clear.
25. The spiritual "fatherhood" of great men of God is evident in Scripture. In Romans 4: 16, Abraham is called the
"father of all of us who believe. " In2Kings2: 12, Elisha cries out to Elijah his mentor, "My father, my father. " In 2Kings
13: 14, Jehoash the king of Israel called Elisha "My father, my father. " Paul refers to his "fatherhood" of the believers in
Corinth whom he had led to Christ (1 Cor. 4: 15), saying that he had "begotten" them through the Gospel. Because of
his character and attributes, and being the author of everlasting life, Jesus Christ is obviously the ultimate "father"
figure, even though he has no natural children. God's Messiah, Jesus, will conquer the earth (Rev. 19), raise the dead
(Judges 5: 25) and reign as king in the Millennium. Thus, in Isaiah 9: 6, part of the Messiah's name is "Father of the
coming age. " See Appendix A (Isaiah 9: 6).

Chapter 2: The Destiny of Mankind
45
Isaiah 53: 7-12
(7) He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb
to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his
mouth.
(8) By oppression and judgment he was taken away. And who can speak of his
descendants?
For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my
people he was stricken.
(9) He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he
had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth.
(10) Yet it was the Lord's will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the Lord
makes his life a guilt offering, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will
of the Lord will prosper in his hand.
(11) After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his
knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities.
(12) Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils
with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the
transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.
Verse 8 asks, "And who can speak of his descendants?" What we see here is that Jesus
would die without ever having any children. In the Hebrew culture, this was considered a curse.
Jesus died with no one to carry on his lineage. But look at verse 10: "He will see his offspring. "
What "offspring?" The "children God has given him, " the "many sons in glory. " Does this not
specifically relate to Christ being called a "seed" in Genesis 3: 15? Yes, he is the seed that will bear
much fruit after his kind. "We know that when he appears, we shall be like him" (1 John 3: 2).
Praise God!
Jesus Christ: The Image of God
With all this background in mind, we can now turn our attention to the phrase "the image
of God, " as it is used in reference to Jesus of Nazareth. The Last Adam, now highly exalted as Lord
and Christ, is the only true image of God. Actually, he is not referred to as "the image of God"
until after his resurrection, as we shall see. So while Jesus admirably represented God's heart,
love and character in his earthly ministry, he is now in a position of such glory that he is
functioning "just like God. " 26 Man's destiny as the image-bearer of God finds complete
fulfillment in the glorification of Jesus Christ, because all those who believe in him will one day
be made like him.
Even prior to his resurrection and ascension, however, Jesus brought many things to light
about his invisible Father, the God who created the heavens and the earth. In fact, of all the
26. Immortality is a large part of what is meant by "the image of God, " as is indicated by the fact that this phrase is only
used of the resurrected Christ, who is now immortal himself.

46
One God & One Lord
"images" and representations that presume to depict the invisible, it is Jesus Christ who most
vividly exemplified and made manifest the character of God by the way he lived. The heart and
will of God was manifested by his life of obedience. For instance, we know it is God's will to heal
those with faith in Him because Jesus healed everyone who came to him with faith. So it is for
everything that Jesus said and did — he revealed God's heart and will for those who believe in
him. As one scholar put it, "Christ is given to us as the image of God by which we may know what
God wills and does. " 27
John 1: 18 (KJV)
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 Greek word for "declared" means "to lead or bring out, hence to make known, declare,
unfold. "28 By his personality, his character, the spirit that was upon him and by his absolute
obedience to his Father, Jesus perfectly exhibited God's heart to mankind. His language, taken
as a whole, reveals that he never thought of himself as the source of his wisdom and mighty
works. When he said, "He who has seen me has seen the Father" (John 14: 9), he was not referring
to any physical resemblance nor intrinsic deity. He was referring to his obedient way of being,
his words and his works. The following are a number of statements Jesus made that help us
understand this more clearly:
 "The Son can do nothing on his own, but only what he sees the Father doing; for
whatever the Father does, the Son does likewise" (John 5: 19 NRSV).
 "The Father who dwells in me does his works" (John 14: 10 NRSV).
 "I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father " (John 15: 15
NRSV).
 "All that the Father has is mine" (John 16: 15 NRSV).
 "Whoever sees me sees him who sent me" (John 12: 45 NRSV).
Jesus shared with others everything that God showed him. His was a reflective and
representative role, honoring his Father at every turn, emptying himself of any need for
recognition or approval. His only desire was to do the will of God (John 4: 34) and to bring Him
glory.
We can learn another important thing about the word eikon, "image, " by observing the
following verses:
Matthew 22: 17-21 (KJV)
(17) Tell us therefore, What thinkest Thou? Is it lawful to give tribute unto Caesar, or
not?
27. Gerhard Kittel, ed., Theological Dictionary of the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI, Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1964,
"Eikon"), p. 396).
28. E. W. Bullinger, op. cit, Lexicon, p. 210.

Chapter 2: The Destiny of Mankind
47
(18) But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, Why tempt ye Me, ye hypocrites?
(19) Shew me the tribute money. And they brought unto Him a penny.
(20) And He saith unto them, Whose is this image [eikon] and superscription?
(21) They say unto Him, Caesar's. Then saith He unto them, Render therefore unto
Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's.
It is clear that the coin - carrying Pharisees did not pull out one with Caesar himself glued
to it. The coin had an image stamped on it, which was obviously not identical to the original. 29
In fact, the image was perhaps only a crude likeness. The degree of similarity between the
archetype or prototype and its image varies, and the uses of eikon reflect those variations. The
range of use of eikon varies from gross misrepresentation (as in the case of false images of God),
to similarity (as in Col. 3: 10 where our new self is being renewed in similarity to Christ), to exact
likeness (Heb. 1: 3).
Today, through photographic technology, we can reproduce exact images of people. 30 Or
can we? A lady friend excitedly shows you a snapshot and proclaims, "This is my fiance, Henry. "
Youreply, "But he's completely flat! And he's only three inches tall with half a body! I don't think
the marriage will work. " Obviously, an image, no matter how perfectly it reflects the original
thing, is not identical to it. 31
There are two verses in the Church Epistles that clearly and specifically refer to Jesus Christ
as "the image of God, " and we will now examine them carefully in their contexts. We will see that
Christ's being called the "image of God" most specifically refers to his glorious post-resurrec-
tion ministry at the "right hand of God" since being crowned with glory and honor. Remember
that Hebrews 2: 9 says the Last Adam is "now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered
death. " In other words, he didn't fully come into his "glory and honor" until after his death and
resurrection. We should also point out 1 Corinthians 15: 45: "The first man Adam became a
living being; the Last Adam, a life-giving spirit. " When did he become "a life-giving spirit?" After
his resurrection and glorification. Does that mean that he did not represent his Father well
29. Logical "identity" is established by the following principle: Whatever is true of A, must also be true of B. And
whatever is true of B, must also be true of A. Logically, similar things are not identical For example, a statue (image)
of George Washington is not identical to George Washington. If it were, George Washington himself would have been
made of bronze. See Appendix K.
30. The diminutive form of eikon — eikonion — corresponds to the modern photograph. Barclay, op. cit, p. 390: "Apion
the soldier writes home to his father Epimachus: º send you a little portrait (eikonion) of myself at the hands of
Euctemon. '" Barclay continues: "The word eifcorc becomes the regular word for the identifying description of a person,
which was subjoined to official documents, in particular with regard to the buying and selling of slaves. The eikon was
the official and accurate description of the person involved and the means whereby he or she could be identified. If we
take it in this way, we may say that Jesus is the exact portrait and description of God. "
31. Various Trinitarian scholars try to force eikon to mean identity or equality with the original. For example: The use
of eikon in Colossians 1: 15 "is intended to indicate the essential unity of God and Jesus, of the Father and the Son. "
(Barclay, op. cit., p. 388-389). Kittel, op. cit., Vol. II, p. 395: "When Christ is called the image of God, all the emphasis is
on the equality of the eikon with the original. " Trinitarian theologians attempt to force the semantic range of eikon to
include the concept of identity, but the uses of eikon, both biblical and secular, preclude this extrapolation (See
Appendix A, Col. 1: 15).

48
One God & One Lord
during his earthly ministry? No. We have already established that Jesus always did the will of
his Father. However, whatever it is to be the complete "image of God" is found in his exaltation
and glorification at the right hand of God.
Let us revisit Hebrews 1: 3, which communicates this truth powerfully. Although this verse
is often applied to the earthly life, ministry and being of Jesus Christ, upon closer examination
we can see that it is referring to his post-resurrection life:
Hebrews 1: 3a (NRSV)
The Son is the reflection of God's glory and the exact imprint of God's very being, and
he sustains all things by his powerful word.
Notice that the verbs "is" and "sustains" are in the present tense and refer to his present
state of being in glory at the right hand of God. We can understand how Christ would be a better
representation of God at the right hand of the Father's glory than hanging from his Cross. In fact,
those who saw him thought him smitten and accursed of God (see Deut. 21: 23 and Isa. 53: 4).
While dead, he was as far from radiating the glory of God as a person can get. Nevertheless, he
was raised from the dead unto immortality and everlasting life, with a fabulous new body that
enables him to act as the Head of the Church and work with every member of his Body wherever
they are in the world. He is now the ultimate representative of God. If people are unable to see
him for who he is, it is because they have been blinded by the Adversary, as the following verses
show.
2 Corinthians 4: 4-6 (KJV)
(4) But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost:
In whom the God of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest
the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto
them,
(5) For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants
for Jesus' sake.
(6) For God, Who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our
hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
It is the Gospel, the good news of Christ's accomplishments, that brings to light the glory
of Christ, and thereby the glory of God whose plan it was to send him. The written Word makes
known the living Word, Jesus Christ, who makes known the one true God. Thus, a "succession
of representation" is clearly articulated in the above verses. We preach not ourselves, but the
Gospel of Christ. Christ represented not himself, but God. And God "shined in our hearts, to
give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. " Because Jesus
Christ gave his all to represent God, God is now reciprocating by making known Christ, His
perfect representative and "the exact representation of His being. "
The other verse that specifically refers to Jesus Christ as the image of God is also in the
Church Epistles.

Chapter 2: The Destiny of Mankind
49
Colossians 1: 15 (NRSV)
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.
Let us take note of the use of the word "invisible" here. God's invisibility has been the
occasion of much rebellion and idolatry on the part of His people throughout history. They
wanted something visible to worship and pray to like the pagans had, and this led to all manner
of misguided activities, as even the most casual reading of the Old Testament will show. Fallen
man has a "lust of the eyes, " which drives him to desire a visible object for his devotion. Even
though the creation itself so clearly points to the hand of its invisible Designer that man is
"without excuse" (Rom. 1: 20), he continually fails to make the connection.
Man is in many respects the pinnacle of that creation his body and mind the most
awesome examples of divine handiwork. The human brain has 10 billion brain cells, with each
cell capable of establishing interconnections with 35, 000 other brain cells. The possible
interconnections are 10 billion to the 35, 000th power, an incomprehensibly huge number. What
man's mind is capable of, even in its fallen condition, has yet to be fathomed. The first Adam
was the "firstborn" of this magnificent creation described in Genesis 1, but, by virtue of his
disobedience, he lost his privileged status as the firstborn. At his resurrection, the Last Adam
became the firstborn of a new creation that began with his resurrection. He is the prototype of
this new creation, his resurrected body gloriously exemplifying even greater magnificence than
what we see in the present creation. That Christ is such a prototype is proven three verses later
in Colossians 1, where the term "firstborn" occurs again:
Colossians 1: 18 (NRSV)
He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead,
so that he might come to have first place in everything.
In the context, "the firstborn of all creation" directly correlates with his being "the firstborn
from among the dead. " It was in his resurrection that he came into his glory. It was then and only
then that he was fully able to reflect the entire majesty of God who exalted him. Because he was
sinless and obedient during his earthly tenure, Jesus' resurrection and exaltation catapulted
him to a glorious dominion and co-rulership of God's creation even exceeding the first Adam's.
Only when Jesus Christ was elevated to his present position of dominion and co-rulership,
having sat down at the right hand of God with all authority fully delegated to him, was he said
to be "the image of God" in all the fullness of the term. Thus, in this position he has fulfilled the
destiny of Man, who was made in "the image of God. "
Christians: Bearers of Christ's Image
In closing this chapter, we will look at three verses that complete our examination of the
phrase, "the image of God, " and also shed some valuable light on how this teaching affects us
as believers in Christ.

50
One God & One Lord
Colossians 3: 9-11 (NRSV)
(9) Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have stripped off your old self with its
practices
(10) and have clothed yourselves with the new self, which is being renewed in knowl-
edge according to the image of its Creator.
(11) In that renewal there is no longer Greek and Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised,
barbarian, Scythian, slave and free, but Christ is all, and in all!
Our" new self is the divine nature of Christ that is a part of what we receive when we obey
Romans 10: 9 and are born again. This reality, also called the "gift of holy spirit, " the "spirit of
truth, " etc., is "being renewed in knowledge in the image of its creator. "32 Who is its creator? As
far as giving us the potential to be like God, Jesus Christ is, because it is he who poured out the
gift of God's nature into our hearts (Acts 2: 33). He is all, and in all, and he is working in us to
fashion us in his image, even as he is fashioned after God's image (cp. Eph. 1: 22, 23). This same
truth is conveyed in the following parallel passage:
Ephesians 4: 22-24 (NRSV)
(22) You were taught to put away your former way of life, your old self, corrupt and
deluded by its lusts;
(23) and to be renewed in the spirit [NIV"attitude"] of your minds
(24) And to clothe yourselves with the new self, created according to the likeness of God
in true righteousness and holiness.
Today each Christian has within himself the absolute guarantee of one day being made
totally like Christ (1 Cor. 15: 49; Phil. 3: 21; 1 John 3: 1, 2). In the meantime, God has given us
through Christ the potential to manifest his character to the world. In fact, this is the very
purpose of our existence — to represent our Maker well!
Romans 8: 29, 30 (NRSV)
(29) For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of
his Son
, in order that he might be the firstborn within a large family.
(30) And those whom he predestined he also called; and those whom he called he also
justified; and those whom he justified he also glorified.
As believers, we are already partial partakers of his heavenly glory, although our final
glorification awaits his final appearing. Meanwhile, as we look to him, we are being trans-
formed into "the likeness of His [glorious] Son" more and more, day by day. What an awesome
privilege it is to be a Christian!
These truths are further established in the following verses:
32. See The Gift of Holy Spirit: Every Christian's Divine Deposit, available from CES.

Chapter 2: The Destiny of Mankind
51
2 Corinthians 3: 17, 18 (NRSV)
(17) Now the lord is the [life-giving] Spirit, and where the spirit of the Lord is, there is
freedom.
(18) And all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected
in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to
another
; for this comes from the Lord, the the Spirit.
As the resurrected Lord, Jesus Christ is pouring out holy spirit, the spirit that is the basis
for our transformation and our sharing in his glory. Now, through the life and ministry of the
Last Adam, Jesus Christ, we too participate in the process whereby those of mankind who
believe in him are truly able to reflect the image of God. As Perfect Man, he has fulfilled the
original destiny of mankind by reclaiming the authority and dominion that the first Adam lost.
Is he a mere man? Hardly. He is everything God ever intended for man, and more, which
includes all glory and honor. And in his exaltation, we who believe on him will be exalted with
him and share in his glory. Hallelujah!

CHAPTER THREE
Jesus Christ: The
Purpose of the Ages
Having established the direct correlation between the first Adam and the Last Adam, we
now want to establish another aspect of our cornerstone: the biblical truth that Jesus Christ is
the purpose, or the "diameter, " of the ages. Perhaps the greatest purpose of Christ was the
redemption of mankind, which he accomplished by his death on the Cross, as the following
scripture says:
Ephesians 1: 7 (NRSV)
In him [Jesus Christ] we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our
trespasses, according to the riches of his grace.
As we can see, redemption is spoken of here as an accomplished reality. This same truth
is corroborated in other verses as well (e. g., Rom. 3: 24 and Col. 1: 14). But if that is all there is to
redemption, why a few verses later in Ephesians 1 does Scripture say that redemption is still
future?
Ephesians 1: 13, 14 (NRSV)
(13) In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and
had believed in him, were marked with the seal of the promised holy spirit;
(14) this is the pledge of our inheritance toward redemption as God's own people, to
the praise of his glory.
To eliminate this confusion, we must clearly define the term "redemption, " which is the
entire process
of redeeming, or literally "buying back" or "releasing on receipt of a ransom. "1
This word "ransom" evokes images of a kidnapping, which leads to the question, who kid-
napped what or whom? In a manner of speaking, Satan "kidnapped" God's creation by
introducing iniquity into it. By tricking Adam, he plunged mankind into captivity through sin,
death and the fear of death (Heb. 2: 14). Although he is not big enough to hold creation for
ransom in a literal sense, he has continually hindered [but not stopped] God's purposes, and he
continues to exercise the authority he usurped. It was this authority that he offered to share with
Jesus when he tempted him in the wilderness.
1. Bullinger, op. cti., Lexicon, p. 630.

54
One God & One Lord
Luke 4: 5-8 (NRSV)
(5) Then the devil led him up and showed him [Jesus] in an instant all the kingdoms of
the world.
(6) And the devil said to him, "To you I will give their glory and all this authority; for it
has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please.
(7) If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours. "
(8) Jesus answered him, "It is written: 'Worship the Lord your God and serve only him. '
There are two questions raised by the Devil's assertion that he has authority and power to
bequeath on whomever he will, and the answer to them helps us understand why a complete
redemption of creation has become necessary. The first question is: who "gave" Satan authority
over "all the kingdoms of the world" so he could offer it to Jesus?2 The answer to this takes us
back again to Genesis 3. To whom had God given "dominion" over all the world? Adam. Who
entered the picture to cause Adam's fall? Satan. So let's put two and two together. What was
Satan's motivation to deceive Adam and Eve and cause their fall? Obviously, there had to be
something in it for him. He was not just out for a cosmic stroll, playing little tricks on whomever
he happened upon. Genesis 3: 1 tells us that the serpent was "more crafty" than any other
created being. His deliberate purpose was to trip up Adam and usurp his rulership by getting
him to default on his responsibility and therefore forfeit his dominion and authority. Satan
gambled that after Adam fell from grace, he would become the "top dog, " since he was still an
"angel of light" (even though a fallen one), and hence "superior" to Adam in spiritual ability. 3
The testimony of the Bible is that he succeeded, creating a need for the redemption of
God's entire creation. This would require someone to "crush" the serpent's head. Though God
is his superior, and could have immediately made him dust, He chose only to make Satan "eat
dust" (Gen. 3: 14) until the day that he would be made ashes. 4 God chose to delegate the task
of destroying His enemy, Satan, to His Son, the Redeemer and the Purpose of the Ages. The
grand purpose of Jesus Christ's life is understandable only in relationship to Satan's rebellion
and its consequences in heaven and on earth. As we have already seen, the scope of redemption
would require both his suffering and glory, for Christ would not be equal to the task of crushing
the serpent's head until he entered his "glory. " Not even the archangel Michael, the captain of
the army of the host of Lord, goes head-to-head with his former peer (see Jude 9, and
Appendix F).
Though Satan's presence and influence are almost totally veiled in the Old Testament, he
is described in the New Testament as a "prince" having a "kingdom, " accompanied by "rulers, "
2. Theologian John Calvin proposed the idea that God is the one who gave Satan this power in order to glorify himself
and demonstrate His superiority. The Bible never says this, and we believe such a notion seriously compromises God's
righteousness.
3. See E. W. Bullinger's Companion Bible, (reprinted; Zondervan, Grand Rapids, MI, 1974), Appendix 19, for an
interesting etymological study of the word "serpent, " showing that Satan appeared to Eve as an "enlightened one, "
spewing out his demented "brilliance. " 2 Corinthians 11:14 corroborates this truth: "Satan himself is transformed into
an angel of light. "
4. See pp. 27-29 of the CES book, Don't Blame God!.

Chapter 3: Jesus Christ: The Purpose of the Ages
55
"authorities, " "powers" and "spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms" (Eph. 6: 12). Jesus
Christ totally exposed his kingdom and its effect on people (Luke 10: 17-24), and is in the process
of "bringing him to ashes" (Ezek. 28: 18). Though Satan knows his days are numbered, he is
insanely committed to hindering God's purposes and delaying the day of his doom, if he can.
He is also trying to deceive as many people as he can so they do not believe in Christ and receive
everlasting life in Paradise. As the father of pride and envy, he apparently reasons that if he is
going to be destroyed, he will take as many people down with him as possible.
The second question in regard to Satan's authority is: was this authority that he offered to
Jesus legitimately his to give, or was he lying? He is, after all, the "father of lies" (John 8: 44). The
most compelling answer to this question is the way Jesus answered the Devil. He did not
question the fact that the Devil was making a legitimate offer. He simply recognized that there
was too high a price to pay for what he was offering. We have no doubt that the Devil is still in
the empire-building business, enrolling everyone he can in the pursuit of worldly fame, fortune
and self-promotion. And those he cannot lure into that trap he discourages and humiliates by
setting before them unattainable ideals for "beauty, brains and bucks. " In case those traps fail,
he provides counterfeit religious systems for "escaping the world, " and persecution of those
who choose to resist. He has all the bases covered, because he is the "systematizer" of error. 5
Surveying the state of the world since the time of Adam's fall, we would have to say that there
is an invisible conductor orchestrating evil and masterminding events of nature and human
history in a manner contrary to the will of God. But we do not have to rely on our experience for
an accurate assessment, because God's Word says that this is precisely what is happening
behind the scenes:
1 John 5: 19 (NRSV)
We know that we are God's children, and that the whole world lies under the power of
the evil one.
So we see that the Redeemer still has a lot of work to do, and that redemption is still being
accomplished. This is because not only did Jesus come to redeem mankind by giving his life as
a sacrifice, God sent him to redeem all of His creation. 6 In the first part of his job, his enemy was
sin and death, and Jesus' orders were to endure suffering and death caused by the sin of Adam.
In the latter part of his assignment, Christ's enemy is Satan (and his demons), and his orders are
to rise up in his glory and vanquish all the enemies of God.
This latter aspect of his job description requires that he deal directly with the one
responsible for the introduction of sin and death into God's Creation. Remember that the first
5. Satan uses strategy and systematizes error such that it continues generation after generation. The Apostle Paul
wrote in Ephesians about people blown about by "craftiness in deceitful scheming" (Eph. 4: 14, NASB). "Craftiness" is
from the Greek panourgia, and means "craftiness, cunning, unscrupulousness, false wisdom. " It is the word used about
someone who will use any and all means to achieve an end. The words "deceitful scheming" are translated from the
Greek word methodeia (from which we get "method") and it means "deceit, craft or trickery" that has a plan or method
behind it. Thus, the Adversary has an evil plan and method, and will use any and all means at his disposal to reach his
sinister goals.
6. Romans 8: 19-21 clearly says that the entire creation awaits the day when it will "be liberated from its bondage to
decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. "

One God & One Lord
time the coming Redeemer is mentioned in Scripture was when God prophesied to Satan in
Genesis 3: 15 that he would eventually be destroyed, not by God Himself, but by the offspring of
the woman. This conflict and parallelism between Christ and the Devil is another aspect of the
cornerstone of the Christian faith that must be cut correctly. When we consider this head-to-
head cosmic fight- to-the-finish, we are struck with an insight concerning God's righteousness.
As God could not legally or righteously be the Redeemer of mankind because he could not die,
He would not be the destroyer of Satan because His righteousness is so pure that it extends even
to being fair and just to His archenemy. Though he could destroy Satan as easily as He had drop-
kicked him from heaven, God delegated the destruction of Satan to one who would earn the
right and the moral authority to do so — Jesus Christ! Though we cannot possibly know all that
was in the Father's heart, we know from Philippians 2: 13 that His plan of redemption is to His
glory, and His plan involved delegating the complete process of redemption to Christ. God is
there to help, guide and direct as always, but he has invested in Christ "all authority in heaven
and earth" (Matt. 28: 18), more than enough to get the job done.
Our God is not as interested in getting the job done quickly and efficiently as he is in having
it done RIGHT, as in righteously. There is also a majestic poetic justice involved in allowing
Christ to be Satan's destroyer. Because as Jesus walked the same path of temptation in the flesh
that Adam walked, without sinning, so in his glorified position as Lord he is standing where
Lucifer once stood, only without iniquity or pride being found in him. Hence, he is uniquely
qualified to undo what Lucifer did when he scorned his privileged anointing at God's right hand
as "the guardian cherub" in "the holy mount of God. "
Satan Started As a Star
Let us now look at the privileged position in which Lucifer began his existence, because
understanding his relationship with God and the manner in which he lost it will help us
appreciate Jesus Christ and his road to glory. Where Jesus began his earthly life in humility and
ended it in ignominy, Satan began in glory and will end in ashes. His downfall was his fatally
flawed decision to attempt to exalt himself to an even higher position than he was already given,
to a position just like God.
The following account in Ezekiel 28 is the most detailed reference in the entire Bible to
Satan's original state, his decision to leave it and his eventual complete annihilation. Note the
use of language in verse 12, making it appear that this passage is addressed only to a particular
" King of Tyre. " It is evident, however, that though this king may have had a few faults of his own,
they pale in comparison to the criminal antics of the one this passage is really being addressed
to — the Cosmic Criminal, Satan, the crafty old "Serpent. " Note also that God says here that He
will be the one to destroy Satan, but this is not a contradiction of Genesis 3: 15, which says that
the promised seed would crush his head. There is a common Hebrew idiom being employed
here in which the one whose plan it is can speak of doing the work, although he has actually
delegated it to an agent. 7
7. The Jewish rule of "agency" is explained in Appendices A (Gen. 16: 7-13) and D.

Chapter 3: Jesus Christ: The Purpose of the Ages
57
Ezekiel 28: 12-19 (NASB)
(12) Son of man, take up a lamention over the king of Tyre, and say to him: "Thus says
the Lord God: "You had the seal [i. e., you were the model] of perfection, full of wisdom
and perfect in beauty.
(13) You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering: the
ruby, the topaz, and the diamond; the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper; the lapis lazuli, the
turquoise and the emerald; and the gold, the workmanship of your settings and sockets,
was in you. On the day that you were created they were prepared.
(14) You were the anointed cherub who covers and I placed you there. You were on the
holy mount of God; you walked in the midst of the stones of fire.
(15) You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created until
unrighteousness was found in you.
(16) By the abundance of your trade you were internally filled with violence, and you
sinned.
Therefore I have cast you as profane from the mountain of God. And I have
destroyed you, Ï covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.
(17) Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom by
reason of your splendor. I cast you to the ground; I put you before kings [this will
happen in the future], that they may see you.
(18) By the multitude of your iniquities, in the unrighteousness of your trade, you
profaned your sanctuaries. Therefore I have brought fire from the midst of you; it has
consumed you, and I have turned you to ashes on the earth in the eyes of all who see you
[also future, spoken of as past for the certitude of the event—"the lake of fire"—Rev.
9: 20, etal\.
(19) All who know you among the peoples are appalled at you; you have become
terrified, and you will be no more. '"
So we see that the present Adversary of God and His Christ began as "the model of
perfection, " beautiful and wise beyond comparison. From this description, he seems to have
been the most graciously favored of all God's created beings. Would it be going too far to assert
that God had given him everything he could give a created being without making him just like
Himself? We think this is what the above Scriptures are communicating. So it is all the more
reprehensible that Lucifer became discontent, actually thinking that he deserved to be even
more than he already was. Lucifer's pathetic example proves that it is always possible to be
unthankful, no matter how much one has been given.
At this point let us turn to the description of Lucifer's fall as found in Isaiah. We have
highlighted his five "I will" statements to accentuate the deliberate choice he made to reject
God's grace (biblically, the number five indicates "grace"). Note that this passage ends with a
revealing statement from God's perspective about who Satan really is, when stripped of all his
lies and pretensions. He is very small indeed, apart from what God has given him through His
grace and generosity. When he is finally revealed for who he is, and judged in righteousness by
the Son of Righteousness, all will marvel at what a pretender he really is, and how unworthy of
notice.

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One God & One Lord
Isaiah 14: 12-17 (NASB)
(12) How you have fallen from heaven, Ï star of the morning, son of the dawn! [KJV—
"Lucifer"8 ] You have been cut down to the earth, you who have weakened the nations!
(13) But you said in your heart, "I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the
stars of God; and I will sit on the mount of assembly, in the recesses of the north.
(14) I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High. "
(15) Nevertheless, you will be thrust down to Sheol, to the recesses of the pit.
(16) Those who see you will gaze at you, they will ponder over you, saying, "Is this the
man who made the earth tremble, who shook kingdoms,
(17) Who made the world like a wilderness, and overthrew its cities, who did not allow
his prisoners to go home?"
Remember that in Ezekiel 28 Satan was described as being "full of wisdom, " until that
wisdom was "corrupted... by reason of [his] splendor. " Satan was, therefore, the original
embodiment of God's wisdom in a created being, and it is not too big a stretch to imagine that
he was God's companion in some aspects of creation. 9 But instead of being blessed to
participate with God in His divine functions, Satan desired personal "equality" with God,
meaning that he would have the same powers and abilities as his Creator. He was apparently
close enough to God to "taste" what it would be like to be Him, and considered such "equality"
enough of a possibility that he thought he could get away with grasping for it. Instead, he lost
his relationship with his Creator (because he apparently overlooked the fact that he was
created), and to this day uses the awesome ability that God gave him to hinder His purposes,
promote lies concerning the integrity of God's Word and bombard mankind with a plethora of
possibilities for errant belief and worship. His demented goal is to make good look evil, and evil
good, and the true God and His Christ look bad in any way he can. But like the primitive man
who throws mud at the sun to dim its light, so all his centuries-worth of effort to obscure God
and Christ from mankind will be to no avail, for one day "every tongue shall confess that Jesus
Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father" (Phil. 2: 13).
The fall of Lucifer left a big hole in heaven, so to speak, as he vacated his position of
authority and power as one of three archangels (along with Gabriel and Michael). He also
persuaded one-third of the angels to leave with him in his descent to oblivion. This caused a
radical restructuring of heavenly authority, the faithful angels having to fill the void left in the
rebels' wake. The position Satan left was not easily filled, for he was "the finished pattern"
8. The Hebrew word translated "Lucifer" in Isaiah 14: 12 (KJV) actually means "shining star. " The Latin Vulgate
translated the Hebrew as "Lucifer, " which made its way into the Roman Catholic Douay Version and into the King James
Version.
9. Such an idea is implied by Proverbs 8: 22-31, which describes by the figure of speech personification the role of
"wisdom" as God's companion in Creation. Some element of irony is involved in this passage if we think about Lucifer's
original wisdom, because in the same context, "wisdom" says: "I hate pride and arrogance, evil behavior and perverse
speech. Counsel and sound judgment are mine; I have understanding and power. By me kings reign and rulers make
laws that are just; by me princes govern, and all nobles who rule on earth" (Prov. 8: 13-16). Satan employs his corrupted
"wisdom" to administer his kingdom of darkness, and would not be able to do so except that he also employs his God-
given abilities.

Chapter 3: Jesus Christ: The Purpose of the Ages 59
(mold) when God created him to be his "right hand man. "10 Christ is the new mold, patterning
himself exactly after his Father, as Hebrews 1: 3 communicates. God had given the position to
Lucifer as his "birthright, " so to speak, since he just "woke up" one day as a created being
equipped to the max. It is clear that God had already formulated a plan for filling this position
with another exalted being. But we can surmise that he purposed in his heart that the next time
it would be by someone earning the right to it, someone who would not try to grasp at equality
with Him. The following passage highlights Christ's humility in contrast to Satan's prideful
power-grab.
Philippians 2: 5-8
(5) Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
(6) Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be
grasped,
(7) But made himself nothing [KJV— "of no reputation"], taking the very nature of a
servant, being made in human likeness.
(8) And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient
to death, even death on a cross.
(9) Therefore, God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is
above every name,
(10) That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under
the earth,
(11) and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Clearly, God has exalted His wonderful Son to "the highest place, " a place that is "just like
God, " or functionally equal with God. This is the very place that Lucifer wanted to be, but
because he grabbed for it, he was cast out of heaven. In contrast, Jesus is not concerned with
having personal equality with God as Lucifer was. He is content to serve God in whatever way
and in whatever role God gives him. Because of this humility, God has exalted him as high as
he can exalt someone — to His own right hand, equal in authority, power and dominion with
Himself. As Jesus said in Matthew 28: 18, "all authority in heaven and earth has been given to
me. " The delegation of this authority occurred right after his resurrection, but was realized
when he was seated at the right hand of God after his Ascension.
The authority God has given Christ has placed him in a position of functional equality with
God.
Let's look again at 1 Corinthians 15: 24-28, paying particular attention to the highlighted
phrase in the last verse.
1 Corinthians 15: 24-28 (NASB)
(24) Then comes the end, when He [Christ] delivers up the kingdom to the God and
Father, when He [Christ] has abolished all rule and all authority and power [by
exercising his own].
10 Bullinger, op. cit., Companion text note on Ezekiel 28: 12, p. 1145.

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One God & One Lord
(25) For He [Christ] must reign until He [God, from Ps. 10: 1] has put all His [Christ's]
enemies under His [Christ's] feet.
(26) The last enemy that will be abolished is death.
(27) "For He [God] has put all things in subjection under His [Christ's] feet. " But when
He says "all things are put in subjection, " it is evident that He [God] is excepted who put
all things in subjection to Him [Christ].
(28) And when all things are subjected to Him, then [in the future, not now] the Son
himself will be also be subjected to the One
[God] who subjected all things to Him
[Christ], that God may be all in all.
If the Son will be made subject to God in the future at the end of his Millennial reign on the
earth, the time to which this is referring, then what does that say about his present relationship
with God, his Father? It says that presently Christ is fully authorized as God's appointed agent
of redemption, not subordinate to His Father, but in a functionally equal position. He is in a
relationship with God like the relationship that Joseph had with Pharaoh, personally distinct
from him but reigning with all his authority (we will explore this more fully in the next chapter).
As the result of his resurrection and ascension, Jesus Christ has the privilege to share with God
in the dominion of all His Creation, not only in this, the Church Age, but in the coming ages as
well. 11
In reference to his original splendor, Lucifer was called a "morning star, " which actually
means "shining star. " But he became too bright for his britches. Jesus Christ is referred to in
Revelation 22: 16 as the "BRIGHT morning star, " indicating that he now exceeds Lucifer's
original brilliance because of his virtuous character. By never trying to shine in his own light,
but being content to reflect the Father's brilliance, Jesus has now been blessed by God to be a
luminary of luminaries, shining alongside God at His right hand. God "broke the mold" when
he created Lucifer, but Jesus Christ is patterning himself 'after his Father, as we will see later in
Hebrews 1: 3. What Lucifer sought for and even grabbed at—equality with God—Jesus never
even considered for a moment that it could be his. But since Lucifer's rebellion, God has longed
for one to be his companion and share with Him in His many divine functions. Jesus Christ is
now such a one, a glorious Lord not in anyway competing with the Father, but to cooperate with
Him to His glory.
The question naturally arises at this point in our discussion: how can Jesus function in this
exalted manner, considering that he is still a man? (1 Tim. 2: 5). To answer that, we have to know
something about his new body, and this is what we will explore next.
Two Jobs, Two Bodies
Christ's first body was perfectly suited for carrying out the first aspect of the job of
"Redeemer. " It was not stained with sin nature and yet it could die. Hebrews speaks of this body.
11. Ephesians 1: 21 says that Christ has been given authority "not only in the present age, but also in the one to come. "

Chapter 3: Jesus Christ: The Purpose of the Ages
61
Hebrews 10: 5-7 (NRSV)
(5) Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said: "Sacrifices and offerings
you have not desired, but a body you have prepared for me;
(6) in burnt offerings and sin offerings you have taken no pleasure. "
(7) Then I said, "See, God, I have come to do your will, Ï God" (in the scroll of the books
it is written about me. 12
The "will of God" for Jesus Christ in the "suffering" part of his calling was for him to live an
obedient life and then lay down his life for mankind. His body was therefore prepared as the
perfect sacrifice. What was the will of God for Jesus Christ after his resurrection? It was for him
to be highly exalted and actually reign with God on high, as King David, the Psalmist, had
prophesied.
Psalm 110: 1, 2 (NRSV)
(1) The Lord says to my Lord: "Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies [especially
Satan] your footstool. "
(2) The Lord sends out from Zion your mighty scepter. Rule in the midst of your foes.
The Jews had rightly expected that the Messiah would sit on the throne of David in
Jerusalem and rule the earth in righteousness. It was this session on the Davidic throne that the
Jews were avidly anticipating at the time of Christ's earthly ministry. But Psalm 110 referred to
a time of an even greater exaltation — literally sitting at the right hand of God.
Clearly, to be able to perform in this exalted capacity, he would need to have a correspond-
ingly exalted body. Reading between the lines of Psalm 110: 1 and 2, we see that part of Christ's
job is to subdue his "enemies" with God's help, but he did not subdue his enemies when he
came the first time. In fact, his enemies subdued him, at least that is how it looked. In his
resurrected glorification, however, he is able to subdue all things to himself (Phil 2: 21). He is
presently working to destroy the works of his chief enemy, Satan, even as Genesis 3: 15 had
prophesied. Furthermore, he is empowering his people against the enemy as well. Ephesians
6: l Off indicates that there is a spiritual war raging all about us, and to successfully stand we must
be "strong in the Lord, " that is, rely on his strength in us.
So it stands to reason that part of what would equip Christ for his next assignment, ruling
and reigning with God in heaven itself, was his having a body equal to the task. To begin with,
this body would have to be equipped with the ability to transcend the physical limitations of
earth bound existence. Five verses in Hebrews and one in Ephesians point to Christ's passage
12. Note that the Messiah speaks of "God" in verse 7 as one wholly other to himself, and the One whose will he came
to do. This is the same truth communicated in verse 8 of the same chapter, when it says "thy God, " meaning that even
in Messiah's exalted position, he is to recognize God's personal superiority. His position involves only functional
equality with God. When speaking to Mary Magdalene in one of his post-resurrection appearances, he said, "I am
returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God" (John 20: 17).

62
One God & One Lord
through "the heavens, " or the physical universe, into "heaven itself, " a spiritual place where God
and angels dwell. 13
Hebrews 1: 3b (NRSV)
When he had made purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the majesty on
high
[i. e., in heaven.
Hebrews 4: 14 (NRSV)
Since, then, we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the
Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession.
Hebrews 7: 26 (NRSV)
For it was fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, blameless, undefiled,
separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens.
Hebrews 8: 1 (NRSV)
Now the main point of what we are saying is this: we have such a high priest, one who
is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens.
Hebrews 9: 24 (NRSV)
(24) For Christ did not enter a sanctuary made my human hands, a mere copy of the true
one, but he entered into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our
behalf.
Ephesians 4: 8-10 (NRSV)
(8) Therefore it is said, "When he ascended on high, he made captivity itself a captive;
he gave gifts to his people. "
(9) (When it says, "he ascended, " what does mean but that he had also descended into
the lower parts of the earth?
(10) He who descended is the same one who ascended far above all the heavens, so that
he might fill all things [NIV"the whole universe. ")
So Christ now reigns in heaven in his resurrected body, which has been perfectly designed
for him to function as God's right-hand man. He "fills" the hole in heaven left by the departing
Serpent and his brood of vipers. He also now reigns over the Church as its Head, and he will
appear again from heaven to literally rule the earth from Jerusalem for 1, 000 years. At the end
of that time, he will destroy Satan and his associates, cast death and hell into the lake of fire and,
having vanquished all enemies, enjoy the final Paradise that is his reward. Amazingly, we who
have believed in him will enjoy it along with him, our wonderful Redeemer.
13. The Bible distinguishes between "the heavens," which refer to the physical universe, and "Heaven, " which often
refers to the spiritual home of God and angels. The entirety of the heavens is spoken of metaphorically as God's
"throne, " and the earth as his "footstool. "

Chapter 3: Jesus Christ: The Purpose of the Ages
63
Jesus Christ: The Diameter of the Ages
The first three verses in the Book of Hebrews clearly define the greatness of Jesus Christ as
the "Purpose of the Ages. " They are a kind of capsulation of most of the Old Testament and the
Four Gospels, summarizing God's communication to mankind from His calling of the nation of
Israel to His exaltation of Jesus Christ as Lord. They provide a fitting introduction to our
examination of Jesus Christ as He is revealed in the Old Testament and the Four Gospels, as well
as in the Book of Acts and the Church Epistles. Let us begin with the first two verses:
Hebrews 1: 1-2 (NRSV)
(1) Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways through the
prophets,
(2) but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son, whom he appointed heir of all
things, through [dia] whom he also created the worlds [ages]. 14
Clearly, the essence of these verses is that God has communicated to man by the spoken
Word, by the written Word and finally by the created and living Word, His Son Jesus Christ.
Verse two is sometimes used to attempt to prove that Jesus is the Creator, but a closer look at
it in its context reveals the error of this assumption. 15 Critical to this examination is the key
Greek preposition, dia, of which E. W. Bullinger states:
14. It is unfortunate that the King James Version usually renders the Greek word aion as "world, " because it leaves the
reader with the idea of place instead of time. The word aion means "an age, or a period of time. " From it, we get the
corresponding English word " eon. " Galatians 1: 4 speaks of Jesus rescuing us from "this present evil age. " This brings
up two questions: what is the duration of this present age and why is it evil? The answers are closely related. In Luke
4: 6, while the Devil was tempting Jesus, he told Jesus that all the kingdoms of the world were his to give because they
had been "delivered unto him. " Jesus did not dispute this claim because he knew it was true. Had it not been true,
Satan's offer would not have been a temptation to Christ. When the first Adam originally disobeyed God, he lost his God-
given dominion and authority over the Earth. Thus, began the" present evil age, " and it will not end until the Last Adam
comes again and takes back this dominion and authority by force. In the meantime, Satan is referred to as the "god of
this age" (2 Cor. 4: 4). While living in this present evil age, each Christian is encouraged to not be "conformed to this age"
(Rom. 12: 2), but to be transformed by the renewing of his mind. Hebrews 1: 2 is also badly mistranslated in the New
International Version,
which otherwise correctly translates aion as "age. " The very trinitarian NIV there renders aion
as "universe, " because they believe that as "God the Son, " Jesus was in on the original Genesis creation. For a thorough
explanation of this verse, see Appendix A.
15. The phrase "Through whom he made the universe" has been repeatedly used to support the doctrine of the Trinity,
when it actually does not. The points made by J. S. Hyndman in 1824 are still valid today:
"Through whom he made the worlds. " It is really curious to observe the confidence with which this
passage is brought forward in support of the idea that Jesus not only existed before he appeared as a man, but
also that he created the material universe. The preposition which is here used in connection with epoisen ["he
made"] is dia, which universally denotes instrumental agency, by way of distinction from hypo, which is almost
universally used to signify primary or original causation. Supposing, then, that the notion of creation is conveyed
by the original of the word translated "made, " and supposing also that "world" is a correct translation of the
Greek noun which occurs in the passage, what, I ask, would be the doctrine of the words? Would it be that the
Son created the world as an original artificer? Surely not; but that God created it by the agency or means of Jesus
Christ.

64
One God & One Lord
The word "through" is the Greek word dia, which when used with the genitive case:
"... has the general sense of through... From the ideas of space and time, dia... denotes
any cause by means of which an action passes to its accomplishment... hence, it denotes
the passing through whatever is interposed between the beginning and end of such
action. 16
Jesus Christ is the "diameter of the ages"; he is the golden thread woven throughout the
royal tapestry of truth. He was in the mind and plan of God when Satan rebelled, when the first
Adam sinned and all throughout the Old Testament as God patiently worked to preserve and
protect his line of descent, the Christ line. Finally, the Redeemer was born and then lived his life
flawlessly. As the exalted Lord, he will eventually bring to pass the complete redemption of
Creation. Jesus Christ is the fulcrum and focus of history, which is really "His - story. " In
commissioning His Son as the Redeemer of mankind, God "put all His eggs in one basket, " so
to speak. Only Jesus Christ, the Last Adam, could do His will of redeeming Creation, and it would
require the "ages" to consummate this master plan. As the focal point of the ages, Jesus Christ
is the cause or the "means" through (dia=by means of) which God's plan is being accomplished.
Regarding God's plan of redemption through Jesus Christ, Hebrews 1: 3 magnificently sets
forth vital information concerning who, how and what. To see the depth of redemption relative
to this entire study, a number of words in verse 3 must be examined. First, we will look at five
words in the first sentence:
Hebrews 1: 3
The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being,
sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins,
he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.
In the above verse, the word "radiance" is translated from the Greek word apaugasma,
which Thayer translates as "reflected brightness. " Thayer goes on to say that Christ is called this
because "he perfectly reflects the majesty of God. " 17
This verse is parallel in the mode of its phraseology to the first verse. Now, as when it is said, "God spake
through the Son, " the universal doctrine of the New Testament is expressed respecting the source of our Savior's
knowledge, viz., that it was derived from Him who was greater than he, and that he was not the original fountain
of his communications. So when it is said, "God made the worlds through his Son, " it is no less clear and no less
incontrovertible that all that is attributed to Jesus in the passage is an agency that is secondary and subordinate
to that of the Supreme. Indeed, as in the former sentence, so in this, the very form and structure of the
phraseology are more than sufficient to determine this point....
Not in fact to admit that the words, "through whom also he made the world, " convey the idea of
instrumental agency in the Son, is either to make the sentence perfectly unintelligible or absurd...
The proper and literal rendering of aiones, translated "worlds, " is ages or dispensations. This is its natural
and only proper meaning. It is so translated in almost all its occurrences in the New Testament, and in many
instances must be so as to make sense and coherency in the sentences with which it stands connected.
J. S. Hyndman, Lectures on the Principles of Unitarianism (Alnwick, 1824. Reprinted by CES, Indianapolis, IN,
1994), p. 125-127. (For more information on Hebrews 1: 2, see Appendix A).
16. Bullinger, op. cit, Companion, Appendix 104.

Chapter 3: Jesus Christ: The Purpose of the Ages 65
The word "glory" is defined as referring to "not the object itself, but the appearance of the
object that attracts attention. " 18 An apple may be nothing special, but a highly polished,
glistening apple would stand out in a bowl of other apples and attract attention. A man may be
nothing special, but The Man Jesus Christ shined among other men and attracted much
attention.
"Exact representation" is charakter, which is found only in Hebrews 1: 3. The word is
derived from the verb charasso, meaning "to cut in, to engrave. " The word means the exact
impression as when metal is pressed into a die, or as a seal upon wax. 19 Charakter is "a
distinctive sign, trait, type, or form, the image impressed as corresponding exactly with the
original or pattern. " 20 Jesus Christ has earned and been given the distinction of being the
perfect representative of Almighty God. As we saw in Chapter 2 in connection with the Greek
word eikon, Adam was designed to be the image, or the representative of God, but in large part
disqualified himself by his disobedience. In contrast, Christ has, by virtue of his faithful
obedience, continued to pattern himself after his Father.
"Being" is translated from the Greek word hupostasis, which appears four other places (2
Cor. 9: 4; 11: 17; Heb. 3: 14; 11: 1). It means "a substructure, what really exists under or out of sight,
the essence of a matter in contrast to its appearance. "21 Its use in Greek literature supports this
definition, as it indicates "the reality behind appearances. " Its use in the Septuagint (a Greek
translation of the Hebrew Old Testament) gives it the essence of a "plan" or "purpose. "22 This
is added support for the idea that Jesus Christ is the "purpose of the ages. "
The first part of Hebrews 1: 3 may then be paraphrased as follows:
Jesus Christ is the reflection of God's power. He is the extraordinary Man whose
appearance attracts attention. He radiates the character of God to the world, being the
exact impression of God's heart. The invisible God is the unseen foundation upon
which Jesus Christ built His life. God is the Author of the master plan of salvation, and
Jesus Christ is the Agent who is carrying it out.
The remainder of verse 3 illustrates how he does so, and what he is accomplishing for
mankind. The next clause to consider is, "sustaining all things by his [Jesus Christ's] powerful
word. " Jesus Christ is bringing to pass God's plan by his steadfast adherence to God's Word. He
continues to adhere faithfully to God's plan for the Church Age. A mirror turned toward the sun
will reflect its light very brightly, but if the mirror is turned away from the source of light, there
17. Joseph Thayer, The New Thayer's Greek - English Lexicon of the New Testament (Associated Publishers and Authors,
Lafayette, IN, 1979), p. 55.
18. Bullinger, op. cit., Lexicon, p. 323.
19.  Ibid., Lexicon, p. 401.
-
20.  Ibid., p. 401.
21.  Ibid., p. 582.
22.  Gerhard Kittel, op. cit., Theological Dictionary, Vol. VIII, pp. 578-82.

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One God & One Lord
will be no reflection, even though the sun is still shining. Even at the right hand of God, Jesus
Christ keeps the countenance of his life fixed upon his heavenly Father, and always reflects
God's light.
The next clause in Hebrews 1: 3 —"after he had provided purification for sins"—shows
what the Redeemer brought to pass by his faithfulness in acting upon the Word of God. When
mankind's potential purification was complete, Jesus Christ sat down at the right hand of God.
The purification of man's sins, and Jesus Christ taking his seat of authority on high, were
completed once and for all. What this action accomplished for those who believe on him will
be fully known only at his appearing.
While accomplishing the everlasting redemption of people who choose to believe on his
name, Jesus Christ set a unique example of victorious day - by - day living. In so doing, he
declared God to the world. Today, Jesus Christ is no longer on the earth, but those who are born
again have "Christ" in them by way of holy spirit, his divine nature, and they can by Christ like
faithfulness to God's Word manifest a similar attractive radiance. Each believer today can rise
above the mediocrity of worldly men and shine extraordinarily to the end that his life is also a
glory to God.
It is in the "face" of our Lord Jesus that we most clearly see the glory of God. Though we
do not have a physical image of his "face, " we are able to study his life and attributes in God's
Word and get to know him in that way. We are also able to have a personal relationship with him
via the gift of holy spirit. This is why, for successful Christian living, it is absolutely imperative
that we dwell in the heart of our wonderful Savior day by day, making his attitude our attitude.
The more we know and love the Lord Jesus, the more we know, love and glorify God, our Father.
One God & One Lord
Let us now cite another key passage of Scripture that corroborates the truths we just saw
in Hebrews 1: 1-4, and which also contains the thesis verse of this book.
1 Corinthians 8: 4-6
(4) So then, about eating food sacrificed to idols: We know that an idol is nothing at all
in the world and that there is no God but one.
(5) For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as indeed there
are many "gods" and many "lords"),
(6) Yet for us there is but ONE GOD, the Father, from whom all things came and for
whom we live
; and there is but ONE LORD, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came
and through whom we live.
Notice that the context in which verse 6 is found is specifically regarding the worshipping
of idols, that is, false gods. Paul states that among the polytheistic heathen there are many gods
and many lords, and he then draws a clear contrast between pagan polytheism and Christian
monotheism [belief in only one God]. This expression of monotheism involves an absolute

Chapter 3: Jesus Christ: The Purpose of the Ages
67
distinction between "God" and Jesus Christ, precluding the idea that Jesus Christ could be
"God" in the same sense that the Father is "God. "23 In one of many clear identity statements
that define who "God" is, verse 6 clearly says that the only true "God" is "the Father. " 24 John
17: 3 also teaches this truth by recording the words of Jesus himself when he referred to God, his
Father, as "the only true God. " In light of the clarity of these verses, we marvel that so many
Christians can accept the orthodox teaching that Jesus is "true God from true God" as the
Nicene Creed propounds. Verse 6 is, in reality, a classic summation of the heart of true
Christianity. Let us look at it again, this time in more detail.
1 Corinthians 8: 6
Yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from [ek= "out from"] whom all things came
and for [eis= "unto"] whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through [dia]
whom all things came and through [dia] whom we live.
Please bear with us as we review a bit of basic grammar and parts of speech, carefully
noticing the precise use of the prepositions in this verse. Prepositions are like signposts that
direct the meaning of a passage. Notice the distinct and separate use of the Greek prepositions
ek in relation to God and dia in relation to Christ. This should arrest our attention and keep us
from speeding past these important signs on our way to a preconceived idea (and maybe getting
a ticket for violating the laws of logic). Ek indicates something coming out from its source or
origin, and indicates motion from the interior. 25 Remember this last phrase, because it is central
to understanding the precision of this verse. In other words, all things came out from the loving
heart of God, or God's "interior, " so to speak. This agrees with Genesis 1: 1, which says, "In the
beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. " Both verses say that the source of "all things"
is the one true God, the Creator of the heavens and earth and the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The NIV translation of the next clause related to God—"and for whom we live"—contains
a fabulous truth. In the Greek text, there is no word for "live, " and the word "for" is the word eis,
usually translated "unto. " When used with the accusative case, eis means "into, unto, to,
implying motion to the interior. "26 It is saying, in essence, that "we were evicted, but He let us
move back in. " We are reconciled to God. How? Through (dia) the agency of Christ. Jesus is like
23. Of course we do not dispute the fact that theos is apparently used in relation to Christ in a few verses of scripture,
most notably John 1: 1; 20: 28 and Hebrews 1: 8 (for more information on these verses see Appendix A). As Jesus himself
acknowledged, in John 8: 34 and 35, Scripture employs a usage of "god" that is equivalent to "God's human represen-
tative. " What we object to is the way many Trinitarians equivocate the term "God" to mean "God the Father as distinct
from God the Son. " In the vast majority of the cases, the word "God" is used of the one - and - only true God who is also
the Father of Jesus Christ. Understood without the equivocation, the term "God" logically excludes" the Son of God, "
Jesus Christ. Without equivocating the term "God, " how can anyone argue that anyone can be both "God" and "the Son
of God" at the same time. See Appendix K.
24. See also Rom. 1: 7; 1 Cor. 1: 3; 15: 24; 2Cor. 1: 2, 3; ll: 31; Gal. 1: 1, 3, 4; Eph. 1: 2, 3, 17; 4: 6; 5: 20; 6: 23; Phil. 1: 2; IThess. 1: 1, 3,
James 3: 9, et al.
25.  Bullinger, op. cit, Lexicon, p. 308.
26.  Ibid., p. 403.

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a rental agent who paid our back rent and restored our relationship with the landlord. Or he is
like the sports agent who wins a fabulous contract for us even after we've had a terrible year.
In John 14: 6, Jesus said: "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes unto the
Father except through [dia] me, " i. e., through my agency. In other words, the Holy God is on the
other side of an immense chasm separating Him from sinful man. Without the agency of Jesus
Christ, the Messiah, spanning the chasm by means of his atoning sacrifice and resurrection, we
would be forever consigned to falling short of reaching God with our pathetic religious works
and good intentions.
As we have now seen several times, the preposition associated with the Lord Jesus Christ
is dia, meaning "through. " Are we seeing a pattern here? A diameter is a straight line running
all the way from a point on one side of the circle through the center to a point on the other side
of the circle. God is the point on one side and man is the point on the other. The Man Jesus Christ
is the Mediator, the straight line, between God and men (1 Tim. 2: 5). He is "the bridge over
troubled waters. " He is The Way all the way unto the Father. Lo and behold, that is what the last
part of 1 Corinthians 8: 6 says, that through (dia) the one Lord, Jesus Christ, all things come from
God to us, and through him we come unto God. How could God make any plainer the truth that
He, the Father, is the one true God, and that His Son Jesus Christ is the Lord through whom He
worked to accomplish the redemption of mankind? The Lord Jesus is the one and only agent of
redemption, and the one "basket" in which God put all his "eggs. "
The "Dynamic Duo"
Since God and Christ are working together so intimately, we have taken the liberty of
calling them "the Dynamic Duo. " This phrase communicates to us the fact that both God and
Jesus Christ are involved in our lives and the process of redemption. Building upon the
foundation we have laid from 1 Corinthians 8: 6, let us see further biblical evidence of this One
God, One Lord paradigm.
Ephesians 4: 4-6 (NRSV)
(4) There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your
calling;
(5) One Lord, one faith, one baptism;
(6) One God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.
This section also marks out a distinct separation between the one Lord, Jesus Christ, and
the one God, the Father. We also see the elevation of the Father as the one to whom all glory is
due as the Source of "all, " and Who is over, through and in "all. " Note also the precise identity
established between "God" and "the Father. " There is no other true God beside "the Father. "
And the Son is not "God, " but he is "Lord. "
Every one of the Church Epistles begins with the salutation, "Grace and peace from God
the Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. " This fits with 1 Corinthians 8: 6, which states that there

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is "one God the Father, and one Lord Jesus Christ. " One plus one equals two. In Scripture, the
number two denotes either division and distinction or establishment and confirmation. 27 In
fact, without a distinction between two things, there could be no confirmation of one by the
other. Regarding the relationship between God and Christ, the number two indicates both a
separation and connection. The connecting word, "and, " in itself indicates the distinction
between God and Christ.
It is very important for us to see clearly the relationship between the one God, the Father,
the Author of salvation, and the one Lord, Jesus Christ, the Agent of salvation.
Romans 15: 8 (NRSV)
For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the circumcised (i. e., Jews) on behalf
of truth of God, in order that he might confirm the promises [that God] given to the
patriarchs
This verse says that Jesus Christ came to confirm God's promises to Israel, coming along
as Number Two behind God, who is Numero Uno, and who made the original promises to Israel.
What other verses can we find to clarify the distinction and the cohesion of "the Dynamic
Duo?"
1 Timothy 2: 5 (NRSV)
For there is one God; there is also one mediator between God and humankind, the man
Christ Jesus, himself human
By definition, a "mediator" is a separate person from each of the two parties between
whom he mediates (Gal. 3: 20). Jesus Christ is separate from God because he is a man, and he
is separate from sinful mankind because he is God's only-begotten Son who had no sin nature
and lived a sinless life. If Adam and his descendants had remained sinless, they would have had
no need for a mediator. The introduction of sin into the life of mankind necessitated the
mediation of a sinless man. Of course, Jesus knew this, as evidenced by what he prayed shortly
before his death:
John 17: 3 (NRSV)
And this is eternal life [life in the coming age], that they may know you, the only true
God, and Jesus Christ
, whom you have sent.
27. E. W. Bullinger discusses the significance of the number two in his classic work on numbers in Scripture:
We now come to the spiritual significance of the number Two. We have seen that One excludes all
difference, and denotes that which is sovereign. But Two affirms that there is a difference — there is another,
while ONE affirms that there is not another! This difference may be for good or for evil... The number Two takes
a two - fold colouring, according to the context. It is the first number by which we can divide another, and
therefore in all its uses we may trace this fundamental idea of division or difference. The two may be, though
different in character, yet one as to testimony and friendship. "
Number In Scripture, Its Supernatural Design And Spiritual Significance, (Kregel Publications, Grand Rapids, MI,
1971), p. 92-106.

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Jesus referred to his Father as the only true God, and understood that God commissioned
him as the agent of salvation. As the Head of the Church, the Lord Jesus works with our heavenly
Father to direct the functions of its members and to help us carry them out, as the following
verses make clear.
2 Thessalonians 2: 16, 17 (NRSV)
(16) May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and through
grace gave us eternal comfort and good hope,
(17) comfort your hearts and strengthen them in every good work and word.
Another verse, perhaps somewhat "obscure" but nonetheless relevant to our context here,
clearly illustrates the distinction and cohesion between God and His Son, as well as the
conspicuous absence of a "third person. "
2 John 9 (NRSV)
Every one who does not abide in the teaching of Christ, but goes beyond it, does not
have God; whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son.
Another passage that makes the distinction between God and Christ is 1 Corinthians
15: 24-28. The distinction between God and Christ in this section is so abundantly plain that
even in the text itself it is called "clear. " Here the Word of God vividly declares the relationship
between God and Jesus Christ as it relates to Christ having accomplished all the work God sent
him to do and finally being made subject to God as His co-ruler on the new earth. We will quote
this passage again from the perspective of the clear separation between the two, identifying to
whom each pronoun is referring. The way to determine the referent of the pronouns is to
remember from Psalm 110: 1 and 2 that God is the one who puts everything under Christ's feet,
including his enemies. He gives Christ the authority to reign for a time, until his enemies are
subdued.
1 Corinthians 15: 24-28
(24) Then the end will come, when he [Christ] hands over the kingdom to God, the
Father, after he [Christ] has destroyed all dominion, authority and power.
(25) For he [Christ] must reign until he [God] has put all his [Christ's] enemies under his
[Christ's] feet.
(26) The last enemy to be destroyed is death.
(27) For he [God] "has put everything under his [Christ's] feet. " Now when it says that
"everything" has been put under him [Christ], it is CLEAR that this does not include
God himself, who put everything under Christ.

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(28) When he [Christ] has done this, then the Son himself will be made subject to him
[God] who put everything under him [Christ], so that God may be all in all. 28
This passage contains echoes of another passage of Scripture that we looked at in the
previous chapter in connection with the privilege extended to mankind. The language is
applied to Christ, who, as we have discussed, is fulfilling mankind's destiny and privilege.
Psalm 8: 3-8 (NASB)
(3) When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which
thou hast ordained;
(4) what is man that you dost take thought of him? And the son of man, that thou dost
care for him?
(5) thou hast made him a little lower than God, and dost crown him with glory and
majesty.
(6) Thou dost make him to rule over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things
under his feet,
(7) all all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field,
(8) the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes through the paths
of the seas.
A verse in the last chapter of the Bible corresponds with the Corinthians verses, and forever
fixes the relationship of the "Dynamic Duo. "
28. One of the reasons we quote this passage repeatedly is that it so clearly defines the relationship between God and
Christ in both person and function. As such, it is very difficult for Trinitarian theologians to interpret in a way that is
honest to the text. A stunning example of how a Trinitarian bias can color what would otherwise be an obvious
interpretation of a passage is found in the NIV Study Bible note on the phrase "the Son himself will be made subject to
him" (1 Cor. 15: 28). The NIV editors attempt to elevate the Son with a distinction between person and function that,
in effect, demeans the personal superiority of the Father:
The Son will be made subject to the Father in the sense that administratively [ i. e., functionally], after he
subjects all things to his power, he will then turn it all over to God the Father, the administrative head. This is
not to suggest that the Son is in any way inferior to the Father. All three persons of the Trinity are equal in deity
and in dignity [ i. e., they have personal equality]. The subordination referred to is one of function. The Father
is supreme in the Trinity |but only in a functional sense]; the Son carries out the Father's will (e. g., in creation,
redemption); the Spirit is sent by the Father and the Son to vitalize life, communicate God's truth, apply His
salvation to people and enable them to obey God's will (or word).
This explanation is arbitrary. There is no mention of "equality in deity but difference in function" in these verses.
The text is clear as it stands — the Son will be subject to "God" (not "the Father"). Simply reading the verses reveals the
separation between "God" and Christ, and also reveals the superiority of God over Christ. The editorial bias of the NIV
editors is further revealed when, after the passage in 1 Corinthians 15: 24-28 has clearly separated "God" from "Christ, "
with no mention of "the Holy Spirit, " they equivocate the term "God" to mean "the Triune God, " instead of the God
whose identity is "the Father of Jesus Christ, " who is clearly the one in view. They then comment on the phrase "so that
God may be all in all, " as follows: " The triune God will be shown to be supreme and sovereign in all things. "

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Revelation 22: 3
No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city,
and his servants will serve him. 29
Hebrews 1: Christ's
Superiority over the Angels
Another important aspect of Christ as the cornerstone of our faith is his supremacy in
heaven since his resurrection. This idea naturally and logically follows from the idea that Christ
is functionally equal to God, because since God is obviously the highest authority in heaven, if
he delegates that authority to someone, that person will share supremacy with God and reign
over everyone else. Because Christ has been resurrected and has ascended into heaven, he now
has authority and supremacy over the angels, as the following verse makes clear.
1 Peter 3: 21b, 22
It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at God's
right hand — with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him.
Christ's present superiority over the angels is also the subject of a detailed argument found
in Hebrews 1: 4-14, which we will now go through verse by verse, visiting other corroborating
parts of Scripture as appropriate.
Hebrews 1: 4 (NRSV)
Having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more
excellent than theirs.
We know that Christ became superior to the angels after his resurrection, because of what
is written in the very next chapter of Hebrews:
Hebrews 2: 9
But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, NOW [ i. e., since his
resurrection] crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the
grace of God he might taste death for everyone.
If he was to perform his earthly ministry as God desired, Jesus had to be made a man and
not an angel. But, as he was made "a little lower" than the angels before his resurrection, he was
29. Certainly, if there were any such thing as a "Trinity, " then all three persons should be present on this august
occasion. "God the Holy Spirit" would also be included in all of the above verses we have considered, such as greeting
the churches, etc. But, absolutely, "He" would have to be there on the final throne, or the "Godhead" would be
incomplete. The truth is that there is but ONE GOD and ONE LORD, and they will together rule over a literal and
physical "new creation, " in fulfillment of God's original dream and plan.

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made "a little higher" than they after it. As spirit beings, angels are not subject to the laws of
physics. They fly without wings, appear and disappear at will, speak from the center of burning
shrubs, comfort heroic believers thrown into giant furnaces, and often minister miraculously
to those who "will inherit salvation" (Heb. 1: 14). 30
In contrast to angels, the first body that Jesus had was a distinctly physical body, and
therefore subject to the laws of physics. He was subject to gravity because his body had real
mass, hunger because his body burned food for energy, and physical exhaustion because, due
to the law of inertia, energy must be continually applied to keep any physical object moving in
space. When he wanted to go somewhere, he had to walk, and he got tired from journeying. His
body needed rest, food and sleep as any human being's body does. When he got a splinter in
his finger while working in his carpentry shop, it hurt, and it bled. When he was beaten and
crucified, his body went into shock and finally he died like any other human body.
But, when Christ was raised from the dead, he was given a glorious body that enabled him
to do everything that angels do and more. He is apparently no longer limited to the laws of
physics as we understand them. He "passed through" the heavens in an instant, rather than at
the speed of light. If he were a true "physical" being, as defined by the present laws of physics,
he could travel no faster than the speed of light, and would just now be approaching the galaxies
that are relatively close to the earth — a mere 2, 000 light years away! He passed through locked
doors to greet the disciples who were huddled there in fear. He transformed his appearance so
he would be recognizable or unrecognizable. In short, it appears that he can now do everything
that angels do.
Yet, his body retains some kind of physicality, for Jesus specifically said that he is not "a
spirit" (NIV — "ghost"): "For a ghost [i. e., a true spirit being] does not have flesh and bones, as
you see I have" (Luke 24: 38). Besides having flesh and bones, he also has a digestive system,
because he ate fish with the disciples, and as he stated, he will eat and drink with them again in
the future kingdom. He encouraged Thomas to actually touch him to prove to himself that it
was really he. And a particularly intriguing aspect of his new, glorious body is that it still bears
the wounds of his injuries on the Cross — the nail prints in his hands and feet and the hole in his
side, yet without blood. 31
The first stage of Christ's "glory" was his resurrection from the dead, which represented
a qualitative new beginning of his life. Every other person who had ever been raised from the
dead, like Lazarus in John 11, got up with the same body. Jesus is the only person who got up
with a wholly different body. It is highly noteworthy to us that although Jesus had been
conceived divinely and born of Mary more than 30 years earlier through the normal processes
30. Despite their various mysterious aspects, we do know one thing about angels biblically — they are not dead humans'.
See Is There Death After Life? published by CES.
31. It is a matter of intriguing speculation as to what animates his new body. We see a connection with 1 Corinthians
15: 45 which calls the Last Adam a "life-giving spirit. " It appears that he has "life in himself (John 5: 26), instead of having
life "in his blood, " which is characteristic of human and animal life in this present heaven and earth.

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(her pregnancy, grunting, labor pains, etc.), his resurrection is also spoken of as a birthday!32
This we can see from the next verse in the first chapter of Hebrews.
Hebrews 1: 5 (NRSV)
For to which of the angels did God ever say, "You are my Son; today I have begotten
you"? Or again, "I will be his Father, and he will be my Son"?
The phrase, "today I have begotten you" is a citation of a phrase that first appeared in the
second Psalm, in connection with the Messiah's future rulership of the earth.
Psalm 2: 7-9 (NRSV)
(7) I will tell of the decree of the Lord: He said to me, "You are my Son; today I have
begotten you.
(8) Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your
possession.
(9) You shall break them with a rod of iron, and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.
Though the Jewish commentators at that time would have been hard pressed to see any
connection between this phrase and the resurrection of the Messiah, it was clearly referring to
it, as is seen in the Apostle Paul's use of it in his discourse to the Jews in Antioch of Pisidia.
Acts 13: 32, 33 (NRSV)
And we bring you the good news that what God promised to our ancestors he has
fulfilled for us, their children, by raising Jesus [from the dead]; as also it is written in the
second Psalm, "You are my Son; today I have begotten you. "
What do we have here but the exulting of a Father at the "birth" of His Son ("Gabriel,
Michael, have a cigar!"). Only this time His Son was not "begotten" to be sacrificed — he was
raised from the dead to reign. That was something for the Father to shout about! We will now
see from the next verse in Hebrews 1 that the term "firstborn" occurs in connection with his
resurrection.
Hebrews 1: 6 (NRSV)
And again, when he [God] brings the firstborn into the world, he says, "Let all God's
angels worship him. "
32. Trinitarian theologians who stress the "incarnation" of Christ as the cornerstone of Christianity cannot truly
explain why Scripture would place such a high value on his resurrection, new body, seating at the right hand of God and
being given "all authority" in heaven. To them, his incarnation represents the defining event of his life in eternity, when
he divested himself of his pre - incarnate divinity and took on human flesh for a time. According to this thinking, his
resurrection should then be the moment when he returns to the glory he had before his incarnation, including the
authority that he had in heaven over angels as a co-equal member of the Trinity. We believe that the fact that Scripture
places great emphasis on his resurrection is wonderful proof that he did not pre-exist his birth.

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How do we know that this particular "birth" is referring to his resurrection? By the context
and because Hebrews 1: 5 speaks of Christ's "birth" being his resurrection, this sets the context
of verse 6, which also speaks of Christ being brought into the world. Also, at his first birth, the
angels did not worship the baby. They worshiped God who brought him forth! This is evident
in the only record in the Four Gospels where angels appeared at Christ's birth.
Luke 2: 13, 14 (NRSV)
(13) And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising
God
and saying,
(14) Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he
favors.
The "birth" that is spoken of in Hebrews 1: 5 and 6 is referring to the resurrection of God's
son from the dead. At his first birth, Christ was inferior to angels, whom God made to be glorious
messengers and divine representatives:
Hebrews 1: 7 (NRSV)
Of the angels he says, "He makes his angels winds, and his servants flames of fire. "
Though angels are glorious, Jesus Christ's glory has exceeded theirs ever since he took his
place at the right hand of God after his resurrection. As the Son of God, he has the rights and
privileges of the firstborn, something never offered to the angels, as verse 5 above makes plain.
And since, by grace, we believers in Christ are "joint-heirs" with him (Rom. 8: 17; Eph. 3: 6), we
are therefore entitled to the same rights and privileges— including having the same kind of
glorious body in the future — as the following verses indicates.
Philippians 3: 20, 21 (NRSV)
(20) But our citizenship is in heaven, and it is from there that we are expecting a Savior,
the Lord Jesus Christ.
(21) He will transform the body of our humiliation that it may be conformed to the body
of his glory, by the power that also enables him to make all things subject to himself.
Thus, we also share in the benefits of the heavenly citizenship that is now ours because we
are members of Christ's figurative "body, " the Christian Church (Eph. 1: 22, 23). 1 Corinthians
15: 45-49 also speaks of the "splendor" of the heavenly body that Christ received at his resurrec-
tion, and which we will receive also. It is a "spiritual" body that is in some ways physical, but
nevertheless imperishable — meaning not subject to physical decay.
1 Corinthians 15: 40-49 (NRSV)
(40) There are both heavenly bodies and earthly bodies; but the glory of the heavenly is
one thing, and that of the earthly is another.
(41) There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon and another glory of
the stars; indeed, star differs from star in glory.

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One God & One Lord
(42) So it is with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable, what is raised
is imperishable,
(43) It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in
power;
(44) It is sown a physical body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a physical body,
there is also a spiritual body.
(45) Thus it is written: "The first man, Adam, became a living being"; the Last Adam
became a life-giving spirit.
(46) But it is not the spiritual that is first, but the physical, and then the spiritual.
(47) The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven.
(48) As was the man of dust, so are those who are of the dust; and as is the man from
heaven, so are those who are of heaven.
(49) Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we will also bear the image of
the man of heaven.
We assume from this passage that in the new heaven and earth, God is going to change the
very laws of physics, based upon the prototype of Christ's new body. This new body is based
upon new principles and physical laws that are well above our limited capacity to understand
in our present bodies. But someday in the future we will know fully even as we are fully known
(1 Cor. 13: 12).
Hebrews 1 continues to assert the superiority of the Son over angels.
Hebrews 1: 8, 9 (NRSV)
(8) But of the Son he says: "Your throne, Ï God, 33 is forever and ever [ i. e., for a long time],
and the righteous scepter is the scepter of your kingdom.
(9) You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has
anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions.
Christ's "companions" in this context include angels, who are subordinate to him and yet
dwell with him in heaven in the presence of God. Because he is superior to them, everything that
an angel can do, Jesus can do in his new body, and more. But because they are on the same
spiritual plane of existence, the idea of companionship is appropriate.
33. Hebrews 1: 8 is often used to attempt to prove that Jesus is "God" in some intrinsic sense, equal to God by virtue of
his "incarnation. " But the context is clearly his post-resurrection "Sonship" and exaltation to the right hand of God,
where he is granted the privilege to rule and reign alongside God. As God's representative and empowered agent, he
is spoken of as "God, " following an established biblical pattern. Notice in verse 9 that though Christ is a kind of "God, "
(meaning "God - like") he still has a God to whom he is accountable, namely the one true God, his Father. See Appendix
A (Hebrews 1: 8).

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Hebrews 1: 13 (NRSV)
But to which of the angels has he [God] ever said, "Sit at my right hand until I make your
enemies a footstool for your feet"?
Finally, verse 13 lays the capstone on this magnificent section of Scripture that has by this
time firmly established two facts. First, Christ is superior to the angels, and second, this
superiority occurred after his resurrection, ascension and exaltation. From this exalted posi-
tion, he is currently in the process of completing the redemption prophesied in Genesis 3: 15,
wherein we find the purpose for which the Redeemer would come, a purpose of the ages. This
purpose encompasses the entire redemption of heaven and earth, fills the vacuum in heaven
created by the loss of an archangel and one third of the angels, and involves Christ sitting in a
place that Lucifer could conceive of but did not have the humility to be exalted to — functional
equality with God!
These truths are corroborated in Colossians 1 in a section of Scripture that also speaks of
the supremacy of Christ, and one to which we will be returning often in this book. This
magnificent passage will harmonize with the many verses that we have examined in this
chapter, elevate Christ and thus glorify God, his Father.
Colossians 1: 15-19 (NRSV)
(15) He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn [by resurrection] of all creation
[i. e., the prototype of the new creation, the new heaven and earth]
(16) For in [dia] him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and
invisible, whether [angelic] thrones or dominions or rulers or powers — all things have
been created through [dia] him [i. e., through his obedient agency] and for him [i. e., with
him in mind].
(17) He himself is before all things [in priority], and in him all things hold together [he
sustains all things, as Heb. 1: 3 says].
(18) He is the head of the body [of Christ], the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn
from the dead
, so that he might come to have first place in everything [ i. e., he is over the
angels and functionally equal to God].
(19) For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell.
Psalms 8 and 110 prophesied of this culminating glorification of the Son of God, the
Messiah. In the next two chapters, we will examine the other messianic prophecies contained
in the Old Testament in order to understand what could and could not be searched out about
the Coming One.

PART TWO
The Messiah
in Prophecy

CHAPTER FOUR
A Prophetic Portrait
of the Messiah
By the agreement of all Christians, the great subject of the Bible is Jesus Christ, the Son of
God. While that truth is evident in the New Testament, it is equally present in the Old, though
not as obvious. Furthermore, while it is clear that Jesus was indeed the subject of general
prophecy
throughout the Law of Moses, the Prophets and Psalms (Luke 24: 25, 26, 44), a more
vigorous study reveals an even richer portrait of the coming Messiah.
The Hebrew word mashiyach ("Messiah") means "the anointed one, " and its Greek
counterpart is christos (" Christ"). The Old Testament portrays the coming Messiah in hundreds
of ways. He is foretold or foreshadowed both in prophecy and in typology. The Tabernacle and
Temple alone depict him in dozens of ways. He is foreshadowed by the priests, the feasts, the
sacrifices, the altar, the bread of the presence, the menorah, the mercy seat, the colors, the
metals and the very dimensions themselves.
Indeed, God placed in orbit around the person and work of the coming Messiah almost the
entire array of characters, images, objects and events in the Old Testament. In some books, the
typology is obvious, while in others an application of the greater context of the Messiah's
identity is sometimes required. Nonetheless, his prophetic "life" or "presence" courses palpa-
bly through every book as the lifeblood that sustained the world until the time when Jesus would
actually be born and physically manifest the heart of God.
In light of the raging spiritual battle that is continually being waged by Satan against God
and His Christ, it is not surprising that coming to a true recognition of the Messiah's identity is
challenging. In fact, we must all humbly acknowledge our own capacity to be blinded by Satan,
the enemy of Christ, and hindered from seeing this man for who he is. Let us revisit a passage
that continues to speak loudly in this regard.
2 Corinthians 4: 3, 4 (NRSV)
(3) And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing.
(4) In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of unbelievers, to keep
them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
Lucifer has fallen from being a "morning star" to a spiritual "black hole. " As such, he does
his best to hold back the light of Christ to keep people from seeing and therefore believing. This

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was certainly true of the time immediately after Jesus' resurrection, when two of his disciples
were making the seven mile trek to Emmaus after being in Jerusalem for the Passover and, as
it turned out to their dismay, the crucifixion of the one they thought was going to be their
Messiah. We think that this record in Luke 24 is a perfect introduction to this section of this
book, which will look at what could be known about the coming Messiah from the Old
Testament. Let us imagine that we were one of these two bewildered and shell - shocked
"disciples" who had not yet made the leap to being actual "believers. " Cannot we all say that
we have stood in their places in our own journeys toward understanding and following the true
Christ?
Luke 24: 13-27 (NRSV)
(13) Now on that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about
seven miles from Jerusalem.
(14) and talking with each other about all these things that had happened.
(15) while they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with
them;
(16) but their eyes were kept from recognizing him.
(17) And he said to them, "What are you discussing with each other as you walk along?"
They stood still, looking sad.
(18) Then one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answered him, "Are you the only
stranger in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have taken place there in these
days?"
(19) He asked them, "What things?" They replied, "The things about Jesus of Nazareth,
who was a prophet, mighty in deed and word before God and all the people.
(20) And how our chief priests and leaders handed him over to be condemned to death
and crucified him.
(21) But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this,
it is now the third day since these things took place.
(22) Moreover, some women in our group astounded us. They were at the tomb early
this morning,
(23) and when they did not find his body there, they came back and told us that they had
indeed seen a vision of angels who said that he was alive.
(24) Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women
had said; but they did not see him. "
(25) Then he said to them, "Oh, how foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe
all that the prophets have declared!
(26) Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and then enter his
glory?"

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(27) Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things
about himself in all the scriptures.
After the sting of his initial rebuke of their lack of diligence passed, imagine the way their
hearts leapt and their minds opened as they got a personal tutorial in Old Testament history
from the one it was all about!1 Even though at this point they did not realize who he was that
was giving them this "short course, " Old Testament 101, they were nonetheless thrilled at the
insight. Did they wonder for just a second how odd it was that they should just happen upon
a walking encyclopedia of Old Testament messianic prophecies at the very time they were
gloomily discussing their feelings of disappointment about Jesus? Talk about a coincidence!
Jesus began his teaching with "Moses, " which means the first five books of the Bible (called
the Pentateuch), expounding first Genesis 3: 15 and then moving through the rest of the Hebrew
Scriptures unfolding the Messiah's identity and calling along the way. Note how clearly he
distinguishes between his "sufferings" and his "glory. " Their eyes were finally opened to his
identity later while eating with him, and they scampered back to Jerusalem to tell the others
what they had seen and heard.
Later, apparently that same day, Jesus addressed a group composed of eleven of the
apostles, the two recent graduates of "The Road to Emmaus School of Old Testament messianic
History, " and various others of his disciples. He gave this group a similar lecture he had given
the two earlier, sharing portions of the "Law, Prophets and Psalms" pertaining to himself.
Luke 24: 44-46 (NRSV)
(44) Then he said to them, "These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with
you — that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the
psalms must be fulfilled. "
(45) Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures.
(46) And he said to them, "Thus it is written: that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from
the dead on the third day.
He also opened their minds to the awesome details of the prophecies in the Old Testament
that were written about his suffering, death and resurrection — all the things they had been
blinded to — so that they would have a complete portrait of the messianic purpose of the ages
and would thus be able to stand with him in the completion of his purposes. So that we can have
a similarly complete picture and fully appreciate the miraculous way God worked to accom-
plish our redemption, we must also carefully read the Old Testament in light of its subject, Jesus
1. Note that he held them responsible for their personal failure to believe all that the prophets had spoken, even
calling them "fools. " Their selective approach to Scripture is what he was addressing, because they clearly had believed
some of what the prophets said. Like all of us, they had a tendency to gravitate toward the scriptures that bolstered their
Jewish nationalism and ignored the "messy" and embarrassing verses about a suffering Messiah who would be rejected
by his own people. Note also that he left them no excuses, such as: "But every one believed you were going to be a political
deliverer" or, "But I had too much synagogue training, " etc., etc. Though false teaching and teachers abound in every
age, God and the Lord Jesus hold each of us responsible for the condition of our hearts, and whether they are "slow to
believe, " or diligent like the Bereans of Acts 17: 11, who "searched the scriptures daily to see whether those things were
so" (KJV). This is ultimately the only antidote for the blindness spoken of in 2 Corinthians 4: 4.

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Christ. We need to recognize the prophetic "target" that was set up in the corridor of eternity,
toward which God, like the master archer, set his bow. Even before releasing the messianic
arrow at the birth of Jesus, he had already established its trajectory by a constellation of carefully
crafted prophetic words, set as points of light to guide the arrow as it would eventually streak
through the night. Beginning in Genesis 3: 15 with the image of the promised seed of the woman,
the Old Testament Scriptures lead the diligent seeker to an "bullseye" understanding of the
suffering, death and resurrection through which the Messiah had to pass on the way to his glory.
If he were to fly straight and true, it was incumbent upon Jesus to learn in detail the entire
prophetic course of his life. This he did impeccably, and it is both available and important for
us to learn it as well.
What follows is our best understanding of what such a synopsis of the Old Testament
would be like, when looked at in light of "all the things" that were written concerning the coming
Christ.
The Golden Thread
In Genesis he is the seed of the woman (3: 15).
In Exodus he is the Passover Lamb (12: 11).
In Leviticus he is the High Priest (21: 10).
In Numbers he is the one lifted on a pole who gives healing (21: 9).
In Deuteronomy he is the prophet from among his brothers (18: 15).
In Joshua he is the captain of the Lord's host (5: 14).
In Judges he is the stone that crushes the heads of his enemies (9: 53).
In Ruth he is the kinsman - redeemer (3: 9).
In 1 Samuel he is the ark and mercy seat before whom pagan gods bow (5: 3).
In 2 Samuel he is the King — declared by prophets and anointed with oil (5: 3).
In 1 Kings he is the true Temple where people meet God (8: 11).
In 2 Kings he is the great miracle worker (2: 9).
In 1 Chronicles he is the descendant of Adam who will rule forever (1: 1).
In 2 Chronicles he is the child - king hidden and protected from his enemies (22: 11).
In Ezra he is the teacher well - versed in the Law of Moses (7: 10).
In Nehemiah he is the one who remembers us with favor (5: 19).
In Esther he is the gold scepter of mercy in the hand of God the King (5: 2).
In Job he is the daysman, the mediator between God and man, whom Job longed for
(9: 33).

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In Psalms he is the stone the builders rejected (118: 22).
In Proverbs he is the Word fitly spoken (25: 11).
In Ecclesiastes he is that which gives life meaning (2: 25).
In Song of Solomon he is the lover and our beloved (2: 16).
In Isaiah he is the son of the virgin (7: 14).
In Jeremiah he is the source of living waters (2: 13).
In Lamentations he is the hope whose compassions are new every morning (3: 23).
In Ezekiel he is the one who gives life to dry bones (37: 11).
In Daniel he is the son of man coming in the clouds of heaven (7: 13).
In Hosea he is the faithful husband who buys back his unfaithful wife (3: 2).
In Joel he is the one who pours out the Lord's spirit on all people (2: 28).
In Amos he is God's plumbline, making the straight and crooked obvious (7: 8).
In Obadiah he is the deliverance on Mt. Zion (v. 17).
In Jonah he is the sign — three days and nights in the heart of the earth (1: 17).
In Micah he is the peace that causes all nations to beat their swords into plowblades
(4: 3).
In Íahum he is God's refuge to the good and God's vengeance to the wicked (1: 7).
In Habakkuk he is the righteous one who lived by faith (2: 4).
In Zephaniah he is the one who will restore the fortunes of Judah (3: 20).
In Haggai he is the desired of all nations (2: 7).
In Zechariah he is the smitten shepherd (13: 7).
In Malachi he is the "sun of righteousness" risen with healing in his wings (4: 2). 2
Who do you say that he is?
And he is so much more:
Like Abel's sacrifice, he is the sacrifice that is pleasing to God.
Like Noah's ark, he is the shelter from God's wrath.
Like Moses' staff, he is the one who makes a way for us in impossible situations.
Like manna, he is the bread from heaven.
Like Joshua's pile of rocks, he is the faithful witness.
2. The first list like this that we know of was done by Oral Roberts in 1951 in a book tided The Fourth Man.

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Like Shamgar's ox goad, he is our victory against certain death.
Like Gideon's fleece, he is God's sure sign that gives hope to the hopeless.
Like Samson's jawbone, he is of little value to the worldly but is the key to victory in life.
Like Joab's trumpet, he is sounding a clear call to gather his faithful army.
Like Elijah's mantle, he is both a shelter from the storms of the world and the power of
God in the hands of a faithful believer.
Like the "fourth" man in Daniel, he is our protection from fiery extinction.
Who do you say that he is?
The godly characteristics of all Old Testament heroes are embodied in Christ, the ultimate
hero:
Like Noah, he prepared his life before the storm.
Like Abraham, he obeyed God and went where God led him.
Like Isaac, he willingly accepted the bride provided by his Father.
Like Jacob, he learned obedience through the things that he suffered.
Like Joseph, he kept his heart from bitterness although he was mistreated by those
around him.
Like Moses, he was meek before God.
Like Joshua, he was a fearless leader.
Like Othniel, he forsook worldly wealth to deliver God's people.
Like Ehud, he ignored the fact that the world thought him cursed.
Like Deborah, he did not mind breaking cultural stereotypes.
Like Gideon, he tore down altars of false religion.
Like Jephthah, he had family problems but overcame them.
Like Samson, he was aggressive and sought an occasion against the enemy.
Like Samuel, he kept himself pure when the priests around him were corrupt.
Like David, he started with a small, untrained group but trained them faithfully.
Like Solomon, he grew in wisdom until it was vast.
Like Elijah, he combined his words with power.
Like Job, he was a righteous sufferer.
Like Esther, he concealed his true identity until the proper time.
Like Isaiah, he continually set before the people the future hope.

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Like Jeremiah, he was passionate, even weeping for his people.
Like Daniel, he prayed fervendy to God.
Who do you say that he is?
Jesus Christ is the "golden thread" that holds together the Royal Tapestry of truth. He is
the star out of Jacob. He is the "great light" foretold by Isaiah. He is a priest after the order of
Melchizedek. He is the one who unites the priesthood with the kingship. He is the king coming
with salvation, and the king who comes in the name of the Lord.
The Messiah is pictured in so many ways in the Old Testament that it would be a daunting
task indeed to list them. Some of the references to him are very clear and straightforward, while
others are veiled to a greater or lesser extent. A brief overview of Genesis alone shows that there
are many clear prophecies and foreshadowings of the coming Messiah:
He is the Last Adam, foreshadowed by the first Adam (5: 1).
He is the seed of the woman (3: 15).
He is the one who will shed his blood to cover the sins of man (3: 21).
He is an ark, and those who take refuge in him will not perish in the Judgment (Chapters
6-8).
He is the Shemite with whom God is most blessed (9: 26).
He is the "seed" of Abraham who will bless all the nations (12: 3).
He is the promised child, as Isaac was (18: 10).
He will destroy the wicked with fire (19: 24).
He is the lamb Yahweh will provide for sacrifice (22: 8).
He is the son willing unto death (22: 9).
He walks with us to make our journey a success (24: 40).
He is the seed of Isaac who will bless all nations (26: 4).
He is the one whom the nations will serve and before whom the people will bow (27: 29).
He is the stairway to God (28: 12).
He is the seed of Jacob who will bless all nations (28: 14).
He is "Judah, " the praise of the Lord (29: 35). 3
He is the faithful witness who witnesses our actions, both good and bad (31: 44-52).
He wrestles with us, shows up our weaknesses, and works to make us into his image
(32: 24-30).
He, like Joseph, was the favorite son, betrayed by his brethren, tempted with evil, but
3. "Judah" means "praised. "

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finally elevated to the right hand of the ruler. Although others meant harm, God turned
their actions into good that many might be saved (50: 20).
He is the one the nations will obey (49: 10).
Who do you say that he is?
The overview of the Messiah in Genesis that we just read is by no means exhaustive. A
similar overview can be done for each book in the Old Testament because Jesus Christ, the
Messiah of God, is its grand subject. Noah's ark, Moses' staff, etc., were all literal, physical
things. Nevertheless, behind the literal meanings we can also see some of what God is
communicating to us about Jesus Christ, his only begotten Son.
The Blueprint:
Bloodline and Bloodshed
Let us never forget that Jesus Christ is our perfect example of walking with God. At the
beginning of his earthly ministry, when he was tempted by the Devil in the wilderness, he
replied each time: "It is written. " Jesus Christ's faith in and reliance upon the written Word of
God formed the foundation of his life. What part of the written Word did Jesus have from which
to learn? The Hebrew Scriptures (Genesis through Malachi). He studied them so diligently that,
according to the record in Luke 4, when he went into the synagogue at the beginning of his
ministry, he unrolled the scroll of Isaiah, which was about 60 feet long with no chapters, verses
or punctuation, and found Isaiah 61: 1.
Isaiah 61: 1 (NRSV)
The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good
news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty
to captives and freedom to prisoners.
How did Jesus know who he was and what his purpose was? He knew it primarily from the
Scriptures in the Old Testament, beginning with Genesis 3: 15. Through the Word, his heavenly
Father mentored him and helped him "grow in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and
men. " Jesus saw that he was the Promised Seed, the only hope for mankind. Once he received
holy spirit at his baptism (the start of his ministry), this written revelation was augmented by
much on-the-job direct revelation.
The Old Testament was written for our learning today, but it was the blueprint for Jesus
Christ to know his identity, his purpose and his destiny, as well as the destiny of mankind. As
we look at a number of records in the Old Testament, we want to ask ourselves what God wanted
Jesus to learn from these records. Jesus' unshakable conviction about his identity was the
underpinning that enabled him to be obedient to carry out his mission, even unto death.

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The Old Testament primarily focuses on the people of Israel, the bloodline from which the
Redeemer of all men came. We believe that one reason Christianity has been, and still is,
relatively ineffective in reaching Jewish people is because it promotes as its foundation the idea
of a three - in - one God and, correspondingly, that Jesus is God. This would have been a ludicrous
concept to the Jews of the Old Testament, because from Genesis 3: 15 through Malachi, the
coming Messiah was prophesied to be a man, the seed of Abraham and the seed of David. As
we saw, he was prophetically referred to as the "seed" of a woman (Gen. 3: 15).
The coming Messiah was to be a descendant of Shem, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Judah,
David, etc. Isaiah 53: 3 calls him "a man of sorrows. " The wording of Isaiah 52 and 53 stands
firmly against the idea that the Messiah would be God. "See, my [God's] servant will act wisely"
is the start of the great section in Isaiah 52 and 53 that describes the suffering, death and
exaltation of the Messiah. Scripture is clear: the Messiah was to be a "man" and the "servant"
of God. If the Messiah were in fact God in the flesh, he would not be a "servant" of God, but
would retain all the honor he would command as God. Zechariah 6: 12 does an excellent job of
portraying the messianic expectations of the Jews: "Tell him this is what the Lord Almighty says:
'Here is the man whose name is the Branch, and he will branch out from his place and build the
temple of the Lord. '" The wording of this verse is very clear, and portrays the Messiah as a man,
a" branch" (that is, a sprout, shoot or "offspring" of God), who will build the Temple of the Lord.
Because, by definition, an "offspring" is one who arises out from another, it would not be
natural to read this verse and understand that this "man, " this "branch, " would be God Himself.
Moses wrote concerning the Messiah in Deuteronomy 18: 15: "The Lord your God will raise
up for you a prophet like me from among your own brothers. " This verse set much of the
expectation about the coming Messiah. The Christ was to be "a prophet. " That in itself shows
that he would be a spokesman for God, and this would not make sense if he were God. The verse
goes on to say that this prophet would be "like me. " Moses was not a pre — existent being, but was
fully human, and we see that God's Christ would be like Moses. The verse also goes on to say
that this prophet would be "from among your own brothers. " "God in human flesh" is hardly
"from among your own brothers, " but a Messiah who was fully human in everyway, who existed
in God's mind as the plan of redemption and who "became flesh" when Mary became pregnant,
would be exactly what Scripture foretold and what Israel expected.
Some Christians attempt to insert the "pre — existent" Christ in the Old Testament, such as
the fourth "man" in the fiery furnace (Dan. 3: 25) and the "man" who wrestled with Jacob (Gen.
32: 24). The Old Testament, however, nowhere even hints that Jesus Christ was alive and
functioning in any capacity before his birth, and makes it plain that each of the above "men"
were, in fact, angels (see Dan. 3: 28 and Hosea 12: 4). 4
4. Many have been taught that Jesus is the "Lord" (Yahweh) in the Old Testament We will deal with this in
Chapter 12. One of the primary reasons for believing this was that in the Old Testament Yahweh would occasionally
appear to people. Although this is revolutionary information to many people, it should not be unexpected. God created
people to fellowship with them, and so the fact that He would show up in some form should not surprise us. For a
detailed explanation, see Appendix A (Genesis 1 and 2).

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Isaac: Another Promised Seed
In Genesis 12, God spoke to a man named Abram (whose name was later changed to
"Abraham") and told him to "get outta town" and go to a new land, one that God would show
him as he went. Abraham was 70 years old when he left Ur of the Chaldees and started out for
Canaan. En route, he stopped at Haran for five years. Although the Bible does not tell us why
he stopped, we do know that he resumed his journey after his father, Terah, died. Thus, it may
be that his father had become too weak or sick to travel. After his father died, God spoke to
Abraham again, and he resumed his travel toward Canaan. God said to him:
Genesis 12: 2, 3 (NASB)
(2) And I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great
and so you shall be a blessing;
(3) And I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse. And
in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.
Abraham was about 75 years old (and Sarah was ten years younger than he was) when he
received this promise from God. He understood that for all the people on earth to be blessed
"in" him, one of his offspring would have to be the promised Messiah. However, by the time
Abraham was 86 years old, he still had not fathered a child. After years of trying to conceive the
promised child with Sarah, Abraham resorted to a common custom, and had intercourse with
Sarah's handmaid, Hagar. That child was named Ishmael. Years later, when Abraham was 99
and Sarah was 89, God made another promise to him, this one more specific. God told him that
he would be the father and that Sarah would be the mother of a son (they named him "Isaac"),
and that this son would be born in about a year. At their ages, this was an astounding promise!
Thus, Isaac is a "promised seed, " and as such he is a "type" of the coming Redeemer. As
we look at the record of Abraham and Isaac in Genesis 22, we will clearly see what truth
regarding the Redeemer God wanted to communicate. In light of all that led up to the birth of
Isaac, would you say that he was a special child? One of the reasons that Isaac is special is
because God told Abraham that it was from Isaac's line that the Redeemer would come. So what
does Isaac represent? He represents a token, in the senses realm, of the greater One yet to come.
Abraham would not live to see all the seed that would come from Isaac, including the Promised
Seed, Jesus Christ, but he would live to see Isaac born. Let us now delve into Genesis 22.
Genesis 22: 1 (NRSV)
After these things God tested Abraham. He said to him, "Abraham!" And he said, " Here
I am. "
The word "tested" does not mean that God tempted Abraham with evil to see if He could
make him do something wrong. James 1: 13 says that God does not tempt people with evil. The
Hebrew word simply means, " to prove." God was asking Abraham to do something to prove His
allegiance to Him. 5
5. See Don't Blame God!, p. 168.

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Genesis 22: 2 (NRSV)
He [God] said, "Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land
of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains that I shall
show you. "
What did Abraham understand by the phrase, "a burnt offering?" This was something very
familiar to him, and he knew exactly what it meant. He was to build an altar, pile wood on it, tie
down the sacrifice (in this case his "only son" Isaac) and kill it by cutting its throat with one
thrust of his knife. This is exactly what God told Abraham to do to Isaac and this is exactly what
Abraham understood. Put yourself in Abraham's place, and think how you would feel in this
situation.
Genesis 22: 3 (NRSV)
So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young
men with him, and his son Isaac; he cut the wood for the burnt offering, and set out and
went to the place in the distance that God had whown him.
Notice that Abraham did not argue with God, despite the magnitude of what God asked
him to do. He simply obeyed.
Genesis 22: 4 (NRSV)
On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place far away.
There is no question that this record of Abraham and Isaac is a foreshadowing of God
asking His only begotten Son to die as a sacrifice, and of raising him from the dead three days
and three nights later. We believe it is significant that it was on the third day that Abraham saw
the mountain ahead of him. We believe it took him three days and three nights to get there, and
that during that time Isaac was as good as dead, because Abraham had made up his mind to
obey God and sacrifice his son.
Genesis 22: 5 (NRSV)
Then Abraham said to his young men, "Stay here with the donkey; the boy and I will go
over there; WE will worship and then WE will come back to you. "
Whoa! (Yes, that's also what Abraham said to the donkey). At the end of the verse, the text
reads, "WE will come back to you. " That is amazing, because what Abraham meant when he
said that he and Isaac would "worship" was that he would slit Isaac's throat and then burn him
on the altar. How then could he say we will come back? That is a very good question, and we
do not have to guess at the answer, because the following verses tell us:
Hebrews 11: 17-19 (NRSV)
(17) By faith Abraham, when put to the test, offered up Isaac. He who had received the
promises was ready to offer up his only son,
(18) of whom he had been told, "It is through Isaac that descendants shall be named for
you. "

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(19) He considered the fact that God is able even to raise someone from the dead — and
figuratively speaking, he did receive him back [from death].
Let us first note that God's Word says that Abraham was acting by "faith. " One cannot have
faith unless he has something to have faith in, that is, the Word of God — a command and/or a
promise, spoken or written. "By faith" means that Abraham did exactly what God told him to
do. Hebrews 11: 19 shows us why Abraham believed he would come back down the mountain
with Isaac. It was because he trusted that God would raise Isaac from the dead and, figuratively
speaking, that is exactly what happened, as we will see.
Genesis 22: 6 (NRSV)
Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he
himself carried the fire and the knife.
This verse shows us that Isaac is not a little child. In fact, we believe he was about 30 years
old. It is significant that Isaac carried the wood on which he would die, just as Jesus did until the
soldiers made Simon carry it. Now consider the question that Isaac asked his father.
Genesis 22: 7 (NRSV)
Isaac said to his father Abraham, "Father!" And he said, "Hear I am, my son?" He said,
"The fire and the wood are here, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?"
Isaac so much as said, "Say, Dad, I see the fire and the wood, but don't we usually take an
animal along on these trips?" Think about his question: "Where is the lamb?" This question
echoed throughout the entire Old Testament until it was answered on the banks of the river
Jordan by John the Baptist:
John 1: 29 (NRSV)
The next day he [John] saw Jesus coming toward him and declared, "Hear is the Lamb
of God, who takes away the sin of the world!"
How would Jesus take away the sin of the world? By his shed blood, for without the
shedding of blood there is no remission of sin (Heb. 9: 22). Jesus was the "Lamb" that God
provided for the sins of mankind, as the following verse typifies:
Genesis 22: 8 (NRSV)
Abraham said, "God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son. " So
the two of them walked on together.
Abraham was confident that God would provide a lamb for the sacrifice and fulfill His
promises.
Genesis 22: 9 (NRSV)
When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and
arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the
wood.

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Notice the statement in the above verse that Abraham "bound" Isaac and laid him on the
altar. Did Abraham have to chase Isaac around and around the altar and then wrestle him to the
ground? Remember that Isaac was 100 years younger than Abraham. It seems apparent that
had he wanted to resist, he could have. No, what we see here is the son willing to die at his
father's request. Abraham represents the Father willing to give his son. How this record must
have touched the heart of Jesus Christ when he first understood it, and how remembering its
inherent promise of resurrection must have given him strength as he went to the Cross.
Genesis 22: 10-14 (NRSV)
(10) Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to kill his son.
(11) But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, "Abraham! Abraham!"
And he said, "Here I am. "
(12) He said, "Do not lay a hand on the boy, or do anything to him; for now I know that
you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me. "
(13) And Abraham looked up and saw a ram, caught in a thicket by its horns. Abraham
went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son.
(14) So Abraham called that place "the Lord will provide, " as it is said to this day, "On
the mount of the Lord it shall be provided. "
Remember that Genesis 3: 15 prophesied both the suffering of the Redeemer and the glory
that would follow. In the record of Abraham and Isaac, Jesus saw that if he would be obedient
unto death, God would raise him from the dead. There is another record in the Book of Genesis
we will now consider, from which Jesus Christ learned more about the suffering and the glory
that would follow, the glory that would be his destiny after his resurrection.
Joseph: Righteous Sufferer to Co - Ruler
It is most significant that of the fifty chapters in the Book of Genesis, fourteen of them
speak of Joseph, one of the twelve sons of Jacob. Joseph is an important person in the Old
Testament record because he is another "type" of Christ, and one whose life very vividly
exemplified some great truths about the coming Redeemer. Once again, remember that Jesus
Christ read and studied the life of Joseph and learned from it what God wanted him to learn.
Jesus saw in Joseph a man who was innocent but wronged by his own brothers. He saw
a man who was thrown in jail as a common criminal and subjected to many hardships. He also
saw that because of Joseph's faithfulness to God's Word and his reliance on the power of God,
he did something that no other man in Egypt could do. Because of Joseph's obedience to God,
he was raised from the status of a common criminal to a governmental position of the highest
rank. Because of his deeds, Joseph was exalted to a position second only to the Pharaoh and was
given the Pharaoh's signet ring, which represented the authority and power of Pharaoh. In that
position of authority, Joseph was able to save the lives of his brothers. In Joseph, Jesus Christ
saw himself.

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Please allow us some — no, actually a gargantuan amount of — literary license in summa-
rizing the life of Joseph up until Genesis 41. He was the eleventh son of Jacob, a nice boy, but
one who tended to shoot off his mouth, at least that's what his ten older brothers thought. One
morning at breakfast Joseph said, "Yo, Levi, you want to shoot me those unleavened Wheaties?
Hey, you wouldn't believe the dream I had last night. It was awesome. You guys are gonna bow
down to me, and I'm going to rule over you. Cool, huh?" They thought to themselves, "Fat
chance, twerp, " and they were really steamed at their kid brother. Also, they resented that
Joseph was their father's favorite son.
Some time after this, they saw Joseph walking along the dusty trail near Dothan and one
of them said, "This is our chance, boys. Let's waste this punk and tell dad that an animal ate
him. " One of the brothers, Reuben, intervened and said, "Let's not kill him, let's just dump him
in that pit over there. " Reuben's intention was to come back later to rescue Joseph and take him
home. This is no doubt why a sandwich was later named after him. The brothers agreed, and
threw Joseph into the pit. Then they sat down to have lunch.
While they were eating, a wagon train on the way to Egypt passed by. Judah, one of the
brothers, saw an opportunity to make a quick buck and persuaded his brothers to sell Joseph
as a slave. When Joseph arrived in Egypt, he was sold to a man named Potiphar, who was greatly
impressed with the quality of his life. He also impressed Mrs. P., so much so that she wanted to
"hit the sack" with him, but Joseph spurned her advances, saying that he could not sin against
God. With all the fervor of a "woman scorned, " Mrs. P. framed him, and Joseph was sent to jail.
Rather that feel sorry for himself, Joseph continued in his faith, which greatly impressed the
prison warden, who put him in charge of the entire prison.
Some time later, Pharaoh's cupbearer dropped his cup, and the chief baker's bread didn't
rise. Both were thrown into jail. One night each of them had a dream that they did not
understand. By revelation, Joseph interpreted their dreams for them, and his interpretations
came to pass. Two years later, Pharaoh had a dream that, much to his consternation, neither
he nor his advisers could understand. The reinstated cupbearer remembered the incident with
Joseph and told the Pharaoh about him. By revelation, Joseph interpreted Pharaoh's dream for
him and also laid out an economic program for the seven years of plenty and the seven years of
famine that the dream indicated would come to pass. Joseph's spiritual wisdom and power so
impressed the Pharaoh that he elevated him to his second-in-command.
What a record! Think about it — people who are in jail and about to be paroled are very
concerned that they have a job waiting for them, so they can provide for themselves and not go
back to a life of crime. Such people are often glad to have any job. But think about the people
in Egypt picking up their morning papers and seeing the headline: "EX - CON BECOMES
ASSISTANT PHARAOH!" Holy promotion, Batman!
Genesis 41: 37, 38 (NRSV)
(37) The proposal pleased Pharaoh and all his servants.
(38) Pharaoh said to his servants, " Can we find anyone else like this — one in whom is the
spirit of God?"

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It is significant that Pharaoh, himself considered a "god" in Egypt, did not ascribe such
status to Joseph, but instead recognized that Joseph was a unique man. Pharaoh understood
that it was God who showed Joseph the interpretation of the dream by way of the spirit of God
in him. The fact that, in Egyptian culture, the Pharaoh was looked at as a "god" is another
element in the parallel between Joseph being exalted to the right hand of Pharaoh and Jesus
Christ's future exaltation at the right hand of God. Surely this analogy was not lost on Jesus
Christ when he studied this account, and neither should it be lost on us. However, it very well
may be if we believe that Jesus is God.
Genesis 41: 39 (NRSV)
So Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Since God has shown you all this, there is no one so
discerning and wise as you. "
In essence, what Pharaoh said was, "I've never seen a man like you before. " Doesn't that
sound like what people said about Jesus Christ in the Gospels? For example, "No one ever spoke
the way this man does" (John 7: 46).
Genesis 41: 40, 41 (NRSV)
(40) You shall be over my house, and all my people shall order themselves as you
command; only with regard to the throne will I be greater than you.
(41) And Pharaoh said to Joseph, "See, I have set you overall the land of Egypt. "
The Pharaoh said, " Hey, you've earned the promotion I've given you. I'm not only putting
you in charge of my house, but also in charge of all of Egypt! Oh, by the way, Joseph, just
remember you're not the Pharaoh" ("Only with respect to the throne will I be greater than you").
Look at what Pharaoh did then:
Genesis 41: 42 (NRSV)
Removing his signet ring from his hand, Pharaoh put it on Joseph's hand; he arrayed
him in garments of fine linen, and put a gold chain around his neck.
Pharaoh's signet ring was the only such ring in all of Egypt. This ring signified the power
and authority that Pharaoh gave Joseph. It did not make Joseph the Pharaoh, but it did enable
him to do everything that the Pharaoh could do.
And remember, it was only the Pharaoh who
could delegate this authority to him.
Genesis 41: 43
He [Pharaoh] had him [Joseph] ride in a chariot of his [Pharaoh's] second-in-com-
mand;, and they cried out in from of him [Joseph], "Bow the knee!" Thus, he [Pharaoh]
set him [Joseph] over all the land of Egypt.
The pronouns in the above verse are very important. We do not want to get the Pharaoh
and Joseph mixed up. Obviously, the people had no problem telling the difference between
them. The Pharaoh was in the first chariot and Joseph was in the second chariot. They each
understood the relationship between them, and so did the people.

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Genesis 41: 44, 45 (NRSV)
(44) Moreover Pharaoh said to Joseph, "lam Pharaoh, and without your consent no one
shall lift up hand or foot in all the land of Egypt. "
(45) Pharaoh gave Joseph the name Zaphenath - paneah and gave him Asenath daugh-
ter of Potiphera, priest of On, as his wife. Thus Joseph gained authority over the land
of Egypt.
It is significant that Pharaoh also gave Joseph a new name, a name that was above every
other name. Joseph's new name meant "abundance of life. " Little did Pharaoh know how much
that title really meant, because in his position of authority, Joseph would later save the lives of
his brethren and preserve the line of the coming Messiah, who is the "abundance of life" for all
men who believe on him. The Pharaoh also gave Joseph a bride, as God will one day do for Jesus.
Note also that Joseph did not just sit around the palace at the right hand of Pharaoh, but went
throughout the land of Egypt carrying out his responsibilities.
Genesis 41: 46 (NRSV)
Joseph was thirty years old when he entered the service of Pharaoh king of Egypt. And
Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh and went through all the land of Egypt.
Remember that Jesus Christ was about thirty years old when he began his earthly ministry
(Luke 3: 23). Let the record show that the position Joseph received from Pharaoh was no
"figurehead" position. Joseph was far more than royal window-dressing. This is made clear by
what Pharaoh said when the famine did come and the people came to him for help.
Genesis 41: 55 (NRSV)
When all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried to Pharaoh for bread.
Pharaoh said to all the Egyptians, "Go to Joseph; what he says to you, do. "
Obviously, Joseph is a vivid type of Christ. To see the parallels between Joseph's exaltation
by Pharaoh and Jesus' exaltation by God, let us look at some verses in Philippians, which we will
examine later in more detail.
Philippians 2: 5-11
(5) Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus
(6) Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be
grasped,
(7) but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of servant, being made in human
likeness.
(8) And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient
to death — even the death on the Cross!
(9) Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above
every name,

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(10) that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth
(11) and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Although Jesus Christ was the Son of God with the spirit of God upon him without
measure, he humbled himself and became a servant unto men. He saw prophesied in the Old
Testament that this service meant hardship and suffering in his life, leading to his death on the
Cross. As a man, death was his greatest enemy, and his impending torture and horrible death
on the Cross made it even worse. Yet, he was obedient unto death and because of that, God
highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name. Just as it was with Joseph,
one day every knee will bow to the Lord Jesus Christ.
Because of Jesus Christ's faithfulness in his earthly ministry, God promoted him to his own
right hand and gave him the "whole kingdom" to oversee (just as Pharaoh did for Joseph). One
day this future kingdom will be a reality, and Jesus Christ will take his rightful place as the King.
The type of Christ set forth in Genesis 41 augments the truth we see clearly in other Scriptures—
that God has not delegated to his Son essential equality, but rather functional equality. 6 God
has, so to speak, given Jesus his signet ring so that Jesus now has the authority to do everything
that God wills to have done. Just as it was with the Pharaoh and Joseph ("Only in the throne will
I be greater than you"), so it is with the Father and His Son. The following verses that we have
mentioned previously make this very plain. How interesting that these most explicit verses
keep coming up.
1 Corinthians 15: 24-28
(24) Then the end will come, when he [Christ] hands over the kingdom to God the Father
after he [Christ] has destroyed all dominion, authority and power.
(25) For he [Christ] must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.
(26) The last enemy to be destroyed is death.
(27) For he [God] "has put everything under his [Christ's] feet. " Now when it says that
"everything' has been put under him [Christ], it is clear that this does not include God
himself, who put everything under Christ.
(28) When he [Christ] has done this, then the Son himself will be made subject to him
[God] who put everything under him [Christ], so that God may be all in all.
The above verses hearken back to a key verse in the Old Testament that illustrates this
same truth about the relationship between God and Jesus Christ. It is one that we will expand
upon later.
6. It is very important to recognize the difference between essential equality and functional equality if we are to have
a proper understanding about the Lord Jesus Christ. Trinitarians believe that Jesus is essentially God, i. e., that
intrinsically, in his very essence and nature, Jesus is God. We believe that Jesus is essentially a. man, the only begotten
Son of God. Nevertheless, God has given Jesus functional equality, so that Jesus currently functions as if he were God.
God made Jesus" Lord, " and now it is he who gives the gift of holy spirit (Acts 2: 33), gives out ministries in the Church
(Eph. 4: 7) and directs and holds together his Body, the Church (Col. 1: 17, 18). In the future, Jesus will raise the dead and
judge them (John 5: 21, 22; Acts 17: 31). The functional equality of Christ will last until after the final judgment, when even
death will be destroyed. Then Christ will be "made subject" to God the Father, as 1 Corinthians 15: 24-28 states.

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Psalm 110: 1 (NASB)
The Lord says to my Lord: Sit at my right hand until I make thine enemies a footstool for
thy feet.
"The Lord" refers to God Almighty, while "my Lord" refers to the Messiah, in whose
coming David hoped. In closing this chapter, we want to again set forth two other Old
Testament verses that corroborate this same truth.
Daniel 7: 13, 14 (NASB)
(13) I kept looking in the night visions, and behold with the clouds of heaven One like
a son of man was coming, and he came up to the Ancient of Days and was presented
before him.
(14) And to him was given dominion, glory and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations
and men of every language might serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion
which will not pass away, and his kingdom is one which will not be destroyed.
Notice that there are two persons mentioned here: "the son of man" and "the Ancient of
Days. " This is a prophecy about God exalting Jesus to the position of ruler over his future
kingdom.
Because Jesus Christ is the subject of the Old Testament from Genesis 3:15 through the
Book of Malachi, there are many, many other sections therein that speak prophetically of the
coming Messiah and Redeemer. Not one even hints that he would be God come down to earth
in human form. God's original prophecy about His Son in Genesis 3:15 is consistent with all the
others thereafter. It is most significant that at the beginning of his earthly ministry, Jesus Christ
read from the Word of God (Isaiah) about himself. He knew who he was, and he continued to
think, speak and live out the truths of God's Word that were the foundation of his life.
With all this impressive typology, imagery and prophetic portraiture of the Messiah, the
question naturally arises, why then did not the Jews accept Jesus? Did he not fulfill enough of
the prophecies to make it clear who he was? Or did the Jews misunderstand the prophecies? We
now turn our attention to the way the Jews actually interpreted the prophecies without the
benefit of 20-20 hindsight we have today.

CHAPTER FIVE
The Messiah the
Jews Expected
In the previous chapter, we looked with 20/20 hindsight at what was prophesied about the
Messiah. In this chapter, we will examine the Messiah from the Jews' perspective looking
forward. Although they diligently searched the Hebrew Scriptures for prophecies of their
coming Messiah, their understanding of him was incomplete. It is important to remember that
what we today see very clearly in our New Testament understanding about the Christ is often
quite veiled in the Hebrew Scriptures. 1
In fact, the people of Israel had a totally different concept of what Christ would be like than
most Christians have, and this affected the way they interpreted and recognized Messianic
prophecies. The Jews did not apply Scriptures about the virgin birth, the trip to Egypt and death
of the Messiah to Christ, and these verses were not as self-evident as Christians tend to think. 2
Most are unaware of the tremendous help the New Testament is in interpreting the "Old
Testament. " For example, how do we know Hosea 11: 1 applies to Christ? Matthew says so. How
do we know Jeremiah 31: 15 applies to Christ? Again, Matthew says so. Many of the Hebrew
scriptures that Christians apply to Christ because of what the New Testament says about him
were not applied to him at all by the Jews, and not because they were spiritually blind. In many
cases, the references were deliberately veiled. We can gain much insight into the nature of
biblical prophecy by understanding the difficulties the Jews faced in properly interpreting the
Messianic passages.
1. We use the term "Hebrew Scriptures" here because technically the "four Gospels" are part of what is called the "Old
Testament. " Hence we use the term "Hebrew Scriptures" to refer to the Scriptures from Genesis through Malachi. We
will continue to refer to the Old Testament when we are referring to the time period rather than the Scriptures.
2. Alfred Edersheim has provided a list that he tides, "List of Hebrew Scripture Passages Messianic ally Applied in
Ancient Rabbinic Writings. " This list includes the various passages of the Hebrew Scriptures that the ancient rabbis
believed applied to the Messiah. It is a wonderful tool from which to build an understanding of what the Jews of Christ's
time were looking for. Alfred Edersheim, The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, Part 2 (Grand Rapids, MI, Wm. B.
Eerdmans, 1971).

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Messiah's Suffering and Death
The very different Jewish Messianic expectation is clearly seen in their view of the suffering
and death of the Messiah. When Jesus told Peter and the apostles that he must suffer and die,
Peter did not say, "Yes, Lord, we knew from the prophecies written about you that you are going
to suffer and die. " Rather he said, "Never. Lord! This shall never happen to you!" (Matt. 16: 22).
The idea that the Messiah had to die was inconceivable to them. When Christ first introduced
it, Peter vehemently argued against it. Shortly after that, Jesus said to his disciples that he would
be betrayed and put in the hands of men, but the disciples did not understand what he was
talking about (Luke 9: 44, 45). Later, Jesus said that he would be mocked, insulted, spit on,
flogged and killed. He made it very clear. 3 Yet Scripture says, "The disciples did not understand
any of this. Its meaning was hidden from them, and they did not know what he was talking
about" (Luke 18: 34).
At the "Last Supper, " the disciples still did not comprehend the impending suffering and
death of the Messiah, and later that night in the Garden of Gethsemane, Peter wanted to fight
with the Jews and Romans, sword to sword. Even after the crucifixion, the disciples could not
understand why Jesus' tomb was empty. Angels had to remind the women who came to the
tomb that Jesus had said he would rise from the dead (Luke 24: 6-8). When the women passed
on this good news to the rest of the disciples, however, they were not convinced, and when Jesus
appeared to them, they thought he was a phantom (Luke 24: 37). After his resurrection, Jesus
was finally able to get the disciples to understand the scriptures regarding his death and
resurrection (Luke 24: 44-46).
Peter and the disciples were not the only ones who were confused about Jesus and his
mission. An earlier event in the Gospels that demonstrates the misconceptions that existed
about the coming Messiah is when John the Baptist sent his disciples to Christ with the
question, "Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?" (Luke 7: 19, 20).
This seems strange because John was the one who identified Christ with the words: "Look, the
lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!, " and" I have seen and I testify that this is the
Son of God" (John 1: 29, 34). Had John developed doubts that Jesus, his "first cousin, " was the
Messiah? Considering that a number of people close to Jesus misunderstood him, that is
possible. Joseph Good suggests another possibility in his book, Rosh HaShanah and the
Messianic Kingdom to Come:
As the ancient Jewish scholars and Rabbis began to study the scriptural information about
the Messiah, they encountered a serious problem: many of the passages seemed to contradict
one another. Often the Messiah is seen as a conquering king... Other passages speak of a
3. In Matthew alone, there are at least five occasions when Jesus warned his disciples of his coming trials, his death
or his resurrection (implying that he would have to die): in Caesarea Philippi (Matt. 16: 9); at the Mount of Transfigu-
ration (Matt. 17: 9); as he was "going up to Jerusalem from Judea (Matt. 20: 19); in the parable of the tenants (Matt. 21: 33-
40) and after the Olivet discourse two days before the Passover (Matt. 26: 2).

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suffering servant. From this paradoxical description of the Messiah came a first - century
Common Era (AD) rabbinical teaching of two Messiahs. 4
Good goes on to say that the ancients called the conquering Messiah "Messiah Ben David"
and called the suffering Messiah "Messiah Ben Joseph. " The Talmud applied Zechariah 12: 10
to Messiah Ben Joseph: "When they look on the one whom they have pierced, they shall mourn
for him, as one mourns for an only child... " (NRSV)5 Good continues:
This anticipation of two Messiahs by the Jewish people of the first century is the back-
ground for the question posed by Yochanan the Immerser (John the Baptist) to Yeshua [Jesus]
as to whether He was the Messiah (indicating one, singular), or if they were to expect another.
His question was specifically whether Yeshua would fulfill all of the prophecies concerning
Messiah, or whether the Rabbis, who said there would be two Messiahs, were right. Yeshua's
answer is a paraphrase of various passages that Rabbis identified as referring partially to
Messiah Ben Joseph and partially to Messiah Ben David. Therefore, Yeshua was expressing, in
dramatic language that was clear to His listeners, that He would fulfill all of the messianic
prophecies. Rather than send two Messiahs with two different roles, G-d would send one
Messiah in two separate appearances or comings. 6
Whether or not Joseph Good is correct about the reason for John's question, it is important
for us to realize that, at the time of Christ, there were Rabbis teaching that there would be two
Messiahs instead of one. It is hard for us to put ourselves in the position of the people of the Old
Testament who knew Jesus only from the prophecies, but that is what we must do if we are to
understand what they knew about him and what they were expecting. To be sure, there are
prophecies in the Hebrew Scriptures that, while not specifically mentioning the Messiah, were
nonetheless quite well known as messianic prophecies. Nevertheless, the fact is that many of
the verses the New Testament writers and Christian commentators have understood as messi-
anic prophecies were not viewed that way by the Jewish commentators. Thus, these did not
figure into their understanding of what the Messiah was going to be like and what he would
accomplish. 7 For example, we know that Joseph and Mary took Jesus to Egypt to protect him
from Herod. In regard to them returning from Egypt, Matthew 2: 15 states, "And so was fulfilled
what the Lord had said through the prophet [Hosea]: Out of Egypt I called my son. '" To the
reader of the New Testament, this seems very clear. However, as the verse reads in Hosea,
especially in light of its context, it is difficult indeed to see that it refers to the Messiah.
4. Joseph Good, Rosh HaShanah and the Messianic Kingdom to Come (P. O. Box 3125, Port Arthur, TX, Hatikva
Ministries, 1989), p. 2.
5. Edersheim, op. cit., (Book 2, p. 736). However, even in the Jewish commentaries there is a difference of opinion.
Edersheim writes, "whether the mourning is caused by the death of the Messiah Ben Joseph, or else on account of the
evil concupiscence. "
6. Good, op. cit., p. 5.
7. Just as Jews today have various interpretations of the Hebrew Scriptures' messianic prophecies, so ancient Jewish
interpreters reached different conclusions about who the Messiah would be and what he would do.

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Hosea 11: 1-3: (NRSV)
(1) "When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son.
(2) The more I called them, the more they went from me; they kept sacrificing to the
Baals, and offering incense to idols.
(3) Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk, I took them up in my arms; but they did not
know that I healed them. "
The ancient Jews looked at these verses in Hosea as Jewish history. "When Israel was a
child, " barely a few hundred years old, God called the nation out of Egypt. In the Hebrew
Scriptures, Israel was called God's "son" (Ex. 4: 22, etc. ). But when God called them to fellowship
with him, they instead worshipped "the Baals. " Scholars know of no Jewish commentator living
before Christ who applied Hosea 11: 1 to the Messiah. Therefore, no one at the time of Christ was
looking for a Messiah who was to spend part of his life in Egypt. How is this "prophecy"
explained today? The best explanation seems to be that Israel is a type or figure of the "greater
Israel, " i. e., Jesus Christ, just as David is sometimes a type of the "greater David, " Solomon a type
of the "greater Solomon, " etc. What follows in the next section are some key prophecies about
the Messiah that the Jews recognized and upon which they based their expectations of him.
The Messiah the Jews Were Expecting
Genesis 3: 15—The seed of the woman and his conflict
Genesis 3: 15 says: "And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your
offspring ["seed"] and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel. " This is a clear
prophecy of the coming Messiah. Both ancient Jewish commentators and modern Christian
commentators realize that it applies to him. The Lord God is telling the serpent that there will
be a seed of the woman who will eventually come and crush his head. Since the word "seed" is
a collective singular (like "deer" or "fish") and can refer to one seed or many, is there any
indication that this verse refers to a singular Messiah? Yes. The Hebrew uses the masculine
singular in the phrase "his heel, " which shows that the understanding of "he will crush" is
correct. 8 Furthermore, the Septuagint, that was done by Greek - speaking Jews around 250 BC,
uses the masculine singular pronoun autos ("he") to refer to the "seed" of the woman. This is
highly unusual since Greek grammar requires that the number and gender of the pronoun agree
8. The ancient Hebrew text was "unpointed, " i. e., without many of the vowels the modern text has. Because of this,
it is often possible to question the exact translation of the ancient Hebrew. Imagine English written without vowels.
What would "ht" mean: "hat, " "hit, " "hot, " "hut" or "hate?" The context would actually be the key to determining the
exact meaning. So, in Genesis 3: 15 the masculine singular for "his heel" allows us to better see the accuracy of the
masculine singular, "he" will crush.

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with the noun. The use of the masculine pronoun with the neuter noun indicates that the Jewish
translators of the Septuagint knew the verse was referring to their Messiah. 9
It could well be asked why then the Old Testament Jews did not also recognize the suffering
Messiah in this verse. The ancient Jews did understand from this verse, from Psalm 2 and from
other verses, that the Messiah would be opposed during his life. What they did not understand
was the intensity of the opposition that he would face, the personal suffering he would endure,
and his death. It could also be asked why the Jews did not see in this verse both the first and
second comings of Christ to Israel, as modern Christians do. The simple fact is that the wording
of Genesis 3: 15 does not demand two comings. The Hebrew is worded in such a way that both
parts of the prophecy could be fulfilled in one coming. As worded in the Hebrew and expressed
in the KJV, RSV, ASV and other English translations, the seed would "bruise" the head of the
serpent and the serpent would "bruise" the heel of the seed. This could take place in one coming
as the two forces battled each other. We today know it will happen in two, but we know that only
by 20-20 hindsight about the first coming of the Messiah, not because of the Hebrew text.
Genesis 22: 18—From the line of Abraham
The Jews understood that the Messiah would be a descendant of Abraham, according to
several promises God had made to Abraham. Genesis 12 says that all the "people" (mishpachah
= clan or family) of the "earth" (adamah = land, ground [usually re: Israel]) will be blessed
through Abraham. In most English versions of Genesis 18: 18, God seems simply to repeat what
He had said to Abraham, but the Hebrew text expands the promise of Genesis 12: 3 to include
all the people of the world. Genesis 18: 8 says that all the "nations" (goyim) of the "earth" (erets
= land, earth) will be blessed in Abraham. This wider promise was repeated to Abraham in
Genesis 22: 18, except this third time it was to be through his "seed" that the nations of the earth
will be blessed. By the time of Christ, the Jews had lost sight of the truth that the Messiah was
to bless everyone, and therefore held a proprietary view of him that excluded the Gentiles.
Genesis 49: 10—Shiloh from the tribe of Judah
Jacob had twelve sons, and each of them fathered a tribe of Israel. Scripture tells us that
the Messiah was to come from a specific tribe:
Genesis 49: 10 (ASV)
The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until
Shiloh come: And unto him shall the obedience of the peoples be.
The word translated "Shiloh" has been confusing for translators. As the authors of this
book, we agree with many commentators who take it as a proper noun, the first proper name
of the Messiah given in the Hebrew Scriptures. "Shiloh" is related to the Hebrew root shala,
which means "to rest" or "to be secure. " Thus, Shiloh could be translated as the proper name
9. For more detail, see Walter Kaiser, Jr., The Messiah in the Hebrew Scriptures (Zondervan, Grand Rapids, 1995), pp.
37-42.

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" Rest - Bringer, " or perhaps" Peaceful One. " However, there are variant texts, targums and other
reputable sources with readings like "until he comes to whom it [the scepter or rule] belongs. "
The American Standard Version of 1901 and the New International Version represent the two
basic ideas of how the verse should be handled:
ASV: The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet,
until Shiloh come: And unto him shall the obedience of the peoples be.
NIV: The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet,
until he comes to whom it belongs and the obedience of the nations is his.
The debate about the exact translation of this verse has raged loud and long, and we do not
believe it will be settled here. What is settled, however, is that the verse is a prophecy of the
coming Messiah, and a clear teaching that he would come through Judah, as both Jewish
tradition and modern conservative commentators recognize. Thus, the Messiah would have to
come through Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Judah.
Numbers 24: 17—A star out of Jacob
Numbers 24 contains a prophecy that was recognized by the ancient Jews to be about the
coming Messiah. Interestingly, it was spoken by Balaam, a prophet of dubious character. He
was actually hired to curse Israel, but at least was honest enough to speak the words that God
gave him rather than invent words just to make money (of course, his encounter with an angel
with a drawn sword had vividly reminded him of how short his life could be). He spoke powerful
words about the coming Messiah.
Numbers 24: 16-19 (NRSV)
(16) "The oracle of one who hears the words of God, and knows the knowledge of the
Most High, who sees the vision of the Almighty, who falls down, with his eyes uncov-
ered:
(17) I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near — a star shall come out of Jacob,
and a scepter shall rise out of Israel; it shall crush the borderlands of Moab, and the
territory of all the Shethites.
(18) Edom will become a possession, Seir a possession of its enemies, while Israel dies
valiantly.
(19) One out of Jacob shall rule, and destroy the survivors of Ir. "
Among the Jews, it was known and believed that the "star" and "scepter" referred to the
coming Messiah and that he would indeed be a conquering hero. This prophecy foretold that
the coming of the Messiah was going to be "not near, " i. e., after a long time, and according to
our best under standing of biblical chronology, the Messiah's coming was some 1400years later.
Balaam's prophecy is one more example of a prophecy portraying the coming Messiah as one
who would fight battles and deliver the people, certainly not one who himself would suffer,
particularly an ignoble death such as crucifixion.

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2 Samuel 7: 12, 13—The Son of David
God promised David that the Messiah would come through him.
2 Samuel 7: 12, 13 (NRSV)
(12) When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your ancestors, I will raise up
your offspring ["seed"] after you, who shall come forth from your body, and I will
establish his kingdom.
(13) He shall build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom
forever.
This prophecy clearly referred to the ultimate rule of the Messiah, and was taken as such.
"Son of David" is a title used many times by the Jews in referring to the Messiah, and it occurs
quite a few times in the Gospel records. In Matthew alone, the phrase is so used in 9: 27; 12: 23;
15: 22; 20: 30, 31; 21: 9, 15; 22: 42.
Psalm 2—The Messiah opposed,
fighting and ruling with a rod of iron
Psalm 2 has always been believed to be about God and His Messiah. Verse two says that
the rulers of the earth will gather together against Yahweh [God] and His Anointed One [Christ].
Their confederacy will not succeed, however, and the Anointed will end up ruling with an iron
scepter and dashing his enemies to pieces like a clay pot. The advice of the psalm is to "kiss the
Son, " (i. e., submit to his rule), because "blessed are all who take refuge in him. "
Psalm 45—Your throne will last forever
Jewish and Christian commentators alike agree that Psalm 45 is about the Messiah. It is
a very powerful Psalm, and speaks of the authority and power that the Lord God will give His
Messiah. The Messiah can be clearly seen in the following verses:
Psalm 45: 2-7, 17 (NRSV)
(2) You are the most handsome of men; grace has been poured upon your lips; therefore
God has blessed you forever.
(3) Gird your sword on your thigh, Ï mighty one, in your glory and majesty.
(4) In your majesty ride on victoriously for the cause of truth and to defend the right; let
your right hand teach you dread deeds.
(5) Your arrows are sharp in the heart of the king's enemies; let the peoples fall under
you.

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(6) Your throne, Ï God, endures forever and ever; your royal scepter is a scepter of
equity; 10
(7) You love righteousness and hate wickedness; therefore God, your God, has anointed
you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions.
(17) I will cause your name to be celebrated in all generations; therefore the peoples will
praise you forever and ever.
It is easy to see from psalms like this how the people could be very surprised at the
comparatively mild-mannered Jesus who told people to bless their persecutors, and who never
once talked of getting an army together to conquer the earth. We can also see how the people
would be confused when he spoke of his death, even in veiled terms. In John 12: 23-36, Jesus was
speaking of his death, and the crowd replied, "We have heard from the Law that the Christ will
remain forever. " This verse clearly shows that the people at the time of Christ were not
expecting his death, and they were quoting Scripture to substantiate their beliefs. We see the
same thing happening today. Many Christians defend their theology by misapplying Scripture
verses. The entire Word has to fit together without loose ends.
Psalm 72-The King, the royal Son
Psalm 72 was considered by the ancient Jews to be about the Messiah. Edersheim writes:
"This Psalm also was viewed throughout by the ancient Synagogue as messianic, as
indicated by the fact that the Targum renders the very first verse: 'Give the sentence of
the judgment to the King Messiah, and Thy justice to the Son of David the King, ' which
is re-echoed by the Midrash, on the passage which applies it explicitly to the Mes-
siah.... " 11
The psalm has some wonderful verses about the Messiah:
Psalm 72: 1, 2, 4-15, 17 (NRSV)
(1) Give the king your justice, Ï God, and your righteousness to a king's son.
(2) May he judge your people with righteousness, and your poor with justice.
(4) May he defend the cause of the poor of the people, give deliverance to the needy,
and crush the oppressor.
(5) May he live while the sun endures, and as long as the moon, throughout all
generations.
10. The use of "God" in referring to the Messiah does not mean that he is the same as the Father or that there is a Trinity.
The Jews used the word "God" to refer to those with God's authority. See Appendix A (Heb. 1: 8). That the Messiah was
to be subject to the Lord God is clearly set forth in verse 7.
11. Edersheim, op. cit., Part 2, p. 719.

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(6) May he be like rain that falls on the mown grass, like showers that water the earth.
(7) In his days may righteousness flourish and peace abound, until the moon is no more.
(8) May he have dominion from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth.
(9) May his foes bow down before him and his enemies lick the dust.
(10) May the kings of Tarshish and of the isles render him tribute, may the kings of
Sheba and Seba bring gifts.
(11) May all kings fall down before him, all nations give him service.
(12) For he delivers the needy when they call, the poor and those who have no helper.
(13) He has pity on the weak and the needy, and saves the lives of the needy.
(14) From oppression and violence he redeems their life; and precious is their blood in
his sight.
(15) Long may he live! May gold of Sheba be given to him. May prayer be given for him
continually, and blessings invoked for him all day long.
(17) May his name endure forever, his fame continue as long as the sun. May all nations
be blessed in him; may they pronounce him happy.
This psalm promises that the Messiah will rescue the afflicted and make them prosper
while their oppressors are crushed and made to lick the dust. Thus, it is easy to see why the
disciples would want Jesus to become king, or why the crowds would shout" Hosanna" ("Save")
when they thought Jesus was the Messiah. They wanted what this psalm said the Messiah would
accomplish. Verse 11 says that the kings of the earth will bow to him. The exaltation of the
Messiah is an oft - repeated theme. It shows up again in Psalm 89, which the Jews also correctly
applied to the Messiah:
Psalm 89: 24, 25, 27 (NRSV)
(24) My faithfulness and steadfast love shall be with him; and in my name his horn shall
be exalted.
(25) I will set his hand on the sea, and his right hand on the rivers.
(27) I will make him the firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth.
Psalm 110—Priest and King
Psalm 110 portrays the Messiah, and is quoted more in the New Testament than any other
psalm. This is especially noteworthy in that the entire psalm is only seven verses. It starts out
with the Lord God speaking to His anointed, His Messiah, and picks up the familiar theme of
God and His Son conquering the earth: "The lord says to my Lord, 'Sit at my right hand until I

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make thine enemies a footstool for thy feet" (NASB)12 Although the ancient Jews never saw it
as such, Christ understood that this verse referred to the fact that, after his resurrection and
ascension, he would sit at God's right hand (Matt. 26: 64).
In this psalm, a startling truth is revealed: The Messiah will not only be king, but he will be
a priest also. Not a typical priest, for according to Mosaic Law all priests had to be descendants
of Aaron of the tribe of Levi. But this priest will be after the order of Melchizedek. "The lord has
sworn, and will not change his mind, 'Thou art a priest forever according to the order of
Melchizedek'" (Ps. 110: 4—NASB). Since Abraham paid tithes to Melchizedek, and Levi was "in
the loins" of Abraham at the time, then this priest after the order of Melchizedek will be a greater
priest than the Aaronic priests. Zechariah 6: 13 also was known by the Jews to refer to the
Messiah and showed him as a priest - king.
Ecclesiastes 1: 9 —The miracle worker
The Jews taught that Ecclesiastes 1: 9 ("That which has been is that which will be, and that
which has been done is that which will be done. So, there is nothing new under the sun" NASB)
showed that the Christ would do the same miracles that had been done in the Hebrew
Scriptures, so they were expecting him to be a great miracle worker. This in part explains why
Christ spoke so sternly against the cities that did not repent even though many of his miracles
had been done there (Matt. 11: 20-23), and why he told the Jews that the miracles he did spoke
for him (John 10: 25).
Isaiah 9: 6, 7—The Messiah's endless reign on David's throne
Jews, both ancient and modern, and Christians alike, realize that Isaiah 9: 6 and 7 are
referring to the coming Messiah, and these verses, like some others, show the power and
authority that God's Messiah will have. In his coming kingdom, which will last forever, there will
be peace, justice and righteousness.
Isaiah 9: 6, 7 (NRSV)
(6) For a child has been born for us, a son given to us; authority rests upon his shoulders;
and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of
Peace.
12. This verse has been used by some to try to prove the Trinity. But Anthony Buzzard writes:
Such a theory involves a misuse of the Hebrew language that can easily be cleared up. The two words for
"lord" in the sentence, "the lord said to my lord, " are significantly different. The first "Lord" is Yahweh. The
second word for "lord" (here, "my lord") is adoni, meaning, according to all standard Hebrew lexicons, "lord, "
"master, " or "owner, " and it refers here to the Messiah. If David had expected the Messiah to be God, the word
used would not have been adoni, but adonai, a term used exclusively of the one God. There is an enormous
difference between adoni, "my master, " and adonai, the supreme God. The tide adoni ("my lord") is, in fact,
never applied in the Hebrew Scriptures to the one God. In its 169 occurrences it refers only to superiors (mostly
men and occasionally angels) other than God. This important fact tells us that the Hebrew Scriptures expected
the Messiah to be not God but the human descendant of David, whom David properly recognized would also be
his lord.
Sir Anthony Buzzard, The Doctrine of the Trinity, Christianity's Self-inflicted Wound (Atlanta Bible College, Box
100, 000, Morrow, GA 30260, 1994), p. 24.

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(7) His authority shall grow continually, and there shall be endless peace for the throne
of David and his kingdom. He will establish and uphold it with justice and with
righteousness from this time onward and forever more. The zeal of the lord of hosts will
do this. 13
That God's Messiah would rule the earth and bring justice to the nations was something
the ancient Jews clearly understood. The fact that they applied verses like this to the Messiah
demonstrates that. Because, since the time of Rehoboam, Solomon's son (1 Kings 12), the
nation of Israel had been divided into ten northern tribes known as Israel and two southern
tribes known as Judah, the promise that the Messiah would reign from David's throne over all
Israel was astonishing. It seemed quite impossible to unite them since Israel had been
destroyed by the Assyrians and was no longer a nation (2 Kings 17). A particularly eloquent and
beautiful prophecy of the two being united is Amos 9: 11: "On that day I will raise up the booth
of David that is fallen, and repair its breeches, and raise up its ruins, and rebuild it as in the days
of old" (NRSV).
By the time of Amos, King David's "tent" had certainly fallen. Israel and Judah were two
nations at odds with each other, and Israel in particular had even officially turned away from the
worship of Jehovah. Jeremiah 3: 18, which spoke of the reuniting, was also correctly applied in
the ancient Jewish writings to the time of the Messiah: "In those days the house of Judah will join
the house of Israel, and together they will come from a northern land to the land I gave your
forefathers as an inheritance. " The Jews eagerly anticipated this reuniting. They just did not see
that this restoration would occur at his second coming to the earth to Israel, an event that,
admittedly, was not then clear to them in the Hebrew Scriptures.
A major blessing prophesied in the Hebrew Scriptures was that there would be justice in
the Messiah's reign. There has been so little justice in the governments of the world that it is very
comforting to know that the Messiah's kingdom will be one where justice prevails. There are
also many other clear verses stating that the Messiah will rule the earth with justice.
Likewise, there are many verses that speak of peace in the Messiah's kingdom. In that
sense, the title "Prince of Peace" fits him well. Zechariah 9: 10 is a good example: "I will cut off
the chariot from Ephraim and the horse from Jerusalem, and the battle bow shall be cut off. And
he shall speak peace unto the heathen: and his dominion shall be from sea even to sea, and from
the River even to the ends of the earth" (KJV).
Isaiah 11—The Branch of the Lord and his kingdom
Even a cursory reading of this chapter shows why the Jews applied it to the coming
Messiah. Isaiah 11 portrays in very graphic language what the kingdom of the Messiah would
be like. It is no wonder that the Jews wanted to be a part of it. That is why, when John, and later
Jesus and his apostles, went about saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near" (Matt.
3: 2, 4: 17, 10: 7, etc. ), the people became very excited. That excitement never died in Jesus'
followers, so even after his resurrection they asked, "Lord, are you at this time going to restore
the kingdom to Israel?" (Acts 1: 6).
13. See Appendix A (Isa. 9: 6).

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Isaiah 11: 1-16 (NRSV)
(1) A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse; and a branch shall grow out of his
roots.
(2) The Spirit of the lord shall rest on him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the
spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the lord.
(3) His delight shal be in the fear of the lord. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or
decide by what his ears hear;
(4) but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decie with equity for the meek
of the earth. He shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; and with the breath of
his lips he shall kill the wicked.
(5) Righteousness shall be the belt around his waist, and faithfulness the belt around his
loins.
(6) The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf and
the lion and the fading together; and a little child shall lead them.
(7) The cow and the bear shall graze, their young shall lie down together; and the lion
shall eat straw like the ox.
(8) The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put
his hand on the adder's nest.
(9) They will not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the
knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.
(10) On that day the Root of Jesse shall stand as a signal to the peoples; the nations shall
enquire of him, and his dwelling shall be glorious.
(11) On that day the Lord will extend his hand yet a second time to recover the remnant
that is left of his people, from Assyria, from Egypt, from Pathros, from Ethiopia, from
Elam, from Shinar, from Hamath and from the coast lands of the sea.
(12) He will raise a signal for the nations, and will assemble the outcasts of Israel, and
gather the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.
(13) The jealousy of Ephraim shall depart, the hostility of Judah shall be cut off; Ephraim
shall not be jealous of Judah, and Judah shall not be hostile towards Ephraim.
(14) But they shall swoop down on the backs of the Philistines in the west, together they
shall plunder the people of the east. They shall put forth their hand against Edom and
Moab, and the Ammonites shall obey them.
(15) And the Lord will utterly destroy the tongue of the sea of Egypt; and will wave his
hand over the River with his scorching wind; and will split it into seven channels and
make a way to cross on foot;
(16) So there shall be a highway from Assyria for the remnant that is left of his people,
as there was for Israel when they came up from the land of Egypt.

Chapter 5: The Messiah the Jews Expected
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This chapter is so beautiful and powerful in its portrayal of the future that it is difficult
indeed to adequately summarize it in a few paragraphs. Jesse (vs. l) is King David's father. The
everlasting throne had been promised to the seed of David, but other countries, including Syria,
Egypt, Ammon and Moab, had attacked Israel and scattered her people. Even during Isaiah's
life, the Assyrians attacked Israel and Judah and took many people captive. Isaiah 11 foretold
that even if the throne of David looked cut off like a stump, there would come forth from it a
"branch, " one who would shoot up and bear much fruit as a great ruler of the people. 14
Verses 2-5 describe his wonderful rule, beginning with the fact that the spirit of the Lord
would rest on him. Other verses that the Jews applied to the Messiah foretold that God's spirit
would be on him. An example is Isaiah 42: 1: "Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen
one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him and he will bring justice to the nations. "
Verses 4ff portray the Messiah destroying the wicked so that the meek, the poor and the
needy will be able to inherit the earth (see also Ps. 37: 9-11; Matt. 5: 5). During the Messiah's reign
wild animals will be friendly toward each other and safe around children, and lions and other
carnivores will eat plants again just as they did in the Garden of Eden (Gen. 1: 30). This point is
made a number of times in Scripture, and Isaiah 65: 25 and Hosea 2: 18 are good examples.
Furthermore, the Lord will gather all the scattered people and bring them back to Israel, and
enemy nations will be his subjects. The people of Christ's time knew and believed these
prophecies, which explains why they were so anxious for the Messiah to come, and so as-
tounded when he preached a "Love your enemies" gospel and then was arrested and finally
crucified. No wonder the two disciples on the road to Emmaus were walking away from
Jerusalem disheartened, saying, "We had thought he was the glorious Messiah and that he had
come to rescue Israel" (Luke 24: 21—NASB). Nevertheless, let the reader be assured that our
God, who "cannot lie, " will fulfil all these prophecies. There is a time coming when those of
Israel who were meek to believe God and were saved will inherit the land and see these promises
fulfilled.
Isaiah 25: 8 and 26: 19—Death will be swallowed up
The Bible clearly teaches that the dead will be raised. Some of the Jews at the time of Christ
were looking forward to a resurrection and a judgment that would precede the Messiah's
kingdom on earth. The following two verses are quoted in the Talmud as referring to the times
of the Messiah:
Isaiah 25: 7b, 8 (NRSV)
He will swallow up death forever. Then the Lord God will wipe away the tears from all
faces; and the disgrace of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the Lord has
spoken.
Isaiah 26: 19 (NRSV)
Your dead shall live; their corpses shall rise. Ï dwellers in the dust, awake and sing for
joy! For your dew is a radiant dew, and the earth will give birth to those long dead.
14. We will discuss in detail the dramatic messianic implications of the term "branch" in the next chapter.

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Many of the people who believed in a resurrection looked forward to that day as a time
when they would be reunited with their loved ones and get to meet "great" believers like Moses,
Job and Daniel. With clear verses like these, how could the Sadducees possibly say that there
was not going to be a resurrection (Matt. 22: 23; Mark 12: 18; Luke 20: 27; Acts 23: 8)? The answer
is that the Sadducees based their beliefs only on the five books of Moses, which they did not
believe taught life after death. They had their own philosophy as to why the books of Job, Daniel,
Isaiah, Ezekiel, etc., which clearly taught the resurrection, were not actually foretelling a
resurrection. Thus, there was genuine confusion at the time of Christ about the resurrection of
the dead.
Isaiah 32: 15a—The spirit is poured out from on high
One of the things the Jews were looking forward to when Messiah came was an outpouring
of the spirit of God. Isaiah 32: 15a says: "Until a spirit from on high is poured out on us" (NRSV)12
There are other verses referring to the spirit being poured out that the ancient Jews knew
applied to the time of the Messiah. Ezekiel 11: 19 and Joel 2: 28 also teach this truth. The ancient
Jews were expecting that during the time of the Messiah every Jew would become a prophet or
prophetess. Joel 2: 28 says, "Then afterward, I will pour out my spirit on all flesh; your sons and
your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see
visions" (NRSV).
Isaiah 32: 15b, 20—The land is healed, the desert blooms
Ancient Jews believed that in the days of the Messiah, the curse on the ground would be
removed and the land would produce abundantly. Many scriptures declare this future reality.
Isaiah 32: 15b says: "and the wilderness becomes a fruitful field, and the fruitful field is deemed
a forest" (NRSV). Also Isaiah 35: 6, "For waters shall break forth in the wilderness and streams
in the desert" (NRSV). Although these promises have not come to pass yet, they will happen—
the promise of God will not remain unfulfilled.
However, this promise will be fulfilled not when Christ comes as the lamb of God, but as
the lion of Judah; not as the one whose heel will be bruised, but as the one who will "bruise" the
Adversary. Still another verse that was correctly understood as applying to the abundance
during the messianic age is Joel 3: 18: "In that day the mountains shall drip sweet wine, the hills
shall flow with milk, and all the stream beds of Judah shall flow with water; a fountain shall come
forth from the house of the Lord and water the Wadi Shittim" (NRSV). Ezekiel 47: 9 and 12 were
two other verses that the ancient Jews knew foretold of abundance in the time of the Messiah.
The Jews who were looking for the Messiah were confused when promises like these were
not fulfilled. When Jesus was hanging on the Cross, it certainly looked to them like he did not
fulfill the scriptural requirements for the Messiah.

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Isaiah 35: 5, 6—The people healed
Just as there are many verses foretelling that the land will be healed in the kingdom of the
Messiah, there are also verses that foretell the healing of the people.
Isaiah 35: 5, 6: (NRSV)
(5) Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped;
(6) Then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy. For
waters shall break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert.
Sickness has been a terrible problem since the days of Adam. For most of recorded history,
sickness has been chronic and lifespans have been short. The prophecies that healing would
be part of the messianic kingdom produced great excitement. A verse in Malachi believed by
the ancient Jews to apply to the coming of the Messiah said, "The sun of righteousness [the
Messiah] will rise with healing in its wings. " (Mal. 4: 2—NRSV). This verse seems nonsensical to
most Christians because they do not understand "wings. " The "wings" referred to are the
"corners" of the outer garments worn by the people (see Num. 15: 38 and Ruth 3: 9 where the
same Hebrew word is translated as "corners, " not "wings").
The prophecy in Malachi was clearly understood by the Jews. They read and understood
the Hebrew text that when the Messiah came, he would have healing in the corners of his
garments. And people were indeed healed when, with faith, they touched the "wings" of his
garments (Matt. 9: 20-22; 14: 34-36). The record in Matthew is revealing because it portrays a
woman who kept saying to herself, "If I only touch his garment, I shall get well" (Matt. 9: 21—
NASB). This indicated that she believed Jesus was the Messiah, and in fact, because of his
healing miracles, many other people believed that also. Jesus certainly healed many people,
and because of his healings many believed that he was the Christ. Still, as the record in Acts 3
indicates, not everyone in Israel was healed by Jesus Christ. However, the Bible foretells a time
when everyone will be healed.
Isaiah 49: 8-10, 22, 23—Israel restored,
captives freed, favor bestowed
Isaiah 49 contains some great promises that the Jews recognized as prophecies of the
messianic kingdom.
Isaiah 49: 8-10, 22, 23 (NRSV)
(8) Thus says the Lord: "In a time of favor I have answered you, on a day of salvation I
have helped you; I have kept you and given you as a covenant to the people, to establish
the land, to apportion the desolate heritages;
(9) Saying to the prisoners, 'Come out, ' to those who are in darkness, 'Show yourselves!'
They shall feed along the ways, on all the bare heights shall be their pasture.

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(10) They shall not hunger or thirst, neither scorching wind nor sun shall strike them
down, he who has pity on them will lead them and by springs of water will guide them. "
(22) Thus says the Lord God: "See, I will soon lift up my hand to the nations, and raise
my signal to the peoples; and they shall bring your sons in their bosom, and your
daughters shall be carried on their shoulders.
(23) Kings shall be your foster fathers, and their queens your nursing mothers. With
their faces to the ground they shall bow down to you, and lick the dust of your feet. Then
you will know that I am the Lord; those who wait for me shall not be put to shame. "
It does not take too much imagination to see why verses like these would excite the Jews.
God promised that Jews would once again rule Israel, and that their covenant blessings would
be restored. He further said that all Jewish captives would be freed and get to come back to
Israel. And not just freed, but actually escorted home by Gentiles. This is no small feat, because
Jews had been taken captive for generations and the "Diaspora" were scattered all over the
world. Many Jews were slaves of individuals or of the Roman state or slaves in other countries.
Notice how, in contrast to the way Jews were usually the slaves and servants of others, in the
messianic kingdom they will be favored.
There are many verses that the Jews correctly interpreted about being restored to their
land during the time of the Messiah. Ezekiel 48 foretells how the Messiah will divide up the land
of Israel among the tribes, and he will get a portion of Israel for himself. 15
Isaiah 52: 13; 53: 5, 10-The suffering Savior
As we have said, some Jews saw that the Messiah would have to suffer, but they did not see
his death and resurrection. Just before what we now clearly see as a classic prophecy about his
suffering and death, comes Isaiah 52: 13, which speaks of the exaltation of the Messiah: "See, my
servant will act wisely; he will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted. 16
15. Edersheim has the following comment on his note on Ezekiel 48: 19: "The Talmud (Baba  122a) has the following
curious comment, that the land of Israel would be divided into thirteen tribes, the thirteenth belonging to the Prince
(op. cit., Book Two, p. 733).
16. Edersheim comments on what the ancient Jews wrote about the Messiah's suffering and exaltation:
"On the words 'He shall be exalted and extolled, ' we read in Yalkut ii. (Para., 338, p. 53c, lines 7 etc. from
the bottom): 'He shall be higher than Abraham, to whom applies Gen. 14: 22; higher than Moses, of whom
Num. 11: 12 is predicated; higher than the ministering angels, of whom Ezek. 1: 18 is said. But to him there applies
this in Zech. 4: 7: 'Who art thou, Ï great mountain?' 'And he was wounded for our transgressions, and bruised
for our iniquities, and the chastisement of our peace was upon him, and with his stripes we are healed. ' R[abbi)
Huna says, in the name of R[abbi] Acha: 'All sufferings are divided into three parts; one part goes to David and
the Patriarchs, another to the generation of the rebellion (rebellious Israel), and the third to King Messiah... In
regard to Isaiah 53, we remember that the messianic name of 'Leprous' (Sanh. 98b) is expressly based upon it.
Isaiah 53: 10 is applied in the Targum on the passage to the Kingdom of the Messiah" (Edersheim, op. cit, p. 727).

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Isaiah 53: 5 and 6
(5) But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the
punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.
(6) Yet it was the Lord's will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the Lord
makes his life a guilt offering, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will
of the Lord will prosper in his hand.
Reading Jewish commentaries about these verses gives one a clear picture of the "blind-
ness" (Rom. 11: 7—KJV) that came over Israel regarding their Messiah. This blindness is referred
to several times in the epistles of Paul. Reference is made to the fact that without Christ, the Jews
read the Old Testament with a veil over their faces and their minds are "dull" (2 Cor. 3: 14).
Ancient Jewish commentaries say that Isaiah 52: 13 and some verses in Chapter 53 refer to the
Messiah. But, remarkably, the commentaries do not recognize that all of the verses in Chapter
53 refer to the Messiah, nor do they note that there is anything in the context of the chapter that
would change the focus of its subject matter. In Chapters 52 and 53 the entire picture of the
Messiah is set forth: his sufferings (52: 14-53: 7), his death (53: 8, 9, 12), his resurrection (53: 10, 11)
and his exaltation (52: 13, 53: 10-12). The natural interpretation of Isaiah 52 and 53 would seem
to be that Christ would suffer, die, and then, soon after his resurrection, he would set up his
kingdom. Yet the Jews did not understand that. Isaiah 53 does not mention ascension into
heaven. There is nothing in this record indicating that Christ would ascend up to heaven
instead of conquering the earth and establishing a kingdom. Uncertainty about Christ's
ascension is why the disciples asked him after his resurrection if he were going to set up the
kingdom "at this time" (Acts 1: 6).
As we have seen by learning of "Messiah Ben Joseph, " some of the ancient Jews did believe
there would be a suffering savior, but their picture of this man was confusing and not based on
a clear exegesis of Scripture. Another verse that mentions the suffering of the Messiah is
Zechariah 12: 10, which says, "They will look on me, the one they have pierced. " According to
the ancient writings, this section of Scripture was applied to Messiah Ben Joseph, and even then
disputed as to exactly what it meant. Its genuine interpretation is given in John 19: 37—it refers
to when Jesus was on the Cross and the soldier came and pierced his side.
Clearly there was confusion about the suffering of the Messiah. Were there really to be two
Messiahs, of which only one would suffer? Was the Messiah to suffer for a week, or how long?
And for Israel only or for righteous Gentiles as well? And for all Israel, such that both good and
evil Israelites would be saved? If you find this confusing, so did the Jews, especially since they
read many clear prophecies about a conquering Messiah. There are many scriptures, and clear
ones at that, which speak of the conquests of the Messiah and his wonderful kingdom, so a
suffering savior was not generally expected, as we have seen.
Isaiah 63—The conquering Messiah
Isaiah 63 was known by the ancient Jews to apply to the Messiah conquering the Gentile
enemies.

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Isaiah 63: 1-4 (NRSV)
(1) Who is this that comes from Edom, from Bozrah, with garments stained crimson?
Who is this so splendidly robed, marching in his great might? "It is I, announcing
vindication, mighty to save. "
(2) Why are your garments red, like theirs who tread the winepress?
(3) I have trodden the winepress alone, and from the peoples no one was with me; I trod
them in my anger and trampled them in my wrath; their juice spattered my garments,
and stained all my robes.
(4) For the day of vengeance was in my heart, and the year for my redeeming work had
come. "
The illustration of the "winepress, " found here in Isaiah, is found also in the Book of
Revelation regarding the battle of Armageddon (14: 19, 20). Verses like these, which graphically
portray the battle that will precede the kingdom, reinforced the people's idea that Christ would
be a conqueror. Many verses speak of the destruction of the wicked when the Messiah comes.
Isaiah 11: 4, already quoted, says: "With the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked. " Malachi
4: 1 says: '"See, the day is coming, burning like an oven, when all the arrogant and all evildoers
will be stubble; the day that comes shall burn them up, ' says the Lord of hosts. 'So that it will
leave them neither root nor branch'" (NRSV). Verses like these also reinforced the idea that only
the meek would be left alive to inherit the earth, and that the Messiah's kingdom would be
peaceful and prosperous.
The Jews were not expecting the kind and gentle Jesus who died for their sins. They rightly
believed that the nations, once conquered, would obey the world - rule of the Messiah. They
correctly applied to the messianic Age verses like Daniel 7: 27 ("... His kingdom will be an
everlasting kingdom, and all rulers will worship and obey him"). Also, Zephaniah 3: 8: '"There-
fore wait for me, ' declares the Lord, 'for the day I will stand up to testify. I have decided to
assemble the nations, to gather the kingdoms and to pour out my wrath on them — all my fierce
anger. The whole world will be consumed by the fire of my jealous anger. '"
Isaiah 65: 17-25—Blessings in the Messiah's Kingdom
Isaiah 65: 17-25 portrays some of what the Jews expected life would be like in the Messiah's
kingdom.
Isaiah 65: 17-25 (NASB)
(17) "For I am about to create new heavens and a new earth. The former things shall not
be remembered or come to mind.
(18) But be glad and rejoice forever in what I am creating; for I am about create
Jerusalem as a joy and its people as a delight.
(19) I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and delight in my people; no more shall the sound of
weeping be heard in it, or the cry of distress.

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(20) No more shall there be in it an infant that lives but a few days, or an old person who
does not live out a lifetime; for one who dies at a hundred years will be considered a
youth; and one who falls short of a hundred will be considered accursed.
(21) They shall build houses and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and eat their
fruit.
(22) They shall not build and another inhabit; they shall not plant and another eat; for
like the days of a tree shall the days of my people be, and my chosen shall long enjoy the
work of their hands.
(23) They shall not labor in vain, or bear children for calamity; for they shall be offspring
blessed by the Lord — and their descendants as well.
(24) Before they call I will answer, while they are yet speaking I will hear.
(25) The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, the lion shall eat straw like the ox; but
the serpent — its food shall be dust! They shall not hurt or destroy on all my holy
mountain, " says the Lord.
These verses were applied by the ancient Jews to the kingdom of the Messiah, and they
portray a time of great prosperity, peace and enjoyment. There will be no more weeping or
crying, and the fact that the curse that now plagues the earth will be removed is shown by stating
that wild animals will live together in harmony and the carnivores will eat plants. Verses 21-23
portray the blessing of the Lord — that people would live in peace and harmony. Zechariah 3: 10
says: "On that day, ' says the Lord of hosts, 'you shall invite each other to come under your vine
and fig tree' " (NRSV)17
17. In spite of the obvious blessings portrayed by these verses, they have confused both ancient Jews and modern
Christians alike. People become confused because these verses mention death in the Messiah's kingdom, but do not
explain it clearly. This problem is magnified because, in the next chapter, Isaiah 66: 22 was applied to the Messiah's
kingdom. It reads: '"As the new heavens and the new earth that I make will endure before me, ' declares the
lord, 'so
will your name and descendants endure. '" So it seems that one verse says that there will be death in the Kingdom, while
another says there will not be. How can this apparent contradiction be explained?
Many subjects in the Word of God are unclear if only one section of Scripture is read. However, answers to
questions can be found by comparing scripture with scripture and building a complete understanding as the pieces fit
together. First, why does the Word say there will be a new heaven and earth? The answer is that during the Tribulation,
and in particular the Battle of Armageddon, the earth as we know it will be greatly devastated. The Messiah will have
to make it over, change animal nature, repopulate the seas and the land with fish, animals, plants, etc. And, yes, some
people in the Messiah's kingdom will die, but not those who have already died once and been raised from the dead. The
people who will die during the Kingdom are those who will be alive during the Tribulation and be among the "fortunate"
ones who live through it and then are allowed to enter the Messiah's kingdom as mortals (Matt. 25: 31 -40). These people
will marry, have children and die, just as people do today. In fact, they will have lots of children. The earth's population
will explode during the 1000 year reign of the Messiah. The earth will go from having very few people at the end of the
Tribulation (Isa. 13: 9-12 and 24: 1-6) to having people "like the sand on the seashore" by the end of Christ's Millennial
Kingdom (Rev. 20: 8). The 1000 year reign of Christ will end with Satan being loosed, the nations being deceived and
rebelling against God and Christ, and God raining fire down from heaven and destroying the earth (Rev. 20: 7-10). Then
there will be another "new heaven and earth" (Rev. 21: 1), complete with a city with streets of gold (Rev. 21: 21).

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Jeremiah 3: 17—The nations honor the Lord
The scriptures that the ancient Jews applied to the time of the Messiah did not only involve
him conquering some of the Gentiles and then enslaving them, but also portrayed the destruc-
tion of the rebellious Gentiles. Other people, once conquered, choose to participate in the
worship of the lord, many apparently with a more - than - willing heart. There are quite a few
verses that foretell this:
Jeremiah 3: 17 (NASB)
At that time they shall call Jerusalem 'The Throne of the lord, ' and all the nations shall
be gathered to it, to Jerusalem, for the name of the lord; nor shall they walk anymore
after the stubbornness of their evil heart.
Zephaniah3: 9 (NASB)
"Then I will give to the peoples purified lips, that all of them may call on the name of the
lord, to serve him shoulder to shoulder. "
Isaiah 56: 7 (NASB)
" Even those [foreigners] I will bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my
house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be acceptable on my altar; for
my house will be called a house of prayer for all the peoples. "
Isaiah 60: 3 (NASB)
And nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.
Zechariah 8: 23 (NASB)
Thus says the lord of hosts: "In those days ten men from all the nations will gras[ tje
garment of a Jew saying, 'Let us go with you [to Jerusalem], for we have heard that God
is with you. '"
Perhaps the earliest reference to the Gentiles worshipping with the Jews is in Genesis 9: 27,
which says that Japheth will dwell in the tents of Shem. One of the Targums interprets that to
mean that the Gentiles will become proselytes.
Jeremiah 30: 21—One of their own
Jewish theology, both ancient and modern, is aggressively monotheistic. Suggesting to
such Jews, who will not even pronounce the name of God, that the Messiah is none other than
God Himself come down from heaven (or one of a three - part Godhead) is, to them, absurd and
offensive. They were expecting the Messiah to be a "son" of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David, etc.
He was also expected to have a mother and a family. Other scriptures affirm this. Jeremiah 30: 21
is one of those, and the ancient writings confirm that the Jews applied this verse to their
Messiah: '"And their leader shall be one of them, and their ruler shall come forth from their
midst; and I will bring him near, and he shall approach me; for who would dare to risk his life
to approach me?' declares the lord" (NASB).

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Jeremiah 31: 3l, 33, 34-The New Covenant
One of the things the Jews realized that the Messiah was to do was to establish a new
covenant with Israel in place of the one made at the time of Moses.
Jeremiah 31: 31, 33, 34 (NASB)
(31) "Behold, days are coming, " declares the lord, "when I will make a new covenant
with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.
(33) But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days, "
declares the Lord, "I will put my law within them, and on their heart I will write it; and
I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
(34) And they shall not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother,
saying, ' Know the lord, ' for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest
of them, " declares the lord, "For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will
remember no more. "
The Jews were looking for a king who would make a new covenant with them. 18 God
promised that part of the New Covenant would be that the Law would be written on the hearts
of the people. The Jews believed this and saw that this promise was restated in other scriptures.
For example, Ezekiel 11: 19 was applied by the ancient Jews to the day of the Messiah: "And I shall
give them one heart and shall put a new spirit within them. And I shall take the heart of stone
and give them a heart of flesh" (NASB). So was Ezekiel 36: 27: "And I will put my Spirit within
you and cause you to walk in my statutes, and you will be careful to observe my ordinances"
(NASB). Hosea 3: 5 says the Israelites will seek the Lord their God and David (the Messiah) their
king and come trembling to them.
Daniel 2: 44—The kingdom that will never end
We have seen that the ancient Jews believed that the Messiah would set up a kingdom. The
Jewish writings establish that beyond any doubt, and Zechariah 14: 9, applied by the ancient
Jews to the kingdom of the Messiah, states: "The lord will be king over the whole earth. " Daniel
2: 44 is one of the clearer verses that speaks of the Messiah's kingdom: " In the time of those kings,
the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another
people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure
forever. " It is to the Jews' credit that at least they knew what the Messiah's kingdom will be like:
 The Messiah will rule from Jerusalem, from David's throne (Isa. 9: 7, etc. ).
 Jerusalem will be exalted (Isa. 2: 1-4; 62: 1-7; Micah 4: 1-8; Zech. 2: 12, etc. ).
18. Jesus did just that at his last supper. What is not generally understood is that there can be a long time between the
making of a covenant and when that covenant is fulfilled. God made a covenant with Abraham for the land of Israel,
and today, after almost 4000 years, it has still not been fulfilled. The New Covenant that Christ made at the last supper
will not be fulfilled until his kingdom.

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 The land will be restored to both Israel and Judah (Isa. 11: 10-16; 66: 20; Jer. 3: 18, 23;
3-8; 31: 8-11; 33: 7; Ezek 11: 17; 28; 25; 37: 15-28; Hosea 1: 10, 11, etc. ).
 The wicked will be destroyed but the meek will inherit the earth (Psalm 37: 9-11; Ezek.
37: 11, 12; Dan. 12: 2, 3; Zeph. 3: 8-12; Mai. 4: 1, etc. ).
 The house of Israel will know God (Isa. 29: 23, 24; Jer. 31: 33, 34; Ezek. ll: 18-20, etc. ).
 The nations will be conquered and ruled with a "rod of iron" (Ps. 2: 9; Isa 11: 4, 14: 2;
49: 22, 23, 60: 10-14; Micah 7: 16, 17; Zech. 14: 16-19, etc. ).
 The conquered nations will come to Jerusalem to worship (Isa. 2: 1-3; 19: 18-25;
56: 4-8; 66: 19-21; Zech. 2: 11; 8: 20-23; 14: 16, etc. ).
 There will be justice on earth (Isa. 2: 4, 9: 6, 7; 11: 1-5, 32: 1, 2, 5, 16, 17; Jer. 23: 5, 6, 33: 15;
etc. )
 There will be no war (Isa. 2: 4; 9: 4, 5, 7; Micah 4: 3, 4; Zech. 9: 9-11; Hosea 2: 18, etc. ).
 The people of Israel will be healed (Isa 29: 18, 32: 3, 4, 33: 24; 35: 5, 6, Jer. 33: 6;
Mai. 4: 2, etc. ).
 The people will live safely (Isa. 11: 6-9; 32: 18; 54: 14-17; 60: 15-18; 65: 17-25;
Jer. 23: 4-6; 33: 6; Ezek. 28: 26; 34: 25-31; Micah 5: 4, 5; Zeph. 3: 13-17; etc. ).
 The land will be healed and the desert bloom (Isa. 32: 15; 35: 1, 2, 7; 44: 3; 51: 3, etc. ).
 There will be an abundance of food (Isa. 25: 6; 30: 23-26; 35: 1, 6, 7; 41: 18-20; 51: 3;
Jer 31: 5, 11-14; Ezek. 47: 1, 2, 7-12; Hosea2: 21, 22; Joel2: 19, 22-26, 3: 18; Amos 9. T3, etc. )
What wonderful promises! What a great kingdom to look forward to! It is easy to see that
what the Bible foretells about the Messiah's kingdom has not happened yet. The Jews thought
Christ would bring it, but we can now see that this kingdom will not be established until his
Second Coming to the earth to save Israel. The Jews, however, believing that the Messiah would
come only once and would usher in this kingdom at that time, believed Jesus to be a fake, a fraud.
He said the kingdom was close, but his actions were not king - like, at least according to them. 19
Daniel 7: 13—Coming in the clouds of heaven
Daniel 7: 13, 14 (NASB)
(13) I kept looking in the night visions, and behold with the clouds of heaven One like
a son of man was coming, and he came up to the Ancient of Days and was presented
before him.
19. The Jews were not the only ones to misunderstand the prophecies concerning the coming Kingdom. Most
Christians misunderstand the prophecies of the messianic Kingdom, but for other reasons. First and foremost, they are
taught that "heaven, " not the earth, is the future home for all Christians. However, this erroneous idea negates the
words of Christ that "the meek shall inherit the earth, " and makes them into something like "the saved shall inherit the
air. " Christian Educational Services has other materials relating to this topic, such as our book, Is There Death After Life?
and audiotapes such as The Kingdom of God, Paradise Regained.

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(14) And to him was given dominion, glory and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations
and men of every language might serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion
which will not pass away, and his kingdom is one which will not be destroyed.
Verse 13 is spoken of in the Talmud where it is said that if Israel is worthy, the Messiah will
come in the clouds of heaven, but if Israel is unworthy, then the Messiah will ride in on a donkey.
This is an example of how close the Jews could be to the truth and yet miss it. The prophecy was
that the Messiah was to be born of a woman; of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Judah and David; and
that he was to be "from among his brothers. " Putting the scriptures together, Christ would have
to be born of a woman and come in a gentle and humble way, and suffer. Yet he would also have
to come in the clouds of heaven to conquer and rule. The only way for all these verses to be true
is that there would have to be two separate comings. 20 Of course Jesus understood it that way
and he taught it when he quoted Daniel 7: 13 as recorded in Matthew 24: 30; 26: 64; Mark 13: 26
and Luke 21: 27.
Amos 5: 18—A time of trouble
It was not lost on some of the Rabbis that the Hebrew Scriptures foretold a time of trouble
when the Messiah came. Edersheim writes: "Amos 5: 18 is one of the passages adduced in
the Talmud (Sanh. 98b) to explain why certain Rabbis did not wish to see the day of the
Messiah. "21 Amos 5: 18 says: "Woe to you who long for the day of the lord! Why do you long for
the day of the lord? That day will be darkness, not light" (NRSV). 22
Micah 5: 2—The Messiah to come from Bethlehem
The Jews also knew the verse quoted in the New Testament that the Messiah was to be born
in Bethlehem. " But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah,
out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from
ancient times" (Micah 5: 2— NRSV). Part of this verse has been fulfilled: the Messiah, Jesus, was
born in Bethlehem. One day, he will be Israel's king.
20. We believe the same is true regarding his Second Coming. The only way for all the scriptures to be true regarding
his coming again is if his advent is in two parts. First he comes for his saints, then he comes with his saints. Between
the two events is the "Great Tribulation, " from which Christians will be spared [The Book of Revelation, audiotape
seminar from CES).
21. Edersheim, op. cit., p. 734.
22. Some ancient Jews were not the only ones to wish for the delay of the Messiah. There have also been Christians who
have prayed that his Second Coming not be during their lifetime because they, not believing in a pre-Tribulation
rapture, thought that they would have to go through the Tribulation just before he comes. See The Formation of
Christian Dogma
by Martin Werner (Boston, Beacon Press, 1957), p. 43. Knowing the truth of the pre-Tribulation
rapture allows us to pray fervendy, "Come, Lord Jesus" (1 Cor. 16: 22).

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Micah 5: 3—Israel conquered by enemies
Micah 5: 3 states: "Therefore Israel will be abandoned until the time when she who is in
labor gives birth and the rest of his brothers return to join the Israelites. " The Talmud teaches
that enemies will occupy Israel for nine months before the Messiah would come. 23 It is true that
Israel will be occupied by enemies before the Messiah comes, but the nine month figure is
inaccurate (Dan. 7: 25; Rev. 11: 2; 12: 6, 14; 13: 5). Some of the Jews living at the time of Christ saw
the Roman occupation as a fulfillment of this, and were expecting the Messiah to come and
deliver them. Zechariah 14: 2 was another verse that the ancient Jews understood to portray the
conquest of Jerusalem before the advent of the Messiah: "I will gather all the nations to
Jerusalem to fight against it; the city will be captured, the houses ransacked, and the women
raped. Half of the city will go into exile, but the rest of the people will not be taken from the city. "
Zechariah 6: 12, 13-The Temple builder
The ancient Jewish writings universally applied both Zechariah. 6: 12 and 6: 13 to the
Messiah:
Zechariah 6: 12, 13 (NASB)
(12) "Then say to him, thus says the lord of hosts: 'Behold a man whose name is Branch,
for he will branch out from where he is, and he will build the temple of the lord.
(13) Yes, it is he who will build the temple of the lord, and he will bear the honor and sit
and rule on his throne. Thus, he will be a priest on his throne, and the counsel of peace
will be between the two offices. '"
One of the ancient names for the Messiah was "the Branch, " and one of the things he
would do is build a Temple. Obviously, Jesus did not do so during his first coming, but the
Scripture will not be broken. When he comes to conquer the world, he will build a Temple. The
Temple that he will build, its location and some of the sacrifices and offerings are described in
Ezekiel 40-48. Many modern Christians miss this altogether because they interpret the Temple
in Ezekiel as an allegory, and say that the Church is the Temple. It is true that the Church is
figuratively a Temple, but we are not the Temple described in Ezekiel, complete with an altar,
sacrifices, priests, storerooms, meat hooks, washing basins, etc. The Temple in Ezekiel sits in the
center of the land that was promised to Israel and in the Kingdom promised to Christ. When
Christ comes back to earth, he will make good the prophecy that he will build the Temple.
Zechariah, like Psalm 110 (which we already covered) shows the Messiah to be a priest-
king. Thus, not only will Christ be a King, but as High Priest he will oversee the Temple.
Zechariah 9: 9—The king on a donkey
It was believed by the ancient Jews that the victorious Messiah would ride into Jerusalem
on a donkey. Edersheim writes: "We may here add that there are many traditions about this ass
23. Edersheim, op. cit., Book Two, p. 735.

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on which the Messiah is to ride; and so firm was the belief in it, that, according to the Talmud,
'If anyone saw an ass in his dreams, he will see salvation. '"24 Of course, Jesus did ride into
Jerusalem on a donkey, but not after he conquered the Gentile nations. In fact, it was just before
he was crucified.
Zechariah9: 9 (NASB)
Rejoice greatly, Ï Daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, Ï Daughter of Jerusalem! Behold
your king is coming to you; he is just and endowed with salvation, humble, and
mounted on a donkey, even on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
The fact that Jesus was riding into Jerusalem on a donkey was not lost on the crowds, who
shouted, "Hosanna to the Son of David!" "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the lord!"
"Hosanna in the highest!" (Matt. 21: 9). "Hosanna" means "Save, " and "Son of David" was a
common messianic title. The crowds were excited, and expected Jesus to miraculously fulfill
the prophecies and "save" them. When he was later arrested, they were disappointed, and
shouted "Crucify him" (Matt. 27: 22, 23). Yet the prophecy also contains words that indicate that
Christ would not ride into Jerusalem as a conqueror. When he came on the donkey he was to
be "gentle, " and having salvation. And he did. He did have salvation — but not the salvation the
Jews were looking for, which was salvation from the Romans. Had he then come in judgment,
many of them would not have passed muster. No, he came with salvation by being the gentle
lamb of God, who, by paying for the sins of mankind, would offer everlasting life to those
deserving of it.
Malachi 4: 5—Elijah will come first
Malachi 4: 5 was quite confusing to the ancient Jews. It says: "Behold, I am going to send
you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the lord" (NASB). The
Jews did not know what to do with this verse, and so opinions varied. Many believed that Elijah
would descend from heaven in the same manner as he was taken up. Others believed that Elijah
would be raised from the dead and come back.
The answer to the "riddle" of the coming of Elijah is found in a common figure of speech
that is also found in the Bible. The figure of speech is called antonomasia, which Webster
defines as "the use of the name of some office, dignity, profession, science, or trade instead of
the true name of the person; a grave man is called a Cato, an eminent orator, a Cicero, a wise
man, a Solomon. " It is common in languages that when you want to show that one person is like
another in some way, you often call that person by the other's name. If a child is jumping on a
couch, you might say, "Stop it, Tarzan!" Or if someone makes a great shot in basketball, you
might say, "Nice shot, Michael. "
In order to transfer the characteristics of one person to another, all that is sometimes
needed is to change the name. Thus, the Messiah is called "David" in Ezekiel 37: 24 to emphasize
that he would sit on David's throne. The kingdom of Judah is called "Sodom" and "Gomorrah"
when they were deep in sin (Isa. 1: 10). Jezebel called Jehu, the king of Israel, "Zimri" (2 Kings
24. Ibid., Book Two, p. 736.

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9: 31), to see if she could scare him. Jehu was about to kill her, and Zimri had killed to become
king but then reigned for only seven days before he himself was killed. Using a well-known
name or title to import meaning is simple and effective. God said "Elijah" would come before
the great day of the Lord. Not the Elijah who had lived and died, but someone with the fiery spirit
of Elijah. That person was John the Baptist, as Christ said in Matthew 17: 10-13.
Summary of the Evidence of the Hebrew Scriptures
It should be quite clear by now that the Messiah the Jews were expecting and the Messiah
that came were very different. The Messiah that came brought no world-wide kingdom, no
uniting of Israel and Judah, no destruction of ancient enemies, no ideal world with peace,
justice, food and healing. In fairness to them, remember that the fact that Christ would come
in two appearings, one as the suffering servant, and another, years later, as the lion of Judah, is
not clearly stated in the Hebrew Scriptures. No single scripture says something like, "The
Messiah will come, suffer, die, be raised and then come again as a conqueror. " The virgin birth
is not clearly stated, nor is Herod's killing of children around Bethlehem, nor is Christ's trip to
Egypt as a child. His death and resurrection are mentioned, but not so clearly that the Jews
understood the truth about them, and his ascension into heaven is very unclear. No wonder
Jesus said to Peter, who correctly identified him as the Christ, "This was not revealed to you by
man, but by my Father in heaven" (Matt. 16: 17).
Do the Jews who rejected Christ have a valid excuse? No, for the Father has always been
more than willing to reveal the Messiah to any and all who seek him from the heart. We just saw
that many of the Old Testament scriptures portrayed things about the coming Messiah that
should have caused the Jews to see who he was to be and understand his two comings to Israel.
For example, he was going to be of the line of David, but also come in the clouds of heaven. He
was going to be gentle and have salvation, but also be a fierce warrior, killing his enemies and
dashing them with a rod of iron. He was going to be pierced, but also going to conquer his
enemies and pierce them with his arrows. Isaiah 52: 13-53: 12 shows his suffering, death,
resurrection and glory. Also, as the Gospels record, some people believed he was the Messiah
because of the miracles and healings he performed, and he rebuked the cities that did not
accept him, especially those where he did many of his miracles.
A great lesson to learn about the things of God from this study of the Hebrew Scriptures is
that, although Scripture may not always be totally obvious, God looks on the heart of each
person and promises that those who hunger and thirst after righteousness will be filled. Many
in the Old Testament found that out, including the prophets who wrote the scriptures that
reveal the Messiah.
The Messiah Unveiled in the New Testament
The "New Testament" writings, especially the Four Gospels, reveal a perspective of the
Hebrew Scriptures that was basically concealed from the Jews living in that time. As 2
Corinthians 3: 14 says, and we have noted in this chapter, the Hebrew Scriptures were "veiled, "
but that veil is taken off in Christ. Therefore, by reading the Gospels, Acts, the Church Epistles

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and the General Epistles the reader should expect to get a much clearer understanding of the
Old Testament prophecies about Jesus Christ. The New Testament writers and Jesus himself
explained many verses in the Hebrew Scriptures that were previously unnoticed or unclear.
What follows are some important examples of how the Synoptic Gospels clarify both the Old
Testament prophecies and how Jesus fulfilled them. These prophecies, and their application
in the Gospels, continue the discussion about the Messiah the Jews were expecting. In this
portion of the book, we have chosen to discuss the major prophecies concerning Christ that are
cited in the Synoptic Gospels, because these prophecies contain some interesting and unique
insights into the fulfillment of prophecy in general and how the Gospels view the way Jesus
specifically fulfilled them.
Matthew 1: 23-The virgin birth
The whole context of Matthew 1: 23, which says, "Behold, a virgin shall be with child, " is
Mary giving birth to Jesus while she was still a virgin. To show that the virgin birth had been
foretold in Scripture, Matthew quoted Isaiah 7: 14. The context of Isaiah 7, however, does not
say anything about the Messiah, and seems to talk about a child who would be a "sign" to Ahaz,
the king of Judah. Ahaz needed a sign because he was about to be attacked by Israel and Syria,
and had not much hope of defeating them. Today, we believe that Isaiah 7: 14 is actually a
prophecy that had two applications, one immediate as a sign to Ahaz, and the other as a
prediction of the virgin birth for the Messiah. The context of the chapter is such that the ancient
Jews never understood it to be prophecy, and believed instead that it was just Jewish history.
Thus, Matthew 1: 23 is an excellent example of how the Hebrew Scriptures are made fully
comprehensible by the New Testament writings.
Matthew 2: 15-0ut of Egypt
This verse is quoted from Hosea 11: 1, which we have already mentioned. We will review
the main points since this is an important and defining prophecy that argues powerfully for the
Messiah ship of Jesus, who fulfilled it. Matthew records that Joseph and Mary took Jesus to Egypt
to protect him from Herod. In regard to them returning from Egypt, Matthew 2: 15 states, "And
so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet [Hosea]: Out of Egypt I called my
son.
Hosea 11: 1-3 (NRSV)
(1) "When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son.
(2) The more I called them, the more they went from me; they kept sacrificing to the
Baals, and offering incense to idols.
(3) Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk, I took them up in my arms; but they did not
know that I healed them. "
In the Hebrew Scriptures, Israel was called God's "son" (Ex. 4: 22, etc. ). Scholars know of
no Jewish commentator living before Christ who applied Hosea 11: 1 to the Messiah. Therefore,
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How is this prophecy explained today? Israel is a type or figure of the "greater Israel, " i. e., Jesus
Christ, just as David is sometimes a type of the "greater David, " Solomon a type of the "greater
Solomon, " etc. As we saw in Chapter 4, virtually everything in the Hebrew Scriptures points to
Christ, including the nation of Israel itself as the "son" of God. As Israel spent 40 years
wandering in the wilderness, so Jesus spent 40 days there. As Israel was called out of Egypt, so
was the Christ - child called out of Egypt.
Matthew 2: 18 - Rachel weeping for her children
This verse quotes Jeremiah 31: 15, saying: "A voice is heard in Raman, weeping and great
mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no
more. " Matthew applies it to the time when Herod killed all the children around Bethlehem. A
person reading the New Testament might well think, "Why didn't the Jews realize who Jesus was
when Herod killed the children around Bethlehem?" There is a good answer to that question.
The context of the verse in Jeremiah is the Babylonian destruction of the towns of Judah. They
had put cities to the sword, and carried away captives, so "Rachel, " one of the wives of Jacob, was
"crying" over her children. But the Lord comforted Rachel by saying that her children will come
back from the north country, Babylon.
Jeremiah 31: 8, 10, 11, 15, 16
(8) See, I will bring them from the land of the north and gather them from the ends of
the earth. Among them will be the blind and the lame, expectant mothers and women
in labor; a great throng will return.
(10) "Hear the word of the Lord, Ï nations; proclaim it in distant coast lands: 'He who
scattered Israel will gather them... '
(11) For the Lord will ransom Jacob and redeem them from the hand of those stronger
than they. "
(15) This is what the Lord says: "A voice is heard in Ramah, mourning and great weeping,
Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because her children are
no more. "
(16) This is what the Lord says: "Restrain your voice from weeping and your eyes from
tears, for your work will be rewarded, " declares the
Lord. "They will return from the
land of the enemy. "
Jeremiah 31: 15, like Isaiah 7: 14 and Hosea 11: 1, seems more like a simple description of
Jewish history, so the Jews did not see any messianic aspect in it. Admittedly, the children
murdered by Herod's troops were not going to return to Israel from the North, but this illustrates
the principle that a prophecy can be partially fulfilled, or applied in part, to an unrelated
situation or event (See App. O, #19). Matthew "unveils" this Old Testament record and shows
that the heart of the prophecy was fulfilled again, as "Rachel" continued to weep for all her
" children, " not just those who had been conquered by the Babylonians. Christ will further fulfill
this prophecy as he gathers the children of Israel at his Second Coming and redeems them from
their "enemy, " death. Truly, the prophetic language of Scripture is marvelously multifaceted
and capable of multiple fulfillments.

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Matthew 2: 23—From Nazareth
The Jews knew that Christ would be born in Bethlehem, but they also thought that he
would grow up there. Because the people knew the messianic prophecies only in part, they were
confused when Christ came from Galilee. They asked, "How can the Christ come from Galilee?
Does not the Scripture say that Christ will come from David's family and from Bethlehem, the
town where David lived?" (John 7: 41, 42). The Jews would not have been confused by Jesus
coming from Galilee if they had known the words" spoken [not written] by the prophets" that,
"he will be called a Nazarene" (Matt. 2: 23).
There is no Old Testament reference to the Christ living in Nazareth, a town not men-
tioned in the Hebrew Scriptures, Talmud or the writings of Josephus. Critics of the Bible often
say that Matthew invented the reference to Nazareth in the Hebrew Scriptures, but E. W.
Bullinger, in the marginal note in the Companion Bible, properly identified the solution to the
apparent problem, as follows: the prophets "spoke, " not wrote, about the Messiah coming from
Nazareth. "Spoken. It does not say 'written. ' It is not 'an unsolved difficulty, ' as alleged. "25 So
Christ perfectly fulfilled the predictions of the prophets — he was born in Bethlehem and grew
up in Nazareth, as recorded in Matthew.
Matthew 13: 35—Teaching in parables
One of the common elements of the Synoptic Gospels is the use of parables (John never
records Jesus using them). Even a cursory study of the life of Christ will show that he taught a
great many things by way of parables. This was foretold in the Hebrew Scriptures, but not in a
way that clearly referred to the Messiah, as a reading of the first four verses of Psalm 78 will show.
Psalm 78: 1-4 (NRSV)
(1) Give ear, Ï my people, to my teaching; incline your ears to the words of my mouth.
(2) I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings from of old,
(3) things that we have heard and known, that our ancestors have told us.
(4) We will not hide them from their children; we will tell to the coming generation the
glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might, and the wonders that he has done.
Nevertheless, Matthew again gives us God's understanding of the Old Testament and
unveils the deep meaning of the Hebrew Scriptures. Matthew 13: 35 is quoting Psalm 78: 2 and
it says: "This was to fulfil what had been spoken through the prophet: º will open my mouth to
speak in parables; I will proclaim what has been hidden from the foundation of the world'"
(NRSV).
25. Bullinger, op. cit., Companion, p. 1311.

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Matthew 21: 42—The cornerstone rejected by the builders
Psalm 118: 22, 23 (NASB)
(22) The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief corner stone.
(23) This is the Lord's doing; it is marvelous in our eyes.
With the information provided in the Gospels and Acts, we can look at these verses in
Psalms and see that the Messiah was going to be rejected by the Jewish leaders. Yet they were
the very ones who should have "built" upon Christ, their Messiah, who came to the lost sheep
of the house of Israel. There is no evidence that the Jews understood these verses in any
messianic sense because the context of Psalm 118 does not mention the Messiah. Peter,
speaking to the religious leaders in Acts 4: 11, also quoted this verse to show that indeed
Scripture had foretold that they would reject the Messiah.
Matthew 24: 30—Coming in the clouds of heaven
In Matthew 24, Jesus Christ taught the chronology of the Tribulation and his return to the
earth in judgment. It is apparent that he clearly understood that he would ascend up into
heaven to be with his Father, because he told his disciples that he was going to go away and
another comforter would come (John 14). Jesus clearly understood that Daniel 7: 13, which
speaks of the "son of man" coming in the clouds of heaven, applied to his return as conqueror,
because he referred to it in that context in Matthew24: 30. The Jews, who did not have the benefit
of the New Testament or the life of Christ, were confused as to exactly what Daniel 7: 13 meant.
Matthew 26: 31-The smitten Shepherd
Matthew26: 31 quotes Zechariah 13: 7: "'Awake, Ï sword, against my shepherd, against the
man who is close to me!' declares the Lord Almighty. 'Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will
be scattered, and I will turn my hand against the little ones. ' " (NRSV) Christ referenced this
verse when he was about to be arrested, and he used it to show that his disciples would fall away
that night. The ancient Jews did not understand that it referred to the sufferings of the Messiah,
perhaps because it did not fit their understanding that the "sheep, " i. e., Israel, would be
"scattered. " We have no trouble understanding it today with the help of the New Testament.
When properly understood, it clearly tells what happened to the Messiah and to his followers.
Matthew 27: 35—The Messiah's garments
Matthew 27: 35 quotes Psalm 22: 18: "They divide my garments among them, and for my
clothing they cast lots" (NASB). This is an excellent example showing that the New Testament
writings unveil the Hebrew Scriptures because, even though the parting of Christ's garments
could have been a sure sign to the Jews that Jesus was the Messiah, there is no evidence that the
Jews understood Psalm 22: 18 as applying to the Messiah.

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Mark 15: 28—Numbered with the transgressors
Mark 15: 28 quotes Isaiah 53: 12 about the Messiah: "Therefore I will allot him a portion
with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he poured out himself to
death, and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and made
intercession for the transgressors" (NRSV). This verse is in a section of Isaiah that contains some
verses that the Jewish writings say point to the suffering of the Messiah, but they do not cite this
verse among them. Yet it contains the suffering and death of Christ, as well as another
important piece of information. If Christ were numbered with the transgressors, then someone
in authority must have done the numbering. Correctly piecing this verse together with others,
such as Psalms 118: 22, 23 that say the builders rejected him, shows that the evidence existed to
correctly understand that the authorities of his time would reject Christ.
John 3: 14—Lifted up on a pole
A very interesting record in the Old Testament occurred while Moses was taking the
Israelites through the wilderness. Numbers 21: 4-9 records that poisonous snakes bit and killed
some people, but when Moses put a bronze serpent on a pole and lifted it up, whoever looked
at it was healed. The ancient Jews did not see a messianic type or foreshadowing in this, but
Jesus himself said that it foreshadowed his crucifixion. John 3: 14 and 12: 32, 33 refer to Christ's
being lifted up from the earth. Had the Jews recognized Moses' serpent on a pole foreshadowing
Christ, they might have been more inclined to see his sufferings and recognize him at the
crucifixion when he was lifted up on a pole.
John 13: 18—Betrayed by a friend
John 13: 18 quotes Psalm 41: 9: "Even my close friend, in whom I trusted, who ate my bread,
has lifted up his heel against me" (NASB). The Jews did not apply this verse to the Messiah, but
if they had, they would have looked for the Messiah to have a friend who would betray him. We
know today from reading the Gospels that the "friend" was Judas Iscariot.
John 15: 25—They hated me without a cause
John 15: 25 uses a phrase that occurs in the Old Testament. Psalm 35: 19 and 69: 4 both use
the phrase, but it was not understood to refer to the Messiah. This is another verse that, if
properly understood, would have pointed to the Messiah being rejected by his own people. It
would not have referred to his natural enemies, the pagan nations, because they had a "cause"
for hating anyone who ruled Israel. The ones who would hate the Messiah without a cause
would have to come from within Israel.
John 19: 36—No bone broken
The Passover lamb was a type of Christ, and in many, many ways foreshadowed the
Messiah. One of the specific instructions about the Passover Lamb was that not a bone was to
be broken. The Jews did not recognize this as typological, but it prophetically pointed to the

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suffering of the Messiah. Thus, when the Messiah was beaten and finally crucified, it was a
miraculous fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy that not even one of his bones was broken.
Acts 2: 25-28—Death and resurrection
Between Christ's resurrection and his ascension, he spent time with the disciples and
taught them (Acts 1: 1-3). By the Day of Pentecost, Peter had a firm grip on the teachings about
Christ in the Old Testament, and demonstrated that by his exposition of Psalm 16: 8-11 as
recorded in:
Acts 2: 25-28 (NASB)
(25) "For David says of Him [Christ]: º was always beholding the Lord in my presence;
for he is at my right hand, that I may not be shaken.
(26) Therefore my heart was glad and my tongue exulted; moreover my flesh also will
abide in hope;
(27) because thou wilt not abandon my soul to hades [the grave], nor allow thy Holy One
to undergo decay.
(28) thou hast made known to me the paths of life; thou wilt make me full of gladness
with thy presence. "
Peter explained what the Jews listening to him did not know, that these verses were about
the Messiah, and showed that he would die but not be abandoned to decay in the grave. Thus,
he very clearly indicated that Christ would die and then be resurrected. These verses were
"veiled" to the Jews who did not apply them to the Messiah.
Acts 2: 34, 35—The ascension
Peter understood that the Messiah was foretold to ascend into heaven, and he quoted
Psalm 110: 1 to make his point: "The Lord says to my Lord: 'Sit at my right hand until I make thine
enemies a footstool for thy feet'" (NASB). The Jews knew that this Psalm referred to the Messiah,
but they did not understand that sitting "at the right hand" of God referred to the ascension. The
ascension can be seen, however, when this verse is pieced together with Daniel 7: 13, which tells
that the Messiah coming in the clouds of heaven. The ascension is also referred to in Psalm
68: 18, a reference that was veiled to the Jews but revealed in Ephesians to be about the
ascension: "This is why it [Psalm 68: 18] reads: "When he ascended on high, he led captives in
his train and gave gifts to men" (Eph. 4: 8). 26
26. Actually, the Lord changes the quotation of Psalm 68: 18 in a powerful way when it is brought into Ephesians. Psalm
68: 18 reads: "You led captives in your train: you received gifts from men. " As it is quoted in the Ephesians, the verse
says: "You led captives in your train, you gave gifts to men. " Both the original Psalm and the adaptation in Ephesians
are very powerful. The emphasis in the Psalms is the conquest of the enemy, and thus the fact that the vanquished foes
would bring gifts to appease the conqueror was very important In the Church Epistles, however, Christ is giving grace
in the form of ministries (cp. Eph. 4: 7, 11), and so the Psalm is adapted from receiving to giving, to support Christ's
actions. Ephesus was the Roman capital of the province of Asia, so the Roman Triumphal procession would have been
in the minds of the readers. In a Triumphal procession, the conquering general "ascended up on high" into a gilded
chariot and was known to throw gifts (usually money) to the crowds as he paraded through the streets of Rome.

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Acts 3: 22—A Prophet like Moses
Moses foretold that the Lord God would raise up "a prophet like me from among you, from
your countrymen" (Deuteronomy 18: 15, 18 NASB), but not many Jews were expecting that
prophet to be the Messiah. Peter's sermon in Acts 3 that clarified this prophecy. Although the
Jews, for the most part, were unaware of it, the Messiah was not only to be a king and priest, but
also to be a prophet like Moses.
 Acts 13: 33—This day I have begotten you
Paul shed light on the chronology of Christ's life when he quoted Psalm 2: 7: "I will proclaim
the decree of the lord: He said to me, 'You are my Son; today I have become your Father' "(NASB)
"The ancient Jews applied this to the birth of their Messiah, but the New Testament reveals that
its more proper interpretation is his resurrection. Once that is understood, the truth that the
Messiah would conquer his enemies after his resurrection from the dead becomes plain.
Psalm 2: 7-9 (NASB)
(7) "I will surely tell of the decree of the Lord: He said to me, 'Thou art my Son, today [the
day of his resurrection] I have begotten thee.
(8) Ask of me, and I will surely give the nations as thine inheritance, and the very ends
of the earth as thy possession.
(9) Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt shatter them like earthenware. '"
Acts 13: 47-A light to the Gentiles
As the early Church grew and expanded, the traditional separation and hardness toward
the Gentiles softened. Formerly - Jewish Christians were able to see that there was only one
Messiah who had to be the Messiah for all the earth. Paul quotes part of Isaiah 49: 6 to show that
he must go to Gentiles as well as to Jews. Isaiah 49: 6 says: "It is too light a thing that you should
be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the survivors of Israel; I will give you
as a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth" (NRSV). Thus,
God's servant, the Messiah, would be a light for the Gentiles, but it took the Jews some time to
soften to the idea. Isaiah 49: 6 is not applied to the Messiah in the ancient Hebrew writings.
 Acts 15: 16, 17-Repairing David's fallen tent
The prophecy in Amos about David's fallen tent being repaired was considered messianic
by the Jews, and was eagerly awaited (see Isaiah 9: 6, 7 above). What they did not expect was that
the Gentiles coming into the messianic Kingdom were part of that "repair. " However, that was
exactly the case, as James made clear to the council gathered in Jerusalem. Romans 10: 13 shows
that the proper understanding of Joel 2: 32 includes the Gentiles when it says, "everyone who
calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. " (NRSV). Thus, the New Testament leaders came
to see that God had made the Messiah the Savior for the Gentiles even though the ancient Jews
did not interpret the verses that way.

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Romans Through Revelation — The "veil" completely removed
The remainder of the New Testament finishes removing the veil off the Hebrew Scriptures
by explaining certain other verses that were not clear from reading those Scriptures alone. A few
of these will be discussed in the remaining chapters of this book when appropriate.
Conclusion
Proverbs 2: 1-5 says that to get knowledge and wisdom one must cry out for it and seek for
it as for hidden treasure. Proverbs 25: 2 says, "It is the glory of God to conceal things, but the glory
of kings is to search things out" (NASB). God is true to His Word. There were things about the
Messiah that God concealed, but the "kings" among the people will search for His hidden riches
rather than be distracted by what the world has to offer. It may be difficult to see the Messiah
in some of the Hebrew Scriptures, but he is there.
Indeed, this review of the prophecies concerning the coming of the Messiah has shown
that behind nearly every character, object and event in the Hebrew Scriptures is the prophetic
presence of the coming one, Jesus Christ. Yet the Old Testament is not self - interpreting. It
needs the Four Gospels to complete the picture it sketches out, and show us what the real
meaning of many of the scriptures was. It took the personal presence of the One of whom
Scripture spoke to bring clarity and focus to this prophetic picture. His two comings, the
distinct separation of his sufferings and the glory, his bodily resurrection from the dead — these
were all things that were hard to see from the Hebrew Scriptures, but which we can now see
clearly. We must now move ahead to the Gospel accounts of the Messiah in person, and see how
his life fulfilled many of these prophecies.

PART THREE
The Messiah
in Person

CHAPTER SIX
The Four Gospels:
The Fourfold
Portrait of Christ
In the Book of Ephesians, the careful reader will be able to see that an important
distinction is being made:
Ephesians 3: 8 (KJV)
Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach
among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ.
What we have been exploring in this book so far have been the "searchable" riches of
Christ, that is, those things revealed about Christ in the Hebrew Scriptures. In the previous
chapter, we learned with 20/20 hindsight about what could have been searched out if the Jews
had had eyes to see, or had known what we know and believe now. We are continuing to lay the
foundation of these "searchable riches" so that when we begin to explore the Church Epistles,
we will be able to appreciate the "unsearchable" things that are revealed there, things that not
even hindsight into the Hebrew Scriptures could have revealed.
One of the most important sections of Scripture is the Four Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke
and John. These are the only books in the Bible that specifically record the events of the life of
Jesus Christ. As such, they set forth the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies about
Christ's first coming. Therefore, the Four Gospels are actually a part of and the conclusion of
the "Old Testament. "
According to 2 Timothy 3: 16, the text of Scripture is" God- breathed. " This means that it has
the very life of God in it, and was originally perfect in every detail. However, it has been "man-
handled, " that is, man has added things to the Bible that often cause confusion. Perhaps one
of the most confusing of these additions has been the page in the Bible between Malachi and
Matthew that says "The New Testament. " Our experience among Christians is that almost all
of them believe that Matthew, Mark, Luke and John are a part of the "New Testament. " This
error has many significant and harmful ramifications.

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The "New Testament" title page was placed there by Church councils and authorities long
after the time of Christ and the first - century Church, because of the generally accepted
distinction between Scriptures written in the Hebrew language and those written in Greek. This
man-made title page actually had nothing to do with the "Testament" or "Covenant" of God.
The word diatheke is the closest Greek equivalent to the Hebrew word for "covenant, " but it
means something closer to "will" or "testament. " Thus, the New "Testament" would better be
translated the New "Covenant, " in order to express its continuity with the Old " Covenant. " This
fact is widely known and believed. 1
There is much evidence to show that the New Covenant did not start in the Four Gospels,
which begin with events before the birth of Christ. Just before his death, Christ said, "This cup
is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you" (Luke 22: 20), so the New
Covenant could not have started until at least the death of Christ. Actually, the greatest changes
in God's dealings with man took place on the Day of Pentecost, as recorded in Acts 2. The
following examples make that clear: circumcision became unnecessary, not in the Four Gos-
pels, but on the Day of Pentecost; Temple sacrifice became obsolete, not in the Four Gospels,
but at Pentecost. All believers became "priests" and had access to God, not in the Four Gospels,
but at Pentecost. The same is true with the Sabbath laws, keeping the feasts of the Lord and
going up to Jerusalem three times a year, etc. Also, the gift of holy spirit was given to all believers,
not in the Gospels, but on Pentecost. 2
Exactly when the Four Gospels were written is unknown, and the subject is hotly debated.
Most of the estimates range from 50 to 90 AD. That means the Gospels were written during, or
perhaps after, the time when the Apostle Paul was penning the Church Epistles. Nevertheless,
the Gospels certainly were not written to take us back under the Old Testament law, but rather
to show us the heart of our Savior.
Matthew, Mark and Luke are called the Synoptic Gospels because "synoptic" literally
means "to view together, " and these three books share a similar view of the Lord's life and
contain much overlapping information in their narrative accounts of the life of Jesus. John
presents a unique and independent view of Christ with less than 10 percent of its material
paralleled in any of the Synoptics.
The basic synoptic witness of Christ is that Jesus was conceived by divine conception and
born of Mary when she was still a virgin. He began his existence as a baby, and grew up in
Nazareth of Galilee. At the age of 30, Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist in the river Jordan
to inaugurate his earthly ministry. On that occasion, the spirit of God descended on him in the
form of a dove, and he went forth in the power of that spirit to the wilderness, to be tempted by
the Devil. He successfully resisted those temptations, and went on to Galilee, where he
1. See Gerhard Kittel, Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, Vol. II, pp. 126-34.
2. The day of Pentecost initiated an administration (often called a "dispensation") of God called "the administration
of God's grace" (Eph. 3: 2), which was a "secret" ("secret" is a better translation of the Greek musterion, translated
"mystery" in Eph. 3: 4, 5, 9; Col. 1: 26, 27) in the past, but revealed by God to the Apostle Paul (Eph. 3: 2-13). For more
information on this entire subject, we refer you to The Mystery Revisited, The Purpose Of The Ages and Let's Not Keep the
Secret a Secret,
audiotapes available from CES.

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announced his ministry, using the text of Isaiah 61: 1 and 2 to describe his mission. He
continually validated the Hebrew Scriptures as his standard of faith and practice, and encour-
aged others to do the same.
There is no mention in the Synoptic Gospels of anything that could be construed as a "pre-
existence" or remembrance of a former life in heaven. Jesus is portrayed as a man who walked
in the certainty of his unique Sonship and divine calling, displaying a remarkable intimacy with
God, whom he referred to as his "Father. " No one had ever before presumed to have such an
intimate relationship with God. He claimed to act and speak with divine authority and
represented God as no one had ever done before. He also manifested the power of God like none
before him, healing multitudes, feeding multitudes, and casting out demons. He is portrayed
as standing in God's stead, doing and saying what God would do and say. He forgave sins and
corrected the traditions that had been handed down ("You have heard it said, but I say... "). He
asserted authority over the weather, and even the Sabbath. His miracles displayed God's power
on a scale that had never been seen before.
Yet he always gave God glory for everything he said and he did. He never claimed to be
God, and was even very veiled in his use of messianic language and claims. The only title he
chose to apply to himself was "the Son of Man, " which was an ambiguous term that could refer
either to the messianic figure of Daniel 7: 13 or it could mean, simply, "a certain one" in Aramaic.
He chose 12 apostles, and taught them and the people using many stories and parables.
He chose the company of common people and sinners rather than the religious leaders and the
"righteous" Jews. Because of his many miracles and wonders among the people, he attracted
the attention of the authorities, who considered him a false prophet and messianic pretender.
On a number of occasions they plotted to kill him, but because of his popularity with the people
they had to await the right opportunity. Finally, one of his disciples betrayed him to the Temple
authorities, who came late at night and arrested him apart from the crowds. His disciples mostly
scattered and ran away.
After a mockery of a trial and several episodes of beating and torture, he was taken before
the Roman authorities, Herod and Pilate. Though there was no evidence of his having
committed a capital crime worthy of death, the Roman procurator Pilate finally gave cowardly
consent to his crucifixion, blaming the angry mob. Thus, he died on a tree, in the midst of four
criminals, on Wednesday, the 14th of Nisan, 3 BC. 3 One of his disciples, Joseph of Arimathea,
received permission from Pilate to take Jesus' body and bury it in a tomb near the place of
crucifixion. Three days and three nights passed, and finally, early Sunday morning, Mary
Magdalene discovered that the tomb was empty. Shortly thereafter, she spoke with the
resurrected Lord. She then told the other disciples, who eventually believed. Jesus made
3. There are many details about the crucifixion that we believe are misunderstood by most Christians. In The
Companion Bible,
Appendix 164, E. W. Bullinger does an admirable job of describing why Scripture testifies that there
were actually four men, rather than two, crucified with Christ, and other scholars have also attested to this fact. The 28
AD date for the death of Jesus Christ has long been a qualified candidate, and we feel it is the proper one. It can also be
shown from Scripture that Christ died on a Wednesday, not a Friday, thus giving time for the "three days and three
nights" in the grave of Matthew 12: 40. For more information, refer to "The Last Week of Christ's Life, " an audiotape
available from CES.

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various appearances to his disciples during the next 40 days, made certain promises, gave them
some instructions, and then ascended into heaven.
The Gospel of John generally agrees with the above account, but it handles so much
unique material written in a such a different style that it paints a picture of Jesus Christ
significantly different from that of the Synoptic Gospels. This is so much the case that we will
handle it separately in Chapter 8 and 9, after we focus on the Synoptic perspective of Jesus as
a veiled Messiah in Chapter 7.
The Synoptic "Problem"
About 90 percent of Mark is found in Matthew and 50 percent in Luke. 95 percent of Mark
is paralleled in either Matthew or Luke or both. 65 percent of Matthew is paralleled in either
Mark or Luke or both; and 53 percent of Luke is paralleled in either Matthew or Mark or both.
What this appears to mean is that each of the three Gospels shares most of its material with one
or both of the other two. This is why these three gospels are called the Synoptic gospels. This
also accounts for what is called "the Synoptic problem. " The Interpreter's Bible outlines their
view of this "problem":
How did it happen that out of all the remembered deeds and sayings of Jesus these three
gospel authors chose much the same material and presented it in much the same order
and to a considerable extent in much the same wording — a wording that comes to us,
not in the Aramaic in which Jesus regularly spoke, but in Greek? The same problem can
be stated from the other side: How did it happen that these authors of the first-century
Church, dealing with the Gospel story, with material of the utmost importance to every
Christian, continually show striking agreements and tantalizing differences in material
selected, order used and wording? This combination of similarities and differences is
called the Synoptic problem. 4
To solve this "problem, " New Testament scholars have hypothesized that there was a
common source of historical information about Jesus that was drawn upon in the writing of all
three Gospels. The theory is that Matthew, Mark and Luke each started with this historical
source and added their own material to it. This hypothetical source, called" Q" after the German
word for source (Quelle), has never been found, and in our opinion, never will be. Why? Because
there was no such source. "Q" is in reality "G, " as in "GOD, " who inspired each of the Four
Gospels according to His own purpose and design, and who is the true "source" for each one.
This is the simple and elegant solution to the so-called synoptic "problem. " We will now
proceed to explore the evidence as to why there are four gospels, each written as it is.
4. Interpreter's One Volume Commentary on the Bible (Abingdon Press, Nashville, 1971) pp. 1129, 30.

Chapter 6: The Four Gospels: The Fourfold Portrait of Christ
139
Why Four Gospels?
Why are there four Gospels? The best answer we have is twofold. First, the existence of
Jesus Christ required written records attesting to the events of his life, death and resurrection.
Had Jesus written an autobiography, his critics would have immediately dismissed it as self-
promotion. In accordance with the ancient Jewish method of authentication, wherein "two or
three witnesses" were required to establish credibility (Deut. 17: 6; Matt. 18: 16; 1 Tim. 5: 19; Heb.
10: 28, et al), the record of his life had to come from others. Although Mark and Luke may not
have been "eyewitnesses, " as were the apostles Matthew and John, their accounts have been
recognized by most Christians not only as authentic historical documents, but also as God-
inspired records of the life of Christ. For those with eyes to see, faith in the integrity of God's
Word and understanding of some of the things we will share in this chapter, these four accounts
harmonize perfectly and speak loudly of their divine inspiration. Not only do they fit with each
other, they fulfill many aspects of the prophetic portrait of Messiah that we have been looking
at in the previous chapters. As the Christian apostles and disciples went forth to preach in the
Book of Acts, they proved from Scripture that Jesus of Nazareth is indeed the Promised Messiah.
But, alas, many serious Bible students and scholars do not believe that the Gospel records
are inspired of God. In fact, from our experience we would have to say that the vast majority of
Bible scholars have given up the idea of the full inspiration of Scripture, and particularly the
Gospels. They believe that the Four Gospels are full of inaccuracies and fictitious sayings that
are attributed to Jesus but which are really things made up by later Christians. 5 They have also
given up on the idea that the contents of the Gospels can be actually harmonized without
contradictions. In our opinion, they have done so in ignorance of the role of faith and trust in
the handling of Scripture. They have figuratively analyzed the text to death — not the death of
the indestructible text itself, but rather its "death" in their own lives.
Like the secrets of nature, the beauty and order of God's Word is opened up to those who
approach it with respect, reverence and humility. As Richard Hays says in a recent issue of
Christianity Today, a" hermeneutic of trust" must replace the cloud of suspicion that surrounds
the New Testament, particularly the Four Gospels. 6 We agree with E. W. Bullinger when he
writes: "The Four Gospels are treated in the "Companion Bible" not as four culprits brought up
on a charge of fraud, but as four witnesses whose testimony is to be believed. "7
5. "The Jesus Seminar" is a particularly notorious example of scholarly disbelief. Members of this group believe that
more than 60% of the sayings of Jesus in the Four Gospels are inauthentic, and more than that are questionable.
6. "The New Theologians, " Christianity Today, Feb. 8, 1999, p. 30. Richard Hays (Professor of New Testament at the
Divinity School of Duke University) presented a paper at the 1996 conference of the Society of Biblical Literature in
which he called for a "hermeneutic of trust" to replace the suspicious view of Scripture that is the cornerstone of much
modern scholarship. In his paper, Hays called for, according to the article in CT, "nothing less than a reverent, humble,
Christian reading of the Bible — a stance that is rarely, if ever, articulated in American universities. "
7. E. W. Bullinger, The Companion Bible, op. cit, p. 1381.

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One God & One Lord
Luke begins with a personal testimony about how he wrote his Gospel. We think it is
important to quote, because it applies not only to the Four Gospel writers, but to all those who
were inspired to write Scripture.
Luke 1: 1-4 (NRSV)
(1) Since many have undertaken to set down an orderly account of the events that have
been fulfilled among us,
(2) Just as they were handed on to us by those who from the beginning were eyewit-
nesses and servants of the word,
(3) I too decided, after investigating everything carefully from the very first [anothen],
to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus,
(4) So that you may know the truth concerning the things about which you have been
instructed.
The above translation of verse 3 ("after investigating everything carefully") places the
emphasis entirely on Luke's own personal diligence to ensure that what he is writing is accurate.
We have no doubt that God moved Luke, the "holy man of God" that he was, to gather
eyewitness accounts of Jesus' life as a part of his "being moved by holy spirit" to write Scripture
(2 Pet. 1: 21). But Luke recorded many long discourses, prayers and events that happened 40
years prior, and even "eyewitnesses" begin to forget details in just a few years. We are
hardpressed to find real comfort in the accurate recollections of people 40 years after the fact.
Obviously, we need to look deeper for the answer to how Luke could be so sure that what he was
writing was not only accurate, but that it would minister certainty to "Theophilus. "
The key is in the Greek word anothen, translated in verse three above as "from the
beginning. " Though this is one possible lexical translation, Greek lexicons give the first
meaning for anothen as" from above, " or" from a higher place. "8 It is used of the rending of the
veil of the Temple "from the top" to the bottom when Jesus died. This word has a poetic overlay
of meaning that is perfectly appropriate to this passage. Luke received his information "from
above" at the same time he was investigating the eyewitness accounts of events of "the
beginning. " He did his best to acquire accurate information, but God gave him the final,
inspired account to write, one with the life of God in every word. This is the faith that we must
have as we study the text, that the men who penned it were invisibly and powerfully guided to
write what God inspired them to write — the truth — for His purposes and from the right
perspective. The closer you look, the better it looks.
The second reason there are four Gospels is that each is written from a different perspec-
tive, and together they comprise a very profound, prophetic and precise fourfold pattern for
who the Messiah would be that had already been foreshadowed long before by the Old
8. We checked three: Wm. F. Arndt and F. Wilbur Gingrich, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other
Early Christian Literature
(The University of Chicago Press, Chicago 1979), p. 77; Bullinger, op. cit., p. 21; Joseph Henry
Thayer, The New Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament (Book Publisher's Press, Lafayette, IN, 1981), p.
52.

Chapter 6: The Four Gospels: The Fourfold Portrait of Christ
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Testament prophets. It is very sad that this truth appears to have been stolen from both the
scholar and the average Christian. We hope that this book helps restore confidence in the
veracity and integrity of these Gospel records, upon which a large measure of our faith depends.
Indeed, our very salvation depends in large part upon the reliability of these four historical
records of the birth, life, death and especially the resurrection of Jesus Christ. A deeply held
belief in the resurrection as a fact of history is a vital element for our eternal salvation. The
closest thing we have to a "formula" for salvation in the New Testament, Romans 10: 9, asserts:
"That if you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord, ' and believe in your heart that God raised
him from the dead,
you will be saved. " Are we not trifling with the bedrock of our salvation when
we entertain doubts about the integrity and accuracy of any part of Scripture? But most crucial
are those parts that make historical claims upon which our salvation depends!
The Fourfold Paradigm:
King, Servant, Man, Son
As mentioned, the second reason there are four Gospels is that there is a fourfold pattern
or paradigm in Scripture regarding the "searchable riches" of Christ, one that has its roots in an
important prophetic Hebrew term, the tsemach. Tsemach means "sprout" or "offspring, " and
often is translated" Branch. " Tsemach paints a mental picture of a new sprout or shoot coming
up out of a dead - looking stump, and in the Hebrew Scriptures it is used five times in direct
prophetic reference to the Messiah and aspects of his life. We saw in the previous chapter that
"the branch" was a common term for the Messiah, but five Old Testament verses in particular
lay out a fourfold prophetic pattern describing the Messiah's existence to the very end of his
redemptive work. The first two verses portray the "Branch" as the King, the third verse as a
servant, the fourth as a man, and the fifth as "the Branch of the Lord, " i. e., one directly from the
Lord.
Jeremiah 23: 5 (NRSV)
The days are surely coming, says the Lord, "When I will raise up for David a righteous
branch, and he shall reign as King
and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and
righteousness in the land.
Jeremiah 33: 15 (NRSV)
In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David's
line; he will do what is just and right in the land.
Zechariah 3: 8 (NRSV)
Now listen, Joshua, high priest, you and your colleagues who sit before you! For they
are an omen of things to come; I am going to bring my servant, the Branch.

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Zechariah 6: 12 (NRSV)
Say to him: Thus says the Lord of hosts: "Here is a man whose name is Branch, for he
shall branch out in his place and build the temple of the Lord. "
Isaiah 4: 2 (NRSV)
On that day the branch of the Lord shall be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the
land shall be the pride and glory of the survivors in Israel.
Perhaps a visual diagram of these four aspects would be helpful:
King
Son
The Branch
(tsemach)
Man
Servant
These four terms establish a definitive paradigm or a pattern for the person and work of
the coming Redeemer. Of all the terms that we looked at in the last chapter that could have been
used to define the life and ministry of the Messiah, it is these four that are singled out and built
upon in the Four Gospels. It behooves us as lovers of Christ and students of the Bible to search
out the richness of their meaning, both as individual terms and as they relate to one another.
They will prove to be a fertile place to search for insight.
The first thing we see is they subdivide according to one of the most basic distinctions we
can make about any person: who he is and what he does. That is, there is an important
distinction between a person and his work or function. The same is true of "the offspring, " the
promised Redeemer. Two of the four terms refer to his personSon and man, while the other
two relate to his work king and servant. The designation Son defines his role in relationship
to his Father. Man defines him as being a member of the class homo sapiens, which says a lot
about who he is as a person. King describes his function in terms of his position and authority,
and servant describes his attitude toward the work that he does. Both kings and servants are
almost entirely defined by their function or work. Whoever he is as a person, the king derives
his authority from his position or function as the sovereign of his realm. The servant's life is
entirely defined by his work, which he performs for another person. The purer the servant, the
less his personal life is relevant.
Intrinsic to these terms is another important distinction in the life of Messiah: he is
humbled and he is exalted, that is, both "sufferings" and "glory" will characterize his life. Most
men drift in the "misty flats" of mediocrity, but this man will be either loved or hated, on top or
on the bottom. How accurately the Word of God delineates his experience even before he was

Chapter 6: The Four Gospels: The Fourfold Portrait of Christ
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born! We will now illustrate the interrelationship of these four roles using a matrix to see the
patterns emerge more clearly:
Person (subjective)
Work (objective)
Exalted
Son of God (John)
King (Matthew)
Humbled
Man (Luke)
Servant (Mark)
Understanding these four aspects of the life and ministry of the Redeemer is absolutely
crucial to accurately handling the information contained in the four Gospel records. Without
this insight, cutting the cornerstone squarely would be nearly impossible. In fact, it is signifi-
cant that there would be four sides to his life, considering that he is called the cornerstone. A
"square" is defined in geometry as a plane figure having four equal straight - line sides, with each
adjacent pair forming a right angle. There is a metaphorical richness to this word "square" that
is very relevant to this study. When we do not want to do the work required in a particular job,
we are tempted to "cut corners. " An accountant squares accounts to bring them into a state of
even balance of debits and credits; a square bank statement leaves no remainder unaccounted
for, but is in perfect balance with one's checkbook. A carpenter uses a square to check for
straightness or perpendicularity. In logic or rhetoric, a square statement is an unequivocal
statement, the words it employs being clearly defined and consistent in their use throughout an
argument or speech. In our study of the identity of Christ, we want our conclusions to square
with all the biblical information and harmonize without any remainder. And because we want
to build upon the rock of Christ, we want to make sure we are cutting the cornerstone as
accurately as the Bible does. 9
Each of the Four Gospels — Matthew, Mark, Luke and John — views the person and work of
Christ from one of these four different perspectives: King, Servant, Man and Son. As we begin
to view each of these Gospels, we see that this paradigm is reflected right away in the varied
handling of Jesus' genealogy. Each genealogy supports the theme of the Gospel in which it
appears in a way that speaks powerfully of God's inspiration to those with eyes to see. We will
now present some highlights of this remarkable example of scriptural precision, but we
encourage the reader to study this subject in further detail in order to see the pattern for himself.
Matthew, which presents Jesus as a king from the line of David, starts out with "the record
of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David" and then gives the genealogy from Abraham,
9. Because the Gospel of John was written late and was a late addition to the New Testament canon, there was some
controversy over its acceptance. F. F. Bruce comments on how this Gospel came to be accepted as canonical by the early
church "fathers":
To Irenaeus the fourfold character of the gospels is as axiomatic as the four quarters of the world or the
four principal winds. (Irenaeus' Against Heresies, 3. 11. 11, cited in F. F. Bruce, The Gospel of John, William B.
Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, MI, 1983), p. ll.

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One God & One Lord
the one who was promised the land, through king David, who was promised the kingdom in a
covenant of salt with God (2 Chron. 13: 5). Mark, which portrays Jesus as the servant of God, has
no genealogy, which makes sense because a servant's genealogy is not relevant. The Gospel of
Luke, which portrays Christ as a man, has a genealogy that traces Jesus back to Adam, the first
man. John, which portrays Christ as the Son of God, starts out by saying that God, in the
beginning, had a plan, purpose or wisdom (the logos) that became flesh, that is, the Son "comes
from" the Father. The Old Syriac translates John 1: 18 this way: "the only begotten Son who is
from the bosom of the Father. " This is a very short genealogy: the Father had a Son, an only
begotten
Son. Thus, we see that the genealogy in each Gospel fits the purpose of that Gospel.
As we continue to explore each Gospel in depth, we find more and more evidence that each
Gospel represents just one particular aspect of this fourfold paradigm. This goes a long way
toward explaining the supposed "discrepancies, " and "contradictions" between and among
them. 10 Matthew has a number of unique characteristics that point to Christ as King. The
phrase, "the kingdom of heaven" is associated with the specific reign of the Messiah on earth.
It occurs more than 30 times in the Gospel of Matthew, but not once in any of the other Gospels,
which use the phrase, "kingdom of God. " Matthew is the only Gospel that records the visit of
the Magi, who came to Jerusalem and asked, "Where is the one who has been born king?"
(Matt. 2: 2).
The title, "Son of David, " occurs ten times in Matthew and only six times in all the other
Gospels combined. There are a number of parables of the Kingdom that are unique to Matthew,
and only Matthew records the "sheep and goat judgment, " when the kinglets the righteous into
his kingdom but excludes the unrighteous (Matt. 25). We should note that outside of the Four
Gospels there are only a few other places in the New Testament that refer to Christ as a "king. "11
However, the title "king" is amplified to "King of kings" in 1 Timothy 6: 15, Revelation 17: 14 and
19: 16. 12 Yet where he is not specifically called "king, " he may still be referred to as being
positionally exalted, as in his titles or functions "Lord" or "head. "
The Gospel of Mark is short, simple and forceful, emphasizing Christ's works more than
his words. Commentators have long noticed that Mark focuses more on what Jesus did than
what he said, which makes sense because obedient action is the sign of a good servant. Mark
also moves quickly from one event to another. Even the vocabulary reflects this pattern. The
Greek word eutheos ("immediately") occurs 40 times in Mark but only 27 times in all the other
Gospels combined. That statistic is made even more vivid when one realizes that there are only
16 chapters in Mark, but 73 chapters in the other three Gospels combined. A valued servant is
humble, and quick to obey. In describing Christ's servanthood, Philippians 2: 8 says that he
10. See also Appendix O.
11. Generally, Christ is called "king" only in relationship to Israel, to whom God promised to raise up someone to sit
on the throne of David. That kingdom is still future. For the Church, Christ is not "king, " but "Lord, " and "head over
all things to the church" (Eph. 1: 22).
12. The fact that both Jesus and God are sometimes referred to as "King, " and as "King of kings, " has led some to the
conclusion that Jesus is God. We find, on the contrary, that this is more evidence for God's exalting Christ to the position
of functional equality with Himself, even alio wing His Son to share in the tides that describe His own various functions.
See Appendix A (1 Tim. 6: 14-16).

Chapter 6: The Four Gospels: The Fourfold Portrait of Christ
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"humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross. " Appropriately,
more than a third of Mark takes place in the last week of Jesus' life placing special emphasis on
his obedience and personal sacrifice.
Luke presents the Messiah and his relationships in a way that highlights his humanity as
the Last Adam. Luke opens with information on the parents and birth of John the Baptist, giving
information we would expect to find in a "human interest" story. It gives details about the birth
of Christ and his presentation at the Temple that show that Jesus was subject to the same laws
and regulations as every other Jewish child. The Gospel of Luke portrays two particularly
poignant scenes from his infanthood: the aged believer Simeon living long enough to take the
child up in his arms and prophesy over him; and the 84 - year - old prophetess Anna who prayed
faithfully day and night in the Temple, being blessed by God to see her longed-for Redeemer.
Luke clearly portrays Jesus' great love for all mankind, and describes him as a warm and
loving person. Commentators note that the Book of Luke portrays Jesus' special concern for the
poor, sinners, women and the family more clearly than any other Gospel. Uniquely emphasized
in Luke is Christ sympathetically acknowledging the Gentiles. It emphasizes forgiveness and
also highlights Jesus' prayer life, as well as the value of prayer itself.
The Gospel of John presents Jesus as the "only begotten" Son of God, and we will be
exploring this aspect of his life and ministry in more detail in Chapter 8. Suffice it to say here that
Christ's intimacy with his Father is uniquely portrayed in that Gospel, as would be predicted of
a literary portrait with the theme of Jesus as the Son of God. For example, the word "father"
occurs as many times in John as in all the other Gospels combined. Theologians have long
noticed that John is different from the other Gospels and truly unique. This fits with our
expectations, because, as "the only begotten Son of God, " Jesus is truly unique.
It should be clear from this brief examination of the evidence that this paradigm is
powerfully stamped upon the Four Gospels, and provides powerful evidence of their inspira-
tion. There is absolutely no evidence that these four writers collaborated on their writing to
produce this remarkable result. Like all the different writers of the Bible, they each wrote
independently of one another, separated by both time and space.
But there is even more evidence of a divine stamp on this fourfold paradigm. It proves to
be a consistent pattern throughout the entire Bible. We will point out a few of the most
noteworthy examples. In the Hebrew Scriptures, the Tabernacle was a detailed physical
representation of the coming Messiah, and had four colors in its scheme: blue, white, crimson
and purple. Purple represented royalty, or Kingship. Crimson represented the shedding of his
blood as a Servant. Blue represented his humanity, and white reflected the sinless purity and
glory of his divine Sonship. 13
13. White is associated with sinlessness. Revelation 7: 14 describes the garments of those who endure through the
Tribulation, being washed white in the blood of the Lamb. Normal blood will stain fabric permanently, but the Lamb's
blood cleanses and turns the fabric white. This is due to the sinlessness of his blood (cp. Isa. 1: 18). White garments are
also associated with glorious angelic visitations (Dan. 7: 9; Matt. 28: 3; Rev. 15: 6). In the Transfiguration, Jesus is glorified
and is seen in brilliant white garments (Matt. 17: 2). White is used also in a pejorative sense associated with religious
leaders attempting to cover their own sinfulness (Matt. 23: 27; Acts 23: 3). Blue is associated with the Law, which was
necessary for the proper governance of man's life. Crimson and purple are customarily associated with blood and
royalty, respectively, in both the Bible and secular literature.

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Also related to the Messiah are the four creatures of Revelation 4: 6-7, which are the same
as the four cherubim of Ezekiel 1: 10: lion, ox, man and eagle. 14 The lion is "the king of the
beasts, " and hence represents the Messiah as King. Christ is also referred to as the "lion of
Judah" in Revelation 5: 5. The ox is a beast of burden and is therefore man's Servant (see Deut.
5: 14). The man is obviously the Messiah as Man. The eagle represents Christ as the Son of God,
because the eagle is the most majestic of all fowl, soaring high in the heavens. It also has the
loftiest perspective and the best eyesight of any animal. 15 This truth relates powerfully to the
glorious perspective of Jesus Christ adopted by the Gospel of John, as will be seen in Chapter 8.
The Name of Jesus Christ
Even the elements and combinations of the name of Jesus Christ can be analyzed in terms
of this fourfold pattern. There are four permutations of the name "Jesus Christ": "Jesus, "
"Christ, " "Jesus Christ" and "Christ Jesus. " The many occurrences of these four terms sort
themselves into the same four categories we are studying, with only a few exceptions. "Jesus"
of Nazareth is the man from Galilee. This is the name given him by an angel before he was born,
and represents him as a person without supplemental descriptions or titles. 16 In general, the
14. Cherubim are associated with epochal events in the unfolding of redemption history. Lucifer was "anointed as a
guardian cherub" (Ezek. 28: 14), but fell, making the redemption of creation necessary. Cherubim guarded the east side
of Eden, preventing Adam and Eve from eating fruit from the tree of life (Gen. 3: 24). Images of cherubim are
incorporated into the very design of the mercy seat in the holy of holies in both the Tabernacle and the Temple. In
Ezekiel 10 and 41 we see the glory of the Lord leaving and returning to Israel accompanied by the cherubim. Finally,
the cherubim are referred to as the "four living creatures" of Revelation 4: 6-8; 5: 8-14; 6: 1-7; 7: 11; 14: 3; 15: 7 and 19: 4, and
are associated with the intense worship of God and the restoration of Paradise. In some sense, these cherubim point
to the Christ and his complete and ultimate destruction of Lucifer, who was once a cherub himself. Biblically, a cherub
is a spirit being of great power and majesty, representing the presence and authority of God. It is no accident that the
image of a "cherub" in modern times has degenerated into a chubby little Cupid - like creature who is the spiritual
equivalent of the Pillsbury doughboy. The Devil demeans and ridicules what he himself once was.
15. God's creation is replete with examples of minerals, plants and animals that illustrate biblical truths, in this case
shedding light on who Messiah was to be. This phenomenon is not a circumstantial accident, but by deliberate design.
For instance, the Devil is called a serpent because he is crafty, stealthy and highly poisonous. One day, the Messiah will
crush his head, the best way to kill a serpent. Those who embrace an evolutionary model of the origin of life can see
"nature" only as an accidental combination and recombination of molecules, and they miss out on the enriched
perspective of the natural world as the work of an intelligent Designer, the same one who is the also the Author of the
Bible.
16. The use of the unadorned name of "Jesus" is particularly significant in Phil. 2: 10 where we see that every knee must
bow at the name Jesus — this one who started out as a baby but who is now the highly exalted Lord. Some, like E. W.
Bullinger, have correctly noted that nowhere in the New Testament is he ever called only "Jesus" when directly
addressed by his followers, and that it is his enemies (John 18: 5, 7; 19: 19; Acts 4: 18; 5: 40; 6: 14; 26: 9) and demons (Mk.
1: 24; 5: 7) who refer to him as "Jesus" in direct discourse. Some have concluded from this that his followers should never
refer to him as "Jesus, " either in direct address or otherwise. We regard this teaching as very impractical and legalistic.
We have seen firsthand the verbal paranoia that can be generated among those who are exposed to this teaching. One
becomes uncomfortable even uttering a verbally naked "Jesus" in any context, and must always quickly clothe it with
one of his titles — Christ, Lord, etc.

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term "Jesus" refers to his earthly life from birth to his being raised from the dead. But we must
remember that it is his given name, and therefore it continues to be used throughout the New
Testament.
"Christ" is equivalent to the term "Messiah, " and relates to his work of service. In the
Greek language, chrio means "to anoint, " and the English word "Christ" comes from chrio. The
Hebrew word "to anoint" is mashach, and "anointed" is mashiach. The word "messiah" is from
mashiach and means "the anointed one. " Thus, the "Messiah" and "Christ" both mean the
same thing, "the anointed one, " "Messiah" coming from the Hebrew, and "Christ" coming from
the Greek. 17
All through the Hebrew Scriptures, "anointing" had great significance. Priests, prophets
and kings were all anointed with oil (Ex. 40: 13; 1 Sam. 10: 1; 16: 13; 1 Kings 19: 15, 16), in
recognition of the fact that the important work set before them would require divine guidance
and help. On occasion, even objects used in the service of God were anointed (Gen. 28: 18; Lev.
8: 11).
The words "the anointed" thus emphasize the work, function or task for which the person
or object was anointed. Acts 10: 38 clearly relates his being anointed to the messianic work for
which Jesus of Nazareth was called.
We cannot imagine that Jesus himself would want his brothers and sisters feeling uncomfortable every time they
say his name without any adornment. First of all, there is no biblical injunction against such use of the name "Jesus. "
It is, after all, his God - given name, as distinct from a tide or appellation. Secondly, the resurrected and glorified Lord
still identified himself as "Jesus" when appearing to Paul in Acts 9: 5 (we suppose he did so because it continues to be
his name). The angel at his ascension referred to him as "Jesus, " and Peter uses his simple name three times in his
sermon on Pentecost (Acts 2: 22, 32, 36). The disciples refer to "Jesus" when praying to God in Acts 4: 27 and 30 (and they
weren't struck by lightning). Finally, Paul uses an unadorned "Jesus" throughout his epistles with a precision and power
commensurate with his being a holy man inspired to write Holy Writ (See 2 Cor. 4: 11; Eph. 4: 21; 1 Thess. 1: 10; 2: 15; 4: 14).
Having thus made our point, all we can say is Praise JESUS! Thank you, JESUS! We love you, JESUS!
If he was not called "Jesus" by his followers in direct address, what was he called? The most common term was
"lord, " a title of respect at least equivalent to "Sir, " but with a meaning ranging from "Sir" to "master" or "owner" (See
Appendix B). Sometimes he was called "Rabbi, " mostly in John (8x), a title that was keenly desired by the Pharisees
(Matt. 23: 7), and equivalent to "Teacher. " Against this backdrop of Pharisaical arrogance, Jesus taught his disciples
about the use of tides for the purpose of personal elevation. He expressly discouraged them from referring to
themselves as "Rabbi, " because they were all brothers, and they had only one "Teacher, " namely he. In that same
context, he also forbade the use of the titles "Father, " because there is only one father (our heavenly Father), and
"Master, " because he was their only Master. This latter tide (Gk. kathegetes) was never used of him, and since this is the
only use of this word in the New Testament, we cannot be certain of precisely the way Jesus used it since it has a wide
range of secular usage. Though he discouraged their use of tides for themselves by identifying himself as their Teacher
and Master, he did not seem to expect them to refer to him as such. They continued to refer to him primarily as Kurios,
and he made no attempt to correct them. The bottom line of this discussion about titles, however, is that they ought
not to be used to elevate oneself. Humility must be the mark of Christ's followers (Matt. 23: 8-10).
17. The astute reader will have picked up on the fact that since many people in the Bible were anointed, there were
many "Messiahs" or many "Christs." When David said that he would not kill King Saul because he would not "lay a hand
on the Lord's anointed" (1 Sam. 26: 9-11), the Hebrew text reads "the Lord's mashiach, " or Messiah. Thus, in the Bible
there were many messiahs, but only one true Messiah, just as there are many saviors, but only one true Savior. For more
on the use of Savior, see Appendix A (Luke 1: 47).

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One God & One Lord
Acts 10: 38
How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went
around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God
was with him
Another way to understand the distinction between person and function is this: "Christ"
relates to the job that needed doing and "Jesus" is the person who did the job. 18 This means that
Jesus did not actually become "Christ, " i. e., "the anointed one, " until he was anointed at his
baptism at the age of 30. That is why Peter said that God "made this Jesus... both Lord and
Christ" (Acts 2: 36). Logically, he would have been made "Christ" (i. e., empowered to be the
Christ) when he was anointed, but was declared to be Christ categorically and conclusively at
his resurrection when the earthly phase of his messianic work, and therefore his "sufferings, "
was finished.
We consider it an inescapable conclusion that "Jesus" would have been unable to do the
work of "Christ" had he not been anointed with holy spirit and power, despite being the Son of
God by birth. Thus, the term "Christ" rather strictly relates to the work that he was called upon
to do and highlights the humility with which he would approach it. This is why the Synoptic
Gospels portray him as the graciously - enabled adult servant rather than the privileged Son
(predictably, the baptism of Jesus by John is not included in the Gospel of John — See
Chapter 8).
"Jesus Christ" is the combination of his name that is used most commonly in conjunction
with "the Father, " and hence it relates to his role as the Son. God is "the God and "Father of the
Lord Jesus Christ, " never the "Father of the Lord Christ, " or "the Father of the Lord Jesus, " etc.
Generally, "Jesus Christ" is the person who is the Son of God seated at the right hand of God with
whom we are personally connected. It is "Jesus Christ" with whom we have personal fellowship
(1 John 1: 3; 1 Cor. 1: 9). It is he who gave personal revelation to Paul (Gal. 1: 11, 12). Putting
"Jesus" before "Christ" places the emphasis on his person, and therefore his relationships with
his Father and his family. Though he is the exalted Lord seated at the right hand of God, he is
personally acquainted with every member of his body, who are his brothers and sisters in the
family of God (Heb. 2: 11).
"Christ Jesus" emphasizes his exalted position at the right hand of God, and is related to
the aspect of Messiah as one who functions in an exalted position of authority as King. The king
has authority not from his personal qualities but from his position. Anyone can serve as a king
and have authority, even if he is a buffoon. "Christ Jesus" also emphasizes the objective aspect
of Messiah's work and accomplishments. The term "Christ" preceding "Jesus" places the
emphasis on the legal rights, privileges and responsibilities of believers that have resulted from
his finished work. This compound form of his name is used most often with" in" and "by, " again
emphasizing not his person but his exalted position. We "rejoice in Christ Jesus" (Phil. 3: 3),
meaning in this case that the source of our joy is his completed work on our behalf. This is not
to say that having a personal relationship with him is not a source of joy, only that the term
"Christ Jesus" does not have that emphasis.
18. Some scholars have noticed this distinction. One says that the word "Christ" appears "when there is reference to
the work of redemption. " Gerhard Kittel, op. cit., Theological Dictionary Vol. IV, p. 1090.

Chapter 6: The Four Gospels: The Fourfold Portrait of Christ
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We will conclude this study of the fourfold paradigm by quoting an old, familiar passage
in light of what we have just learned. Knowing the extensive biblical depth of this paradigm and
what each term means helps us properly interpret a passage such as this:
Philippians 2: 6-8
(6) Being in very nature [KJV"in the form of] God [i. e., as His Son, his privileged
position], he did not consider equality with God something to be grasped [as Lucifer
and Adam did],
(7) But made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant [his daily decision],
being made in human likeness [i. e., a man, a human being, his "nature"].
(8) And being found in appearance [KJV"fashion"] as a man, he humbled himself and
became obedient to death — even death on a cross.
(9) Therefore God exalted him to the highest place [i. e., as the King of kings] and gave
him the name which is above every name [i. e, the Lord Jesus Christ]
(10) that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under
the earth,
(11) and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
The following chart puts all the previous information together in a way that may visually
help to establish this scriptural pattern:
King
Servant
Man
Son
4 Gospels
Matthew
Mark
Luke
John
Tsemach
Zech. 9: 9;
Jer. 23: 5
Isa. 42: 1
Zech. 3: 8
Zech. 6: 12
Isa. 4: 2
A righteous branch,
the King
My servant, the branch
The man whose
name is the Branch
The branch of the
Lord... beautiful and
glorious
The cherubim of Ezek.
1: 10 and Rev. 4: 6, 7
Lion
Ox
Man
Eagle
Tabernacle colors
Purple
Crimson
Blue
White
Genealogy
From Abraham and
David to Christ
None
From Adam,
the first man
From the bosom of the
Father (1: 18)
Name
Christ Jesus, Lord
Christ, Lord
Jesus, Lord
Jesus Christ, Lord

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The Reliability of the Gospels
Through the years, we have heard many people who do not believe in the death and
resurrection of Christ call the Bible "a good book" or say that it "contains moral lessons. "
However, if Christ did not do the miracles the Bible says he did, nor rise from the dead, and if
his disciples and the writers of the Bible foisted a huge hoax on mankind by saying he was alive
when he wasn't, then the Bible is neither good nor moral. The Four Gospels are the history and
account of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. They testify to what Christ said and
did. They also claim to be an authoritative record of his identity: the only-begotten Son of God
who died, but was raised from death, and who now sits as Lord of Lords at the right hand of God.
Aside from the accuracy of the narrative account of his life, we have many specific
prophecies that the Gospels claim are fulfilled in Jesus Christ. The fact that he fulfilled prophecy
after prophecy is powerfully persuasive evidence of his Messiah ship. As prophesied, he was a
descendant of Adam and David. He was born of a virgin in Bethlehem, spent part of his life in
Egypt, grew up in Nazareth, etc. In The Signature of God, Grant Jeffrey gives the odds of one
person being able to fulfill just 17 of all the prophecies that Christ fulfilled. It is:
480, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000 to 1.
That huge number is really impossible to conceive of, so Jeffrey gives it in the following
analogy: imagine that every star and planet in the entire Ìilky Way galaxy is made of sand, just
sand. That would not be as many grains of sand as the above number indicates. So one person
trying to fulfill all those prophecies would be like someone having one guess to find one specific
grain of sand in an entire galaxy of sand. 19 Good luck!
There is much more reason than just prophecy to consider the Gospel records reliable,
however. Scripture records that after his resurrection, Jesus "gave many convincing proofs that
he was alive" (Acts 1: 3). That is the reason why Christianity is around today. Had Jesus not
shown himself alive, his disciples would have scattered and there would be no Christianity. This
was already starting to happen, as evidenced by the two disappointed disciples who were
walking away from Jerusalem when he appeared to them and convinced them he was alive
(Luke 24). Mary Magdalene, upon seeing the empty tomb, did not conclude from this fact that
there had been a resurrection; instead she thought someone had carried off Jesus' dead body
(John 20: 10-16). But she, too, was convinced when Jesus personally appeared to her. After Jesus
appeared to these disciples, they were convinced of the resurrection but were unable to
convince the other disciples. The apostles were only convinced by Jesus himself, who "ap-
peared to the eleven as they were eating: he rebuked them for their lack of faith and their
stubborn refusal to believe those who had seen him after he had risen" (Mark 16: 14).
It was Jesus' personal appearance to the apostles and to the others that convinced them
that he was alive and thus was worth living and dying for. Jesus had been unable to convince
the Jews to believe in him, and yet Peter, less than two months after the last time Jesus himself
had entered the Temple and taught the people, stood up on the Day of Pentecost and addressed
19. Grant Jeffery, The Signature of God, (Frontier Research Publications, Toronto, 1996), p. 182.

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many of the same people who had recently shouted, "Crucify him. " Peter boldly told the people
that they had crucified their Messiah, but that God had raised him from the dead and made him
"Lord. " The resurrection was not a question in Peter's mind. Standing there with the other
apostles, he told the crowd, "we are witnesses of the fact" (Acts 2: 32). Of course, the talk of
people seeing Jesus alive after his death had gotten around, and on the Day of Pentecost about
3000 people believed. That was a good start, and Christianity spread rapidly after that.
The Bible is a "good book" (actually, it is the best book!) and it is a "moral book. " It is not
built on a hoax or a lie. Jesus is the Promised Messiah, and he died for the sins of all of us just
as was foretold in the Hebrew Scriptures, clearly portrayed in the Four Gospels and recounted
and expanded upon in Acts and the Epistles. Christianity spread rapidly after the resurrection,
and it is still spreading. If Christianity has spread to you, and you are a Christian, we thank God
for your salvation and encourage you to continue in the grace of God. Jesus said, " I tell you the
truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing" (John 14: 12). The Gospels
clearly portray what Jesus Christ did. Now we can honor him and his Father by going and doing
the same things.
If it has not "spread" to you yet, we urge you to honestly consider the evidence and make
the decision to believe it. A person is saved when he personally confesses and believes what
Scripture clearly says: "If you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord, ' and you believe in your
heart God has raised him from the dead, you will be saved" (Rom. 10: 9).
Make Jesus Christ your Lord and Savior, because he is the promised Messiah. His life
stands at the very crossroads of eternity. It is he before whom every person who has ever walked
the earth must one day stand and acknowledge as Lord. It is he for whom Christians labor,
bearing the good news of his coming to the ends of the earth, that every man would know how
to answer the Lord's question: "Who do you say that I am?"

CHAPTER SEVEN
The Synoptic
Gospels: Open or
Veiled Messiah?
In the previous chapter, we presented the "synoptic" witness of the life of Christ, and
established the fact that these three Gospels — Matthew, Mark and Luke — basically agree on the
identity of Christ as a human being who was empowered at his baptism to be the Savior of the
world. These accounts of Jesus' life give no hint of any "pre - existence" or "incarnation, " nor that
Jesus believed he was "God in human flesh. "1 He even avoided the titles normally associated
with the Messiah, and preferred to call himself "the son of man, " an ambiguous term. 2 It occurs
79 times in the Synoptic Gospels and 12 times in John, and is never used by anyone but Jesus.
The ambiguity is found in the fact that in the Aramaic language that Jesus spoke, "son of man"
meant simply "a certain one" or "someone.. "3 Thus, as with the use of parables, those with ears
to hear and true spiritual hunger could discern who he was, while those who looked on the flesh
remained in the dark.
1. Origen, the early Church "father, " recognized that the Synoptic Gospels did not support the idea of Jesus as God.
Todt quotes Origen on John 1: 6: " 'For none of these (Paul, Matthew, Mark, Luke] plainly declared Jesus' Godhead, as
John does when he makes him say, º am the light of the world, '; º am the way, the truth and the life; º am the
resurrection. ' There is not a single 'Son of Man' saying within the Synoptic tradition which links up with the concept
of pre-existence from apocalyptic literature. " (H. E. Todt, The Son of Man in the Synoptic Tradition, SCM Press, 1965),
p. 284.
Dunn affirms the same point: "In not one instance where Jesus is portrayed as the Danielic son of man is there
any perceptible implication that Jesus is thereby understood as a pre-existent being hidden in heaven prior to his
(initial) manifestation on earth. " (Dunn, op. cit., Christology, 88).
2. F. F. Bruce op. cit., John, p. 67 notes 71 and 73:
The phrase 'son of man' is a Hebrew and Aramaic idiom meaning simply 'a man', 'a human being', In
Aramaic, the language that Jesus appears normally to have spoken, 'the son of man' would have meant 'the Man'.
On occasion Jesus may have used this expression as a substitute for the pronoun Tor 'me'... In Ps. 8: 4 'the son
of man' (Heb. ben 'adam) stands in synonymous parallelism with 'man' (Heb. 'enosh), both expressions being
used in the generic sense.
3. Holman Bible Dictionary, "Jesus Christ, " CD ROM edition.

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One God & One Lord
Many Christians have traditionally understood the phrase "son of man" to refer to his
"human side" as opposed to his "God side. " But, in recent years, a variety of scholars have
recognized the particular messianic meaning of the phrase, unknown to the vast majority of
Jesus' listeners. It refers not to his humble status as a man, but to one vested with the highest
honor and authority who comes to rule the earth in the name of Yahweh. Daniel had used this
term in his famous messianic prophecy concerning the end times when Messiah would rule.
Daniel 7: 13-14 (NASB)
(13) I kept looking in the night visions, and behold with the clouds of heaven One like
a Son of Man was coming, and He came up to the Ancient of Days and was presented
before Him. 4
(14) And to Him was given dominion, glory and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations
and men of every language might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion
which will not pass away, and His kingdom is one which will not be destroyed.
Open or Veiled Messiah?
It is commonly asserted by orthodox Christian teachers and apologists, and believed by
most Christians, that Jesus clearly stated during his earthly ministry that he was "God. " But
many scholars have noted from a careful reading of the Synoptic Gospels that not only did Jesus
not assert that he was God, he did not openly assert that he was the Messiah, the Son of God!5
If it was not Jesus' practice to assert that he was Christ or even the" Son of God, " then he certainly
did not assert his "deity, " or that he was "God, " as many Trinitarians claim. Many modern
scholars agree with this, and have challenged the notion that he understood himself to be and
openly declared that he was "God in human flesh. "6 They have even questioned whether he
4. Note that the "son of man" is the messianic Figure who receives all power and authority to rule over the nations. He
receives this power from the "Ancient of Days, " a clear image of the Almighty God who would delegate it to him. Note
the transference of language from the "Ancient of Days" to the "son of man" in Revelation 1: 13ff. This is a powerful way
to express the exaltation of Jesus to functional equality with God by portraying him in similar language, but certainly
not to be taken to supersede the already clearly defined relationship of the Almighty God and His Messiah, the "son of
man. " See Appendix A (Gen. 18: 1, 2; Rev. 1: 13-15).
5.  This idea of Jesus veiling his messianic ministry is not new. In 1901, German theologian W. Wrede wrote The
Messianic Secret,
in which he suggested that Jesus did not make any messianic claims himself, but that the Church made
these claims for him in later years and Mark redacted the idea into his gospel. Scholars since have recognized this
"secrecy motif, " and have subdivided the secrecy material into at least two categories, his messiahship and his miracles.
Scholars are still debating the issue. Witherington sees "a tension that exists between secrecy and openness" in the
Gospel of Mark, and attributes this to Mark being a "collector of diverse traditions. " Along with virtually every other
Christian scholar, he thus fails to understand that the spiritual perspective of Mark, with its emphasis on Christ's service,
would be the very gospel we would expect to emphasize the secrecy motif. The servant labors in obscurity.
Ben Witherington, The Christology of Jesus (Fortress Press, Minneapolis, 1990), p. 264.
6.  Dunn writes: "But if we are to submit our speculations to the text and build our theology only with the bricks
provided by careful exegesis, we cannot say with any confidence that Jesus knew himself to be divine, the pre-existent
Son of God" (Dunn, op. cit., p. 32).

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openly declared that he was the promised Messiah. Although Jesus did occasionally declare
that he was the Messiah, this was the exception and not the rule, and he did this only when he
was with certain select individuals. 7 Scripture reveals that the clear and open presentation of
Jesus as the Christ came after he was raised from the dead.
Acts 2: 22, 24, 31-33, 36 (NASB)
(22) "Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by
God with miracles and wonders and signs, which God performed through him in your
midst, just as you yourselves know.
(24) And God raised him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was
impossible for him to be held in its power.
(31) He [David] looked ahead at the resurrection of the Christ, that he was neither
abandoned to hades [the grave], nor did his flesh suffer decay.
(32) This Jesus God raised up again, to which we are all witnesses.
(33) Therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God...
(36) Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made him both
Lord and Christ—this Jesus whom you crucified. "
Notice that the signs and wonders associated with his ministry attested to his being
"accredited by God" (verse 22), but not necessarily to the fact that he was the Messiah. Prophets
like Elijah and Elisha had performed many mighty acts, but were not thought to be the Messiah
on that account. Nevertheless, Jesus' signs and wonders were an important part of his ministry.
7. In Matthew 16: 17-20, Jesus' identity is the issue. Peter correctly understands Jesus to be the Christ, but Jesus never
actually affirms or denies the fact. He says, in effect, "I never told you that, but God apparently did. " In John 4: 25, 26,
Jesus says, "I am he, " meaning the Messiah, but the Samaritan woman would have had different messianic expecta-
tions, and so he would have less concern about revealing his true identity to her. Even during the time of his trial before
the High Priest and Pilate, there is doubt among scholars as to whether he was forthcoming about his identity. In Mark
14: 61, 62, Jesus identifies himself to the High Priest. Oscar Cullman argues that when the parallel synoptic passages
(Matt. 26: 64; Luke 22: 70) are considered and we go back to the Aramaic original, Jesus' answer is not clearly affirmative.
This would be consistent with his behavior at other times in his ministry, leaving it to others and God whether or not
he was recognized for who he really was. Cullman writes:
The corresponding Aramaic word by no means indicates a clear affirmation. It is rather a way of avoiding
a direct answer and can even mean a veiled denial. In that case, the sense of Jesus' words would be, "You say so,
not I. " If we may understand his answer to the high priest's trick question in this way, then Jesus neither clearly
affirmed nor clearly denied that he was the Messiah.
(Oscar Cullman, The Christology of the New Testament, The Westminster Press, Philadelphia, 1963, p. 118). The
Holman Bible Dictionary corroborates this point:
At the trial Jesus was interrogated on this point [his messiahship]. The balance of the evidence points in
the direction that he still maintained a reserve (Matt. 26: 63, 64; Luke 22: 67, 68), with the same reluctance to be
identified with a worldly messiah-king evident, too, in the interview with Pilate (Mark 15: 2: "Art thou the King
of the Jews?" asked Pilate. "Thou sayest it, " Jesus replied; but the answer is probably noncommittal meaning,
"It is your word, not mine"). At all events, Jesus was sentenced to death on the trumped-up charge of being a
messianic claimant and a rival to the emperor in Rome (Mark 15: 26, 32). The Gospels make it clear that there was
no direct and supportable evidence that Jesus so claimed to be such a figure.
(Holman Bible Dictionary, article on "Jesus Christ, " CD ROM Edition).

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John 20: 30 says that the signs and miracles that he did were written down so that others beside
those who witnessed them firsthand might have a chance to believe. Jesus upbraided the
people of his time for not accepting his miracles. 8 He said that the miracles he did in God's name
spoke for him:
John 10: 24, 25 (NASB)
(24) The Jews therefore gathered around Him, and were saying to Him, "How long will
You keep us in suspense? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly. "
(25) Jesus answered them, " I told you, and you do not believe; the works that I do in My
Father's name, these bear witness of Me. "
He spoke harshly about the cities that witnessed his miracles yet did not repent, even
saying that if the people of Sodom had seen the same miracles, they would have repented (Matt.
11: 20-24). In this regard, however, Jesus sounded more like a prophet calling the people to
repentance than the Messiah, for many of the prophets were miracle workers. However, as Acts
2: 31-36 indicates, the decisive and conclusive proof that Jesus of Nazareth was the Messiah
("the Christ") was his resurrection and ascension. This truth is further established in the
following verses:
Acts 17: 31 (NASB)
Because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through
a Man
whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from
the dead.
Romans 1: 4 (NASB)
Who was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead,
according to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord.
1 Corinthians 1: 22 says, "the Jews require miraculous signs" before they will believe that
someone is representing God. Accordingly, the Synoptic Gospels all record a time when the
Pharisees and the teachers of the Law confronted Jesus and asked for a miraculous sign as the
proof that God was with him. In Mark 8: 11 and 12, Jesus flatly refuses them and says that no sign
will be given them. In Luke 11: 29-32, Jesus says that only one sign would be given them: the sign
of Jonah, but he does not elaborate. Matthew supplies some important information.
Matthew 12: 40
For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man
will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
In our experience, most Christians miss the point of this reference to Jonah because they
believe that he was alive inside the fish. But Jesus was "just as" Jonah, so if Jonah had been alive,
then Jesus also would have to have been alive in the grave. The Jews, however, understood that
Jonah had been dead three days and nights inside the fish, and that God had raised him from
the dead. Yet they failed to see the messianic application of Jonah 1: 17, which Jesus quotes here,
8. See Chapter 5 (Eccl. 1: 9).

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indicating that he would also be dead for three days and nights, and like Jonah, be raised from
the dead.
The "sign" to which Jesus was referring was not actually the fact of him being in the grave
for 72 hours ("Look at that! Someone has been dead for 72 straight hours! Amazing!"). What he
was pointing to was the event that would occur at the end of that period of time: the resurrection!
What Jesus was saying was that the resurrection would be the one and only sign that would
demonstrate conclusively that he was the promised Messiah. This being the case, we can
understand why he would not have made a point to persuade the people of his messianic
identity during his earthly ministry. His primary mission was to be obedient to his Father and
keep himself from sin so that he could fulfill his earthly destiny, which was to give his life as a
perfect sacrifice for sin.
On the surface, it would appear that the purpose of Christ's ministry was to present
himself as the promised Messiah. After all, at his birth the angels had made plain to the
shepherds who he was, and they had excitedly passed on this proclamation. This fact had also
been clearly announced at the time of his dedication in the Temple shortly after his birth.
Simeon (Luke 2: 25-35) clearly prophesied of the messianic ministry that lay ahead for the baby
Jesus, including both his sufferings and glory, as prophesied in Genesis 3: 15. Anna, too, spoke
of him to "all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem. " In other words, she believed him
to be the promised Redeemer (Luke 2: 36-38). But we must remember that these incidents
follow a pattern: these were people who had a heart for God, and so God revealed to them what
He was doing and who Jesus was.
With the aforementioned exceptions, it would appear that Jesus' identity as the Son of God
was kept a secret from the beginning of his life. His mother and father were obviously discreet
about it. Luke 2: 19 says that "Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart. " In
other words, she kept her mouth shut about who he was and what he was to do. In the town
where Jesus grew up, Nazareth of Galilee, many knew him only as "the carpenter's son, " so his
true identity had been kept secret while he was growing up. John 8: 41 indicates that the
Pharisees had investigated his background and heard that he was born "of fornication, " or out
of wedlock. Apparently the rumor was that Mary was already pregnant when she and Joseph
were married. Jesus was viewed as a commoner of humble origins, born in a manger, raised in
a second-class part of Israel and thought by many to be illegitimate. He would not be able to rely
on "the world" to assist him in carrying out his messianic mission. In fact, the cards were
stacked against him.
Mary must have been careful to protect her son's identity. Once, when her 12 - year - old
son's precocious knowledge of Scripture led him to forget a family caravan appointment, she
and Joseph spent three days looking for him throughout Jerusalem (We can hear her now: "Oy
vey, I've lost the Son of God!"). When she finally caught up with Jesus, she found him in the
Temple debating with the rabbis.
Luke 2: 46-52 (NASB)
(46) And it came about that after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the
midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions.
(47) And all who heard Him were amazed at His understanding and His answers.

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(48) And when they saw Him, they were astonished; and His mother said to Him, "Son,
why have you treated us this way? Behold, your father and I have been anxiously looking
for You. "
(49) And He said to them, " Why is it that you were looking for Me? Did not you know I
had to be in My Father's house?"
(50) And they did not understand the statement which He had made to them.
(51) And He went down with them, and came to Nazareth; and He continued in
subjection to them; and His mother treasured all these things in her heart.
(52) And Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.
There are several important points to make about this record. It certainly seems to
indicate that Jesus knew who his Father was, and therefore knew his own identity as the Son of
God. It also shows that he felt the urgency of his calling to the point that he was unaware of what
his being "lost" in Jerusalem would mean to his mother and adopted father, and even shows
some typical pre - adolescent obliviousness to parental stress. The words, "he was obedient to
them, " at the end of this record imply that he had somewhat neglected his responsibility to his
parents in this instance and that it did not happen again. We are sure there were many such
experiences that Jesus had growing up, who "although he was a son, he learned obedience from
the things which he suffered (Heb. 5: 8—NASB). " Mary, once again, pondered and guarded
these things in her heart, knowing that then was not the time for him to be calling a lot of
attention to himself. That would come in due time.
Chronologically, there is no further mention made about his identity until the incident
recorded in Luke 3: 15-22, when some people wondered if John the Baptist might not be the
Messiah. John prophesied that one was coming whose sandals he was not worthy to loosen, and
this one would be the true Baptizer. As John was baptizing Jesus in the river Jordan, the spirit
of God descended upon him and a voice from heaven said, "You are my beloved Son in whom
I am well pleased. " Also, John the Baptist gave his testimony about that event:
John 1: 30-34 (NASB)
(30) This is He of whom I said, "After me comes a man who ranks ahead of me because
He was before me. "
(31)1 myself did not know Him, but I came baptizing with water for this reason, that He
might be revealed to Israel.
(32)And John testified: "I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it
remained on Him.
(33) I myself did not know Him, but the One who sent me to baptize with water said to
me, 'He on whom you see the spirit descend and remain is the One who baptizes with
the Holy Spirit. '
(34) And I myself have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God. "

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John's testimony that Jesus is the Son of God came by revelation, not the fact that, as Jesus'
first cousin, he had heard it through the family grapevine. Although John said he saw the spirit
descend, he made no mention of hearing the voice. There is no absolute biblical evidence that
anyone other than Jesus and John heard the voice of God or saw the holy spirit descend in the
form of a dove, but they might have. Something visible and noteworthy occurred there, because
one of the qualifications for an apostle to replace Judas Iscariot was that he be someone who had
been a witness at John's baptism of Jesus (Acts 1: 22).
As his earthly ministry unfolded, Jesus' behavior was so contrary to the behavior that
people were expecting from the Messiah that even his friends and family wanted to "take
custody of him, " meaning they believed him to be "several sandwiches short of a picnic. "
Mark 3: 20, 21 (NASB)
(20) And He came home, and the multitude gathered again, to such an extent that they
could not even eat a meal.
(21) And when His own people [NIV "family"] heard of this, they went out to take
custody of Him, for they were saying, "He has lost his senses. "
We think the most probable explanation for this lack of support from his family is the old
adage, "familiarity breeds contempt. " It is also likely that they had their own preconceived ideas
about the coming Messiah that did not match his behavior. Even later in his ministry, some of
his family continued in their unbelief (John 7: 5). Jesus realized that he was acting in ways
contrary to what was taught about the Messiah, but, in keeping with his knowledge that God
would reveal who he was to those whose hearts were pure, he identified those who did God's will
as being his true family.
Even the Devils Believed
(and Trembled)
The first three chapters of Mark are very revealing about how Jesus was perceived. As we
just saw, his family did not believe in him. In Mark 3: 22, immediately after his family believed
he was insane, the teachers of the law came down from Jerusalem and let it be known that they
thought he was a worker of evil — casting out demons by the prince of demons, Beelzebub. In
the first three chapters of Mark are three records where evil spirits identify him as the Christ, but
he commanded them not to reveal who he was. This is clear evidence that he veiled his
messianic identity.
Mark 1: 23-26 (NASB)
(23) And just then there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit; and he
cried out,

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(24) Saying, "What do we have to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth? Have You come to
destroy us? I know who You are — the Holy One of God!"
(25) And Jesus rebuked him, saying "Be quiet! And come out of him!"
(26) And throwing him into convulsions, the unclean spirit cried out with a loud voice,
and came out of him.
Mark 1: 32-34 (NASB)
(32) And when evening had come, after the sun had set, they began bringing to Him all
who were ill and those who were demon - possessed.
(33) And the whole city had gathered at the door.
(34) And He healed many who were ill with various diseases, and cast out many
demons, and He was not permitting the demons to speak, because they knew who He
was.
Mark 3: 10-12 (NASB)
(10) For He had healed many, with the result that all those who had afflictions pressed
about Him in order to touch Him.
(11) And whenever the evil spirits beheld Him, they would fall down before Him and cry
out, saying, "You are the Son of God!"
(12)  And He earnestly warned them not to make Him known.
Thus, as Jesus started his public ministry, the only ones who seemed to know for sure who
he was were the Devil and his demons. When Jesus went into the wilderness to be tempted, the
Devil certainly knew who he was, but challenged his identity anyway, saying, "If you are the Son
of God.... " He said this not because he thought Jesus did not know who he was, but because he
hoped to manipulate him to act unwisely in order to prove his identity as "the Son of God. " Satan
attempted to put Jesus on the defensive. However, Jesus made no attempt to assert his identity,
but appealed to the same written Word of God that was accessible to all Jews of his day. He
claimed no special dispensation, rights or privileges because of his status as the Son of God.
In a transparent attempt to have Jesus skip the suffering part of his godly assignment and
cut straight to the glory, the Devil offered Jesus "all the kingdoms of the world" and all the power
and glory thereof in exchange for his worship. Incidentally, if Jesus Christ were God, Satan
would obviously know this fact, and this temptation would be utterly hollow. Satan knows that
God "cannot be tempted" (James 1: 13). As we saw in Mark, demons also knew who Jesus was
and were often quick to try to make trouble for him by prematurely "letting the cat out of the
bag" and revealing that he was the Messiah. It was to their advantage to have his secret become
public knowledge because then the people would have put tremendous pressure on him to
deliver them from the Roman occupation of Palestine. They were looking for a Messiah who was
a political deliverer. Therefore, Jesus was particularly careful around crowds, as the following
record illustrates:

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Luke 4: 40-41
(40) And while the sun was setting, the people brought to Jesus all who had various
kinds of sickness, and laying his hands on each one, he healed them.
(41) Moreover, demons came out of many people, shouting, "You are the Son of God!"
But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew he was
the Christ.
Note how this record contrasts with the one when he was alone with his apostles and the
demons identified him and he did not shut them up. In fact, he had a brief conversation with
the chief demon and permitted them all to go into a herd of swine nearby. It was not as crucial
that Jesus silence the demons in this case because he was in a remote place among those who
already understood his identity.
Luke 8: 28
And seeing Jesus, he (the demonized man) cried out and fell before him, and said in a
loud voice, "What do I have to do with you, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you,
do not torment me!"
Even when they had no opportunity to create trouble for him by announcing his messianic
identity, the demons knew who he was and identified him immediately. The demons spoke the
same truth that was later revealed throughout the New Testament: Jesus is the Christ, the Son of
the living God.
More Reasons for Secrecy
Beside the problem of people putting pressure on him to be their version of the political
Messiah if he revealed his messianic identity, he had other good reasons for keeping it secret.
Perhaps the best reason of all was to fulfill the scriptures. Isaiah had prophesied of the quiet
ministry of the Lord's servant:
Isaiah 42: 1-3a (NASB)
(1) "Behold my servant, whom I uphold; my chosen one in whom my soul delights. I
have put my Spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations.
(2) He will not cry out or raise his voice, nor make his voice heard in the street.
(3) A bruised reed he will not break, and a dimly burning wick he will not extinguish... "
Matthew 12 quotes this passage in the very context that we have been studying. Jesus has
just healed a crippled man in the Temple on the Sabbath day and the Pharisees do not like it.
They begin plotting to kill him, so he warns his followers not to tell anyone who he is:

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Matthew 12: 15-21 (NASB)
(15) But Jesus, aware of this [that the Pharisees were planning to kill Him], withdrew
from there. And many followed Him, and He healed them all,
(16) and warned them not to make him known.
(17) in order that what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet, might be fulfilled,
saying,
(18) "Behold My servant, whom I have chosen; My beloved in whom My soul is well-
pleased; I will put My Spirit upon Him, and He shall proclaim justice to the Gentiles.
(19) He will not quarrel nor cry out; nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets.
(20) A battered reed He will not break off, and a smoldering wick He will not put out,
until He leads justice to victory.
(21) And in His name the Gentiles will hope. "
As we noted in Chapter 5, how these verses are treated in the ancient Hebrew writings
reveals how selective the Jews were concerning messianic prophecies and this blindness
affected the way they experienced Jesus. According to rabbinical literature, the Jews correctly
applied Isaiah 42: 1 and 4 to the Messiah, because they understood the idea that he would
proclaim and establish justice on the earth as a function of his Davidic reign as king, but they
did not understand how verses in between (the italicized words in the above passage) were also
about the Messiah. They did not understand how he could "lead justice to victory" by being a
gentle and quiet servant. This passage from Isaiah is quoted in Matthew in the context of his
warning the disciples not to tell who he was, and must therefore be interpreted in light of how
it explains why he would urge them to silence.
Jesus perfectly fulfilled this prophecy up until the phrase, "until he leads justice to victory. "
Though he did proclaim justice, he was treated very unjustly and crucified as a common
criminal. Not until his resurrection would he be vindicated and begin to "lead justice to
victory. " Even to this day, this scripture has not been completely fulfilled, and will not be until
Christ puts an end to death after his Millennial reign on the earth (see also 1 Cor. 15: 56, which
refers to that final victory over death, the ultimate "injustice").
Knowing that his suffering would precede his glory, he was not one to quarrel and shout
in the streets. Though he had his confrontations with the scribes and Pharisees, he did not go
out of his way to pick a fight. He was very gentle with the people, and he touched, taught and
healed those who were "battered" or "smoldering. " Some of the Gentiles did hope in him, and
not a few of these were healed and saved under his ministry. With the aid of the light from
Matthew, this prophetic passage from Isaiah 42 is seen to richly portray the Messiah's actual
ministry, and helps us understand why it had to be that way to fulfill the Scriptures.
Another reason Jesus veiled his messianic identity was to protect the all - important timing
of his death. Luke 4: 16-30 records his first public utterance at which he declared the nature of
his ministry. He did this by letting Scripture speak for him, quoting Isaiah 61: 1, 2:

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Luke 4: 18, 19 (NASB)
(18) "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He anointed Me to preach the gospel
to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight
to the blind, to set free those who are downtrodden,
(19) to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord. "
Having read this, Jesus simply said: "Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your
hearing. " He did not say, "I am the Messiah, and these Scriptures are talking about me. " He let
the people figure out who he was. At first, the crowd's reaction was very favorable, until he
suggested that some of them would reject him because "no prophet is accepted in his home
town. " On hearing this, the people turned on him and led him to the edge of a cliff, intending
to throw him to his death. They did this because they thought he was a false prophet, not
because he was claiming to be the Messiah. 9 This experience would have made it clear to Jesus
"right out of the gate" that he would have to be very careful about how he identified himself so
that he would not be killed before the appointed time.
This spiritual warfare over the timing of his death raged around Jesus, as is abundantly
evident in the following record:
John 7: 1-9 (NRSV)
(1) After this Jesus went about in Galilee. He did not wish to go about in Judea, because
the Jews were looking for an opportunity to kill him.
(2) Now the Jewish festival of Booths [Tabernacles] was near.
(3) So his brothers said to him, "Leave here and go to Judea, so that your disciples also
may see the works you are doing.
(4) For no one who wants to be widely known acts in secret. If you do these things, show
yourself to the world. "
(5) For not even his brothers believed in him.
(6) Jesus said to them, "My time has not yet come, but your time is always here.
(7) The world cannot hate you, but it hates me, because I testify against it that its works
are evil.
(8) Go to the festival yourselves. I am not going to this festival, for my time has not yet
fully come.
"
(9) After saying this, he remained in Galilee.
This is a remarkable record of familial disloyalty and how the enemy will even attempt to
use those closest to us to defeat us. Not only did Jesus' own half-brothers not believe that he was
the Messiah, they were unwittingly encouraging him to go to the very place where his life was
9. They were angry because he had said to them, "No prophet is accepted in his home town, " and compared them
unfavorably to non-believing Israelites in the time of Elijah.

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in serious danger! They said he should be "going public. " His answer to them revealed his
commitment to remain in the absolute center of God's will and do everything at the proper time.
As in Luke 4, we again see the fickleness of the crowd, this time at the end of his earthly
ministry, as they turned on Jesus after his triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Having their hopes
up that he was coming to save them from Roman domination ("Hosanna" means "Save us"),
their mood quickly turned ugly when they determined that he was being arrested by the
Romans, and concluded that he was impotent against these ungodly civil authorities.
Anticipating the fickleness of the crowd and the spiritual battle waged against him, Jesus
walked with great wisdom and self-control. To borrow a phrase from the game of poker, he
"played his cards close to the vest. " This is no doubt also the reason why he commanded Peter,
James and John to keep quiet about what they had seen at the Mount of Transfiguration.
Matthew 17: 9 (NRSV)
As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus ordered them, "Tell no one about the
vision
, until after the son of Man has been raised from the dead. "
Another reason Jesus concealed his identity was to honor the way the Father has always
revealed truth. It is commonly acknowledged that the Bible can be a difficult book to under-
stand. God reveals many truths in a way that requires diligent study and prayer to comprehend
them. He does want everyone "to perceive and recognize and discern and know precisely and
correctly the [divine] Truth" (1 Tim. 2: 4—AMP). In spite of that, He follows His own advice: He
does not cast His pearls before swine (Matt. 7: 6) or speak openly to fools so they can despise the
wisdom of His words (Prov. 23: 9). Rather, He conceals many gems of truth in such a way that
only those who "incline their heart to understanding, " "cry out for insight" and "search for it as
for hidden treasures" find the knowledge of God (Prov. 2: 1-5—NRSV).
Proverbs 25: 2 states that God conceals truths in His Word: "It is the glory of God to conceal
things; but the glory of kings is to search things out" (NRSV). Jesus followed his Father's
guidance and revealed truth in the same way his Father did. In Matthew 13, after he taught the
crowds in parables, the disciples were perplexed.
Matthew 13: 10, 11 (NASB)
(10) And the disciples came and said to Him, "Why do you speak to them in parables?"
(11) And He answered and said to them, "To you it has been granted to know the
mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted. "
Jesus taught the crowds in parables, but he later expounded to the disciples the truth of
what he had said (Mark 4: 34). Just as he concealed some truth from the crowds, he veiled his
identity so that people who do not" incline their hearts to understanding" would not know. He
called himself such things as "the bread of life, " "the good shepherd, " "the light of the world, "
"the resurrection and the life, " and "the son of man. "
This self-assigned title of "son of man" refers to Daniel 7: 13-18, which prophesies of the
authority and dignity conferred on the Messiah in his glory, two ideas that the resurrection of
Jesus confirmed (Acts 7: 56). Some of the religious leaders (Matt. 12: 39) and some of the crowds

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(Luke 11: 29) asked Jesus for a sign. He told them that the only sign he would give to them was
the sign of Jonah. As Jonah was raised from the dead after three days and three nights in the sea
creature's belly, Jesus knew that his resurrection was the absolute and ultimate proof that he
was the Christ of God.
Those whose hearts were hard remained in confusion about his true identity all the way
through his life and ministry. In fact, the problem persists unto the present day. 10 Even in the
days just prior to his arrest, the crowds understood Jesus to be a prophet (Matt. 21: 46) and not
necessarily the Messiah.
In spite of the fact that Jesus deliberately concealed his identity as the Messiah from the
crowds, Scripture testifies loudly that those with a heart for God found out who he was. The
shepherds at his birth, Simeon, Anna, the Magi, the woman at the well, John the Baptist, his
disciples, the woman with the issue of blood, Mary and Martha, Joseph of Arimathea and many
others came to know he was the Christ. Readers today do not always recognize those individuals
in the Gospels who realized that Jesus was the Messiah. For example, although many of those
who called him "Son of David" apparently knew Jesus was Messiah, only those people who
know that the "Son of David" is a messianic title would be aware of that. The woman who
touched his garment for healing apparently knew who he was, but a knowledge of the Old
Testament is required to understand that.11
A further reason that Jesus hid his identity is that he recognized that God would have to
confirm his Messiahship, and it was not his job to "toot his own horn. " Rather than take the
Devil's bait and do something that would hasten his being recognized as the true Messiah, he
trusted rather in the living God, his Father, to corroborate his calling and the meaning of his life.
As a wise man once said, "we boast because we are afraid that no one will notice us unless we
do. "
Jesus fulfilled prophecy after prophecy, said that he was the Messiah (albeit in mostly
veiled terms), and did signs and miracles that should have revealed to the people who he was.
Nevertheless, the picture in the minds of most people of what the Messiah would be like was so
different from the living Christ that they did not recognize him. Their preconceived ideas came
more from "synagogue training" than from the prophecies of Scripture.
There was confusion about the fact that the Messiah would have to die (Matt. 16: 22; John
12: 34), about who "Elijah" was (Matt. 17: 10) and about Christ's actions on the Sabbath (John
5: 18; 9: 16). 12 There was false teaching about where Christ would come from (John 7: 25-27), and
also erroneous ideas about his death (John 12: 34). There was little known about his ascension,
10. Cp. Matthew 12: 23; 16: 13; John 7: 12, 40-43; 9: 16; 10: 20, 21.
11. In Malachi 4: 2, the Old Testament foretells that the "sun of righteousness, " the Messiah, would have healing in his
"wings. " See Chapter 5 (Isa. 35: 5, 6).
12. Many people teach that Christ actually broke the Sabbath Law, but breaking the Law of God is sin, and Jesus Christ
never sinned. A careful reading of the Mosaic Law on the subject of the Sabbath will show that what Jesus actually broke
was the Sabbath traditions that had been set up by the religious leaders. Since these traditions were so ingrained in the
culture, the people thought they were part of the Law and questioned Jesus' Messiahship when he disregarded them.
Jesus carefully distinguished between spoken Torah and written Torah.

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and when Jesus spoke of it, the people were bewildered (John 7: 33-36). There was so much
confusion over his crucifixion that most of those who had believed that he was the Messiah (like
the two on the road to Emmaus in Luke 24) were not persuaded enough by his signs and
wonders to remain convinced of who he was. In fact, the only one who apparently kept his faith
in Jesus was Joseph of Arimathea, who was presumably not as much of a witness of his miracles
as were his more intimate followers. Nevertheless, Joseph was one who "waited for the kingdom
of God, " and saw the necessity of Christ's death. 13 His life is a powerful testimony to the
importance of having one's faith grounded in the written Word of God, for that is the only thing
that will sustain us and keep us within the will of God.
A study of Matthew reveals that Jesus was well into his ministry before he clearly revealed
his identity even to his disciples. Note the background of belief in reincarnation among those
who struggled to understand who he was. 14
Matthew 16: 13-17, 20 (NASB)
(13) Now when Jesus came to the district of Caesarea Philippi, He began asking His
disciples, saying, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?"
(14) And they said, "Some say John the Baptist; and others Elijah; but still others,
Jeremiah, or one of the prophets. "
(15) He said to them, "But who do you say I am?"
(16) And Simon Peter answered and said, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living
God. "
13. Joseph of Arimathea is one of the most interesting of all Christ's followers, and is made more compelling by the
scant references to him in Scripture. Compiling all the evidence from the Four Gospels, we know he was a good man,
wealthy, one of the ruling elders of Israel (serving on the Sanhedrin) and that he had not voted against Jesus in the
kangaroo court they held for him. We believe that Joseph knew the prophecy in Isaiah 53: 9, that Jesus was to be buried
among the rich, and thus had a tomb dug out of the stone somewhere near Golgotha, in a place where rich people were
buried. He went to Pilate, a Gentile, to plead for Jesus' body, and in the process made himself ceremonially unclean to
keep the Passover that year, a serious sacrifice for a member of the Sanhedrin. By the simple way he buried Jesus,
wrapping him only in a linen cloth (Greek sindon), we see that he believed that Jesus would not remain in the grave. In
contrast, Nicodemus followed after Joseph and buried Jesus properly "according to the Jewish customs, " tightly
winding his limbs, head and torso with strips of cloth dipped in 75 pounds of spices. All these, plus a neatly folded
napkin that had covered his face, were left behind when Jesus was raised from the dead, a monument to Nicodemus'
lack of belief in Jesus' resurrection.
The NIV unfortunately misses that Nicodemus came with some people sometime after Joseph had left the scene.
It translates John 19: 29 as Joseph being "accompanied" by Nicodemus, but the Greek text simply reads that Nicodemus
came "also, " i. e., as well as Joseph. Matthew, Mark and Luke all agree that the women were watching Joseph bury the
body of Jesus, and, noting that he had not done a "proper" job, went off and bought the spices to do the job correctly
(Luke 23: 55). Had Joseph and Nicodemus been together, the women would have seen all the spices and never would
have gone to buy more.
14. Reincarnation was one of a variety of beliefs about the afterlife prevalent in Jesus' day. The Pharisees were heavily
influenced by pagan Greek thinking concerning the immortality of the soul. If a person's soul can exist apart from his
body, and represents the "real" part of him, then this soul can take on another body. This is called human
"reincarnation. " The Pharisees believed that great souls, or spirits, like Elijah, John the Baptist or Jeremiah were not
dead but could, in God's purposes, reenter another body. This is the most likely explanation for his disciples thinking
that the resurrected Christ was a "spirit. " See Is There Death After Life? from CES.

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(17) And Jesus answered and said to Him, "Blessed are you, Simon Barjonah, because
flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. "
(20) Then He warned the disciples that they should tell no one that He was the Christ.
Jesus' statement that God alone had revealed his identity to Peter is further evidence that
he was not making a concerted effort to convince even his closest disciples of his messianic
identity, but instead depended upon his Father to defend and support him and reveal who he
was. Earlier in the Book of Matthew, he had told his disciples that no one could really know who
he was, but that only the Father knew him.
Matthew 11: 27 (NASB)
All things have been handed over to Me by my Father; and no one knows the Son, except
the Father,
nor does anyone know the Father, except the Son and anyone to whom the
Son wills to reveal Him.
This same truth is recorded in Luke in a parallel passage:
Luke 10: 22 (NASB)
"All things have been handed over to Me by my Father, and no one knows who the Son
is except the Father
, and who the Father is except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son
wills to reveal Him. "
John 6: 44 adds further proof of the point we are making, that the Father revealed the
identity of the Son to those who had ears to hear: "No one can come to me, unless the Father who
sent me draws him... "
Until this time recorded in Matthew 16, Jesus had not told his disciples outright that he was
the Messiah. And after Peter gives the right answer to Jesus' question in Matthew 16: 13 (one of
the few times Peter ever got it right), Jesus tells him not to tell anyone!
As we have already noted, the resurrection was in fact the final validation of Jesus' identity
as the promised Messiah. Therefore, in the Book of Acts, his followers continually preached this
truth. Twice in his sermon on the Day of Pentecost, Peter made mention of the following
prophecy indicating that God would raise the Messiah from the dead.
Psalm 16: 8-10 (NASB)
(8) I have set the Lord continually before me.
Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.
(9) Therefore my heart is glad and my glory rejoices; my flesh also will dwell securely,
(10) For Thou wilt not abandon my soul to Sheol [the grave], neither wilt Thou allow
Thy Holy One to undergo decay
. 15
15. In this context of his resurrection, we should mention Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. An often overlooked
aspect of this event is its remarkable timing in the unfolding of his ministry. He deliberately waited for four days after
Lazarus had died before going to him, when by that time he was already decomposing. Jesus raised him, and then
prophetically declared himself to be "the resurrection and the life. " This event occurs within two weeks of his own
death, serving to build the faith of his disciples in his own resurrection. They missed the point.

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One God & One Lord
It is commonly believed that the uniqueness of Jesus' ministry was found in his saying and
doing new things, but almost all his words were drawn from the Hebrew Scriptures, which all
Jews of that time studied and "knew" to some degree. And his works were similar to those done
by prophets of old, with the notable exception of the casting out of demons. He was, however,
utterly unique in that he was the one and only man born of a virgin and who fulfilled all the
prophetic parameters for the Messiah. He also broke almost every stereotype the Jews had for
what the Messiah was going to be like. He was also unique in his attitude of authority that came
from his intimate relationship with his "Father. " And, of course, he was the only human being
in all of history ever raised from the dead unto immorality. Now that's uniqueness!
Another significant aspect of Christ's ministry was the way in which he called out of Israel
those who recognized him for who he was, based on their faith in his words and works and not
because of a title he had or because of their social or religious status. In fact, he seemed to make
it difficult for the self-righteous religious people to even consider him a holy man, because he
often and repeatedly associated with sinners, prostitutes, tax collectors and other "undesir-
ables. " By virtue of their disregarding the Law, these people were apparently outsiders to the
blessings of Israel. He discouraged others from following him on any other basis than that they
hungered for spiritual truth. He continually directed people's attention to spiritual values. For
example, when he blessed the few loaves and fishes so that there became enough to feed a
multitude, the people were apparently ready to crown him king. This he tried to discourage,
even reproving the crowd for their false motives in following him.
John 6: 26, 27
(26) Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, you are looking for me, not because you saw
miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill.
(27) Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the
Son of Man will give you. On him God the Father has placed his seal of approval. "
Jesus was a man accredited by God, one in whom He was well pleased. Jesus pleased his
Father by always listening to His voice and seeking to honor Him in every possible way. The
Gospels paint a portrait of one who did everything he could to direct those who listened to him
toward his Father in heaven. He even entrusted the revelation of his identity as the Son of God
to Him, never making it an issue, never using it as a shield to defend himself against accusation.
"He Made Himself of No Reputation"
No doubt this commitment to keeping a low profile about his true identity is exactly what
Philippians 2: 6-8 is referring to, and removes this section of Scripture from the mystical clutches
of "kenotic Christology" (from the Greek word kenosis=empty). 16 This system of belief, the
16. Even many Trinitarian scholars have problems with the doctrine of kenosis. Although many see it as a "good
solution" to the problem of the incarnation and the two natures that would have to exist in Christ, the plain fact is that
it never appears in Scripture. Thus, even Trinitarians argue about it amongst themselves. See Appendix A (Phil. 2: 6ff).

Chapter 7: The Synoptic Gospels: Open or Veiled Messiah?
169
handmaiden of "the incarnation, " teaches that Christ emptied himself of his "pre — incarnate
divinity" before he became a human fetus. How much simpler it is to place these verses from
Philippians in the specific context of the witness of Christ's life as revealed in the Gospels.
Philippians 2: 5-8
(5) Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
(6) Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be
grasped,
(7) But made himself nothing [KJV— "of no reputation"], taking the very nature of a
servant, being made in human likeness.
(8) And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient
to death, even death on a cross.
The NIV translation of verse 5 is an excellent translation, compared to "let these thoughts
be in you" as the KJV is worded. 17 But, almost immediately, we run smack into the blatantly
Trinitarian translation "being in very nature God. " The word" nature" is " morphe, " which refers
to his outward form, appearance or circumstances. 18 This word is nearly synonymous with the
word eikon that we examined in Chapter 2, and we do not think that either one refers to his
physical appearance. Remember that verse 5 has already set the context—having his attitude^.
Saying that Christ was in "the form of God" is to assert his identity as the Son of God, the
Messiah. Though he had a special relationship with and likeness to his Father, he did not use
this fact to elevate himself nor make a point of asserting his true identity in the face of
misjudgement. He even had to endure his family thinking that he was insane, and the most
influential religious leaders of his day thinking that he was the prince of demons. Even then, he
made little effort to set them straight, but began to speak in parables so that those who had ears
to hear could draw near if they so willed.
Jesus did not consider "equality with God something to be grasped. " Although Lucifer was
the first one to get the bright idea to grasp at equality with God, it is more likely that Adam is
primarily in view in this verse because, as we have already seen in Chapters 1 and 2, Adam and
Christ are directly paralleled in similar scriptures. Adam became unthankful for what God had
given him (Paradise, an interesting job, a beautiful wife, fruit in abundance, everlasting life, etc. )
and believed the lie that God was holding out on him. In fact, if he ate the forbidden fruit, he
would be just like God (that is, he would gain "equality with God"). Thus, the serpent defeated
him because of his unthankful attitude and his desire to be more like God than he already was.
This was very odd considering that he had been made in the image of God. In other words,
Adam lusted for more than he already had and grasped at equality with God.
17. The Greek word" phroneo" would be better translated as" inclination of the mind, " which is exactly what the English
word "attitude" denotes. The "attitude" of an airplane points the plane toward the sky or toward the earth. It is the
"inclination" of the plane with relationship to the ground. We believe that instead of "thoughts" or "to think, "
phronema / phroneo is better understood as "the inclinations of the mind" and "to incline the mind. " This is easily
seen in the use of these words in Romans 8.
18. See Appendix A (Phil. 2: 5-13).

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One God & One Lord
In contrast to Adam, Jesus began his life as a baby, and grew up with the stigma of being
thought illegitimate. During his earthly ministry, he suffered many other hardships, yet he
chose not to believe that God was holding out on him and making his life miserable. Despite
the difficult road he had to travel, he faithfully looked with joy and gratitude to God as his loving
Father, refusing to disobey in even the smallest way. He was walking in obedience when he kept
his true identity veiled. He was making himself "nothing, " or of "no reputation. " He was
entrusting himself to God, seeking to glorify his Father by everything he did and said.
He did not become bitter because of his lowly birth. He did not complain about being from
Nazareth of Galilee, a "second rate" town. He did not allow his being thought illegitimate to
define his sense of worth. He did not murmur about working as a carpenter for about 17 years
until the time was right to begin his public ministry. 19 He did not become morose when his
family doubted who he was. He did not grouse about having to go into the wilderness for 40 days
to fast and be tempted of the Devil, and he did not become impatient when time after time he
was let down by his followers. He did not react angrily when he was accused of being the helper
of Beelzebub, the prince of Devils, despite the absurdity of such a devilish misjudgment.
No, he endured it all patiently, trusting his Father whom he knew loved him and watched
over him. Yes, he was the unique Son of God, but he would have to enjoy the fullness of that
status later. For the present, he was called to be a faithful servant, daily and moment-by-
moment emptying himself of his own thoughts and desires, keeping his "attitude" fixed upon
humbly and lovingly doing the will of his Master, his Father.
Throughout the whole course of his life, Jesus never so much as hinted at having any need
for independence, nor did he struggle with anything God asked him to do until he came to the
Garden of Gethsemane. There, as he contemplated the hideous indignity and humiliation of
the next 40 hours, he asked his Father three times if there might not be some other way to
accomplish His plan. 20 But when he was assured that the way ahead was the only way, he rose
from his knees and walked bravely into the mouth of the waiting dragon.
Those were perhaps the darkest hours any human being has ever had to face, and Jesus
knew they would end in ignominious death by crucifixion. Yet he would do it all without
murmuring, without complaining, without asserting his divine authority as the Son of God. "Or
do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than
twelve legions of angels?" he asked. "How then shall the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must
happen this way?" (Matt. 26: 53, 54—NASB).
His commitment was to the written Word of his Father, which only he could fulfill.
19. Traditionally, Jewish males began learning a trade at the age of 13, according to the rabbinical saying: "Whoever
does not teach his son a trade is as if he brought him up to be a robber" (Kidd. 29). Quoted in Alfred Edersheim's Sketches
of Jewish Social Life in the Days of Christ
(Hodder and Stoughton, NY), p. 190. Therefore at the age of 30, when he began
his public ministry, he would have been working as a carpenter for 17 years.
20. It is commonly taught that Jesus was arrested on Thursday night and crucified on Friday morning some 12 hours
later. Scripture portrays a much more horrifying picture of a 40 - hour period of humiliation, trials and torture. A
thorough study of the subject, however, reveals that he was arrested on Tuesday (our Monday night), crucified on
Wednesday afternoon, and raised on Saturday afternoon. Refer to the March/April 1995 CES bi-monthly tape, The Last
Week of Christ's Life.

Chapter 7: The Synoptic Gospels: Open or Veiled Messiah?
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Conversely, it was also within his ability, by disobeying the Word, to make his Father a liar. But
Jesus was a righteous Son and obeyed his Father through it all. He renounced the opportunity
to accept angelic deliverance and finally embraced his destiny as necessary for the Father's plan
to come to pass. The only light at the end of that dark tunnel was shed by the messianic
prophecies that God would not let his holy one see corruption, because he would raise him from
the dead like Jonah after three days and three nights.
So by depending on the same Word that got him through the Devil's temptations at the
opening of his ministry, he would now be sustained as he trusted in his resurrection to glory. He
locked his mind on the joys that lay ahead.
Hebrews 12: 2b
Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before him endured the
Cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
He did not do all that he did by remembering his former glory in heaven. He did not do it
by being "God incarnate, " or "God Almighty clothed in human flesh. " He did it by being the Last
Adam, the sacrificial Lamb of God from the human flock, confronting his humanity, facing
down his fears, summoning his courage and learning to obey by doing the things he was asked
to endure. From this perspective and backdrop, we can now understand the rest of the
Philippian passage that describes his high exaltation. The beloved human Son became the
ultimate source of pleasure for his Father, who gladly and joyfully lavished upon him everything
he so richly deserved.
When in our hearts we let Jesus be humbled and suffer as the true man that he was, to the
point that we can grasp that his suffering for us was genuine, and unmitigated by "deity, " then
we can truly rejoice with him as he is honored by his resurrection as he should be honored — as
the divine Hero, Agent of everlasting life and the Firstborn of a new and righteous creation. We
are then fully able to draw from his example of strength and courage, and walk forth determined
to have the same attitude of genuine humility and courage that he epitomized, and go on O to
do the works that he did.

CHAPTER EIGHT
The Gospel of John:
Great Scott!
He's Back
From the Future
We have by now clearly established the significance of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ as
the great divide between his suffering and his glory. We have also seen that each of the Gospels
portrays Christ in a different way for a different purposes, and that the Synoptics generally
agree on their view of Christ as a fully human person prepared and called to be the King of Israel
and the Savior of the world.
This Jesus of Nazareth fulfilled many of the Old Testament messianic prophecies and did
the works that were expected of the Messiah. But after a brief period of popularity, he died a
humiliating death on a tree as a common criminal. He was vindicated three days later by his
resurrection from the dead, when he entered into his glory. There is no indication in the
Synoptics that Jesus has "pre — incarnate glory" before his birth or that he was "God" or declared
himself to be such. How, then, do so many Christians seem to find scriptural support for this
belief? Without any doubt, they find it in the Gospel of John. Trinitarian scholars are candid
in their admission that John is the source of their doctrine:
The Christology of the Church is essentially Johannine. Without the Fourth Gospel
even the Pauline Epistles would not have sufficed as a basis for the Trinitarian doctrine
we have today. 1
1. J. Jocz, "The Invisibility of God and the Incarnation, " Judaica 17, 1961, p. 196.

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One God & One Lord
In many important ways, John seems to portray Jesus in a much different way than the
Synoptics. This is so much the case that some theologians believe that John, who wrote later,
must have thought the other Gospels inadequate. Representing this position Barrett writes:
John alone, however, gives the narrative about Jesus an absolute theological frame-
work, and, though he alludes to the starting-points used by Mark (vv. 1: 6-8, 15) and by
Matthew and Luke (1: 13) he must have regarded them as inadequate, and possibly
misleading. 2
While we obviously do not believe that John thought the other Gospels inadequate (all four
are "God-breathed"), it is important to recognize the differences in the Four Gospels and
understand why those differences exist. John seems to indicate that the Son of God had some
sort of life with God before ever setting foot on the earth, which theologians call a "pre-
existence. " We understand, however, that John is showing that Jesus Christ is the Plan of God
that existed from before Christ's birth. The purpose of John is not historical, but spiritual (or
theological). The historical "Jesus" is unified with the exalted "Christ" into a proleptic portrait
of "Jesus Christ" that simultaneously brings him down to earth and exalts him.
In short, the view of Christ in John is without doubt the "highest" in the New Testament. 3
We must therefore reexamine this unique Gospel in light of what we have already established
from the Word of God, and see how it fits. Hypothetically speaking, if it cannot be made to fit,
then it would have to be considered spurious, that is, "another Gospel, " and not a part of the
canon of Scripture. As a matter of historical fact, this Gospel was not met with universal
acceptance when it first was introduced.
Though now this Gospel has won the favor of all Christians, and is even the first one to be
handed out at many 20, th- Century evangelistic crusades, 4 this was not always the case. In fact,
there was so much controversy generated among the Christians of the second and third
centuries that this Gospel was not immediately accepted into the canon of Scripture. A large
part of the cause of this lack of acceptance was the fact that it was quickly adopted by the
Gnostics as the springboard for their speculations about Christ. We will have more to say about
the influence of the Gnostics in the next chapter and in Chapters 16-19, but suffice it to say now
2. C. K. Barrett, The Gospel According to St. John (Westminster Press, Philadelphia, PA, 1978), p. 149.
3. Raymond Brown gives a good thumbnail definition of the terms "high and "low" applied to Christology: "In
scholarly jargon, 'low' Christology involves the application to Jesus of tides derived from Old Testament or
inter testa mental expectations (e. g. Messiah, prophet, servant, lord, Son of God) - tides that do not in themselves imply
divinity. ' Son of God, ' meaning divine representative, was a designation of the king; (See 2 Sam 7: 14; "lord" need mean
no more than "master"). 'High Christology' involves an appreciation of Jesus that moves him into the sphere of divinity,
as expressed, for instance, in a more exalted use of 'Lord' and 'Son of God, ' as well as the designation 'God. ' "The
Community of the Beloved Disciple,
(Paulist Press, N. Y., 1979, p. 25).
4. One modern scholar even suggests that it should be the last book of the New Testament to be translated and given
to new converts in foreign lands: "Perhaps it should be the last of the Gospels to be translated for new churches in non-
Christian lands, instead of being the first, as so often happens... The Church today must use and value the Fourth Gospel
for what it is and not for what it is not. " Anthony T. Hanson The Prophetic Gospel: A Study of John and the Old Testament
(Ô & Ô Clark, Edinburgh, 1991), p. 371.

Chapter 8: The Gospel of John: Great Scott! He's Back from the Future
175
that this enthusiastic Gnostic acceptance made the "Fourth Gospel, " as it is often called,
suspect. Nevertheless, it was finally acknowledged to be an important document that helps
round out the New Testament record and was fully accepted as Scripture when the canon was
established by the fourth or fifth century AD.
Undoubtedly, the difficulties presented by the view of Christ presented in John are real,
and continue to potentially challenge the integrity of the Christian message if the contradic-
tions they appear to present are not resolved. If the traditional view of Christ as "fully God and
fully man" is correct, then the obvious question arises: why is this idea not clearly and totally
supported by the Synoptics, the Book of Acts and all the other New Testament writings? And if
it is the true view of Christ, and necessary for salvation, why was it apparently not a part of the
"apostle's doctrine" and instead needed several centuries to formulate?
In the next two chapters, we will explore the ways that the Gospel of John rounds out our
understanding of the Son of God, Jesus Christ. We will see that there is so much unique material
in John about the life, words and works of Christ that is not found in the other Gospels that we
need to devote two chapters to it. In this chapter, we will examine the Gospel itself. In the next,
we will focus on the Prologue, particularly the first three verses concerning the logos.
Not "Higher" But Harmonious
The Gospel of John is often used to try to establish the "deity of Christ" and to assert that
Jesus claimed that he was "God. " In fact, if the Gospel of John were not in the Bible, orthodox
Trinitarianism would disintegrate, so dependent is it on what is called the "high Christology"
of this Gospel. That is, the Gospel of John is the basis for almost all Trinitarianism's basic ideas:
pre-existence, the incarnation, essential deity, etc. Hanson points out that Johannine Christology
has been the mainstay of the orthodox faith of Nicaea.5 But even a number of modern
Trinitarian scholars recognize that John's Gospel is in many respects a difficult and problematic
part of Scripture, and much care must be exercised in its interpretation. 6
In certain verses, the Gospel of John does seem to indicate that Jesus was in heaven before
his birth and "came down" to earth and later "returned to where he was before. " This view is
unique to John and, if taken literally without understanding the language and customs of the
times, potentially presents a host of textual and exegetical problems. J. A. Baker argues that to
take literally the idea of pre-existence in John is actually to deny rather than affirm the doctrine
of the incarnation:
5. Hanson, op. cit., p. 1, et al.
6. Brown, Community, op. cit., p. 163: "At various times I have referred to the theology of the Fourth Gospel as
challengingly different, volatile, dangerous, and as the most adventuresome in the NT.... Over the centuries John's
Gospel has provided the seedbed for many exotic forms of individualistic pietism and quietism (as well as the
inspiration for some of the most profound mysticism). Brown also writes: "Johannine Christology is very familiar to
traditional Christians because it became the dominant Christology of the church, and so it is startling to realize that
such a portrayal of Jesus is quite foreign to the Synoptic Gospels. With justice Johannine Christology can be called the
highest in the NT. " (Brown, op cit. Community, p. 45.

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One God & One Lord
It simply is not possible at one and the same time to share the common lot of humanity
and to be aware of oneself as one who has existed from everlasting with God... 7
As we pointed out in Chapter 2, if Jesus was aware of being "God" in some way, or could
remember his former state of glory in heaven, then his experience of earthly life would be very
different from ours. And consequently, our ability to identify with both his overcoming
temptation and leaving us a righteous path to follow is seriously compromised. We are then
essentially left without a "mediator, " but are being asked to be like God Himself, instead of
developing absolute trust in God, our heavenly Father, as Jesus did, and becoming like him as
he said we could and should.
Because of its unique and elevated perspective of Christ compared with the rest of the New
Testament, some scholars have concluded that the Gospel of John has created a mythological
view of Christ completely divorced from Jesus as a historical figure. 8 Is it intellectually and
theologically honest, then, to erect upon the foundation of a single book of the Bible a
theological superstructure that requires a fairly radical re interpretation of almost the entire
New Testament? With the exception of a few "proof texts, "9 the idea that "Jesus is God" is not
consistent with the New Testament when considered as a whole. 10 Not a Christian theologian,
but a professor of logic, made the following astute statement regarding what is required for the
logical interpretation of the Bible:
Selecting texts to give a one-sided presentation of the truth is a widespread method of
propagating erroneous views. Out of the Bible can be drawn phrases or verses that
justify everything under the sun, including contradictories. Read in context the Bible
may be a liberal document, but it is not that liberal. What we need to know is if the Bible
as a whole [emphasis ours] supports a given position. "
7. J. A. T. Robinson, 'The Use of the Fourth Gospel for Christology Today', Christ and Spirit in the New Testament.
Studies in Honor of C. F. D. Moule,
ed. B. Lindars and S. S. Smalley, Cambridge University Press, 1973, pp. 61-78, who
quotes (The Foolishness of God, Darton, Longman and Todd, 1970, p. 144); Fount 1975, p. 154. Robinson makes the same
point even more forcefully in another work: "These [º am' statements of Jesus] are not assertions about the ego of
human Jesus, which is no more pre-existent than that of any other human being. Nor are statements about the glory
that he enjoyed with the Father before the world was to be taken at the level of psychological reminiscence. As such they
would clearly be destructive of any genuine humanness... " Op. cit, Robinson Priority, p. 384.
8. Hanson is one of many scholars who have noted this aspect of John's Gospel. Though we do not share his doubts
about John's inspiration, we agree with his observation that the focus of John is not history, but theology. He writes:
The Church has consciously chosen to live with tension... One cannot resist the impression that in his
Gospel, John was greatly concerned neither with historical accuracy nor with historical verisimilitude and
consistency (p. 335). We maybe sure that this picture of the God-man is not historically true, but [rather] John's
construction. Consequently, our doctrine of the incarnation needs to be modified... the first rule for the Church
in its handling of the Fourth Gospel today must be this: do not treat it as a reliable historical record.. the Church
must admit that the Jesus of the Fourth Gospel is not the Jesus of history. This, it must be confessed, demands
something like a revolution in the Church's preaching and in its Christology... Most students of the New
Testament acknowledge this, but it is a truth that has still to reach the rank-and-file of clergy and church-goers,
as far as these islands [Britain] are concerned, at any rate... (Hanson, op. cit, p. 368).
9. Proof texting is isolating verses that appear to support a particular theological or doctrinal position, but by
weighting them too heavily, contradictions are created with other verses on the same subject.

Chapter 8: The Gospel of John: Great Scott! He's Back from the Future 177
No part of Scripture demands such a rigorously logical analysis more than the Gospel of
John, which is acknowledged by many New Testament scholars to be a difficult section to
harmonize with the rest of Scripture. Accordingly, it is a well-established hermeneutical
principle among biblical interpreters that the difficult verse or passage must be interpreted in
light of the clear and simple parallel verses or passages. 12 The difficult or unusual must not be
elevated and established as an altogether higher and better view than the rest of Scripture, as
has been done with the Gospel of John. Because it apparently presents a Jesus most compatible
with Trinitarian orthodoxy, it is not surprising that this is the one Gospel that is translated and
distributed to potential converts more than any other. We agree with Hanson, however, that it
ought to be the last one to be fronted, 13 after the basic groundwork of Jesus' identity as a human
being has been laid.
John's Gospel was not meant to be isolated and elevated above the other Gospels, as if it
somehow portrays a truer view of Christ's identity. It was meant to provide a vivid and complete
portrait of Christ that would inspire the reader to believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God (John
20: 31). If it is handled as the truest picture of Christ, instead of just one particular aspect of his
identity, the other Gospels are demeaned and considered the writings of less enlightened
disciples. According to this view, the Synoptic writers had not yet come to a real understanding
of the identity of Christ as the pre-existent Son, who was actually an eternal being with a brief
earthly mission. Indeed, many Christian teachers and scholars adopt this view of the Synoptic
10. J. A. T. Robinson underscores this reality with his candid admission in 1961:
But in practice popular preaching and teaching presents a supra naturalistic [the metaphysical God-man]
view of Christ which cannot be substantiated from the New Testament. [Popular preaching] says simply that
Jesus was God, in such a way that the terms 'Christ' and 'God' are interchangeable. But nowhere in Biblical usage
is this so. The New Testament says that Jesus was the Word of God, it says that God was in Christ, it says that
Jesus is the Son of God; but it does not say that Jesus was God, simply like that (or rather not in any passages
that certainly require to be interpreted in this way.
Passages that may be so interpreted are Romans 9: 5 and
Hebrews 1: 8. But see in each case the alternative translations in the Revised Standard Version or the New English
Bible).
(Op. cit., Robinson, Honest, p. 70, 71). See also Appendix M.
11. Moulds, A. J. Thinking Straighter (University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor, 1975), p. 46.
12. Johannes Munck of Aarh us University, writing in an essay called "The New Testament and Gnosticism, " makes a
great point about understanding difficult material in light of the clear. His criticism of the methods of those who
propose that Gnosticism was antecedent to Christianity can be very appropriately applied to those who elevate John's
Gospel above the rest of the New Testament:
They abandon the valuable historical method of beginning with the certain and easily accessible material
and then trying to understand the more dubious and difficult material; instead they begin with a construction
built of dubious material and proceed to know with staggering certainty what is written in the New Testament
and how it is to be understood.
(From Current Issues in New Testament Interpretation, a Festschrift in honor of Otto A. Piper, edited by William
Klassen and Graydon F. Snyder, Harper and Row, N. Y., 1962, p. 224).
13. Hanson, op. cit., 368: "The Fourth Gospel may well instead prove to be something like the crown of our doctrine
[of incarnation] rather than its basis... How then should this marvelous Gospel, a great gift to the Church, but one which,
like a delicate piece of machinery, has to be handled with great care. Perhaps it should be the last of the Gospels to be
translated for new churches in non-Christian lands, instead of being the first, as so often happens. "

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Gospels. But rather than cast off the weight of the biblical evidence in three of the Four Gospels,
Paul's and Peter's epistles, and the remainder of the New Testament, would it not be wiser to
patiently and sensitively seek to understand how the Gospel of John fits with all the rest?
The radical shift of perspective that we have identified is not unique to the Gospel of John,
but exemplifies a literary device employed by God elsewhere in Scripture. 1 and 2 Chronicles
bears the same relation to Samuel and Kings in the Old Testament as John does to the Synoptic
Gospels. Samuel and Kings record the historical narrative from a human, horizontal perspec-
tive, while Chronicles is written from God's vertical perspective. 14
When viewed against the backdrop of the Synoptic Gospels and their contributions to the
portrait of Jesus as the promised King, Servant and Man, the real literary beauty and significance
of John's Gospel becomes marvelously clear. This view of the life and ministry of Christ is
written from the standpoint of his post-resurrection glory, bridging the chasm between the
suffering and the glory of the one person, Jesus of Nazareth, the human Son of God. F. F. Bruce
notes that there is no distinction made in John between Christ's suffering and his glory:
Students of the Synoptic Gospels distinguish passages, which speak of the suffering Son
of Man from those which speak of his coming in glory. But in this Gospel no such
distinction is made: the suffering of the Son of Man is caught up into the glory, so that
the glory is revealed pre-eminently in the suffering. 15
By highlighting him as the Son of God, the Gospel of John completes the cornerstone begun
by the Synoptic Gospels in their portrayal of Jesus as a king, servant, and man. It also
harmonizes perfectly with the view of Christ as the exalted" creator" of the Church that we will
see in Chapter 11 when we look at the evidence of Ephesians and Colossians.
Similarities with the Synoptics
Before exploring the differences between the Gospel of John and the Synoptics, we should
point out the similarities. The fact is, the Gospel of John does not present a totally different view
of Christ. It actually agrees with the Synoptics on many points. For instance, the Synoptics
portray the relationship between Jesus and God as so intertwined that to accept the one is to
accept the other, and to reject the one is to reject the other. This theme is greatly amplified in
John, but is one that is consistent throughout all the Gospels. The Father is known by and
through the Son, and the Son is known by and through the Father. To know the one is to know
the other, and to know either is to love them both.
14. For example, 1 Samuel 31: 4 attributes the death of Saul to his falling on his sword in a battle against the Philistines,
while 2 Chronicles 10: 4 also mentions the fact of his suicide, but adds the true spiritual cause in verses 13 and 14: "Saul
died because he was unfaithful to the Lord; he did not keep the word of the Lord and even consulted a medium for
guidance, and did not inquire of the Lord. So the Lord put him to death and turned the kingdom over to David, son of
Jesse. "
15. F. F. Bruce The Gospel of John, (William B. Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, MI), 1983, p. 63.

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179
Luke 10: 16, 22 (NASB)
(16) The one who listens to you [the 70 he sent out] listens to me, and the one who rejects
you rejects me; and he who rejects me rejects him who sent me [God].
(22) All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows who the
Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son, and anyone to whom the
Son wills to reveal him.
The tenderness and intimacy between the Father and the Son is also pointed out in the
Synoptics, but in John this truth takes center stage. We see the idea vividly in the Gospel of Mark
in Jesus' use of the Aramaic word "Abba" when addressing his Father in prayer, for Abba
communicates intimacy between a father and his children. 16 He also taught his disciples to
pray in this fashion, addressing God as Abba (see also Luke 10: 21-22; 11: 2).
Mark 14: 36 (NRSV)
He said, "Abba, Father, for you all things are possible; remove this cup from me; yet not
what I want, but what you want. "
This verse also shows the willing subordination of the Son to the Father, in the context of
his prayerful agonizing in the Garden of Gethsemane about his impending suffering and death.
The Synoptics all clearly portray this willing and determined subordination of the Son's will to
the Father's (see the parallel passages in Matt. 26: 42 and Luke 22: 42), but it is developed as a
major theme in the Gospel of John. Interestingly, the agony of Gethsemane is conspicuously
absent from John's account of this time of prayer. In John 17, Jesus prays in the garden not for
strength to embrace the will of God, but prays in the light of his glory as if it were already fully
realized, and for the empowering of his disciples after his exaltation. As we shall see, Jesus in
John is portrayed as completely subservient to his Father, and to portray him in a struggle to do
the will of God would be inconsistent with that theme.
The theme of the Son glorifying the Father and vice-versa is also greatly amplified in John,
but is clearly seen in the Synoptics as well. They show Jesus giving God all the glory for the things
that he did, as in the case of the miraculous deliverance of the Gadarene tormented by the
"legion" of demons.
Mark 5: 18, 19 (NRSV)
(18) As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed by demons
begged him that he might be with him.
16. Holman, op. cit. The Aramaic word abba is not preserved in the Greek text of John, and is therefore not
transliterated into English as it is in Mark 14: 36, Romans 8: 15 and Galatians 4: 6. Nevertheless, in the Aramaic text of John
the words aba and abi occur often, more than in any other Gospel. The Aramaic construction in Mark 14: 36, et al, is" aba,
abi"
meaning "Father, my father" or "Father, our father" where the figure Epizeuxis, or Duplication is employed,
bringing emphasis to the intimacy of the relationship between Father and son (see also Gaebelein's Expositor's Bible
Commentary,
Vol. 8, p. 764). In addition to the intimacy denoted by the word aba is the idea of authority inherent in his
carrying out of his father's purposes (Gaebelein, Vol 9, p. 149). Thus, although Abba does not come through in the Greek,
the entirety of its meaning is exemplified in the Gospel of John in the portrayal of Jesus' intimate relationship with his
Father and the power and authority that he derived from it.

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One God & One Lord
(19) But Jesus refused, and said to him, "Go home to your friends and tell them how
much the Lord [God, his Father) has done for you, and what mercy He has shown you. "
In John, just as in the Synoptics, when challenged to produce a miraculous sign as proof
of his relationship with God, Jesus gives the people a veiled reference to his future resurrection.
The prophecy in John, however, does not refer to Jonah as Matthew and Luke do, but to the
temple of Jesus' body
John 2: 18, 19, 21, 22 (NASB)
(18) The Jews therefore answered and said to him, "What sign do you show to us, seeing
that you do these things?"
(19) Jesus answered and said unto them, "[You will] Destroy this temple, and in three
days I will raise it up. "17
(21) But he was speaking of the temple of his body.
(22) When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he said
this; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had spoken.
In this case, John records Jesus' actual comment about the Temple, in which he proph-
esied that they would destroy the "temple, " that is kill him. In contrast, Matthew (26: 61) and
Mark (14: 58) record the false witnesses giving their hearsay testimony at his trial, claiming that
he had said that he would destroy the actual, physical Temple and rebuild it in three days. 18
Subordinationism in John
The final similarity we will point out between John and the Synoptics is that they both
portray Jesus as a man who is limited in his authority, function and even his intrinsic "good-
ness. " In other words, all that he has, God has given him— no more and no less. This theme of
the subordination of the Son is greatly amplified in John but apparent in the Synoptic Gospels
nonetheless.
Matthew 20: 23 (NRSV)
He said to them, "You will indeed drink my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my
left, this not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my
Father. "
17. This verse is used to teach that Jesus raised himself from the dead, because he said "I will raise it up, " referring to
his "body. " See Appendix A (John 2: 19).
18. See Appendix A (John 2: 19).

Chapter8: The Gospel of John: Great Scott! He's Back from the Future 181
Mark 10: 18 (NRSV)
Jesus said to him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. "
The Synoptics are more apt to simply portray Jesus' words and actions without elaborat-
ing on his motivation. However, the Gospel of John develops the understanding of Jesus'
dependence on his Father, while also making clear Jesus' commitment to glorify Him rather
than call attention to himself. In light of the elevated perspective of Christ that John gives, it
makes perfect sense to emphasize his subordination, lest his followers get the wrong idea.
Ironically, it seems that most Christians have gotten the wrong idea — that Christ in John is
affirming his identity with God, when he is clearly establishing his dependence upon and trust
in one much greater than himself. 19 The idea that Jesus was in some sense God Himself
destroys the force of his example of dependence, trust and obedience. If he were God, why
would he have needed to depend on God?
John 14: 28 (NRSV)
"You heard me say to you, º am going away and I am coming to you. ' If you loved me,
you would rejoice that I am going to the Father, because the Father is greater than I.
Many scholars recognize that Jesus' subordination to God his Father is a dominant theme
within the Gospel of John. In fact, there have been many Christians through the centuries that
have concluded that Jesus is not actually co-equal but subordinate to the Father. In theological
terms, this is called a "subordinationist Christology, " and orthodox theologians condemn it as
heresy. Nevertheless, they have had a difficult task of explaining how it is that Christ can be "co-
equal" with the Father when the Bible never says he is, and instead clearly indicates that the
Father is greater than the Son. 20 This is made plain by the following statements made by Jesus
and recorded in the Gospel of John:
19. Sundberg describes Jesus' subordination to the Father as follows:
Like the heavenly courtiers of the Jewish scriptures, this Christ in John in no wise compromises the unity
and soleness of God; he is obedient, subordinate, subservient, obsequious. His only strength is his intimacy with
the Father and the strength of the Father who backs him up (Op. cit., p. 30).
20. The Evangelical Dictionary of Theology comments that "in the early centuries, the struggle to understand the
human and divine natures of Christ often led to placing the Son in a secondary position to the Father" and "this doctrine
has continued in one form or another throughout the history of the church. " (Walter Elwell, Evangelical Dictionary of
Theology.
Baker Books, Grand Rapids, 1984, p. 1058). We assert that a simple reading of the Bible will clearly show that
the Son is inferior to the Father, and that that is not only the "true doctrine, " but explains why the concept of
subordination keeps coming up in the Church. In his eight volume work on the history of the church, Phillip Schaff
remarks about the "heresy" of subordinationism, and the orthodox explanation of it:
The Nicene fathers still teach, like their predecessors, a certain subordinationism, which seems to conflict
with the doctrine of consubstantiality [i. e., that the Father and Son are of one substance]. But we must
distinguish between a subordinationism of essence and a subordinationism of hypostasis, of order and dignity.
Scriptural argument for this theory of subordination was found abundant in such passages as these: "As the
Father has life in himself, so hath He given to the Son to have life in himself; and hath given him authority to execute
judgment also; " "All things are delivered unto me of my Father; " " My Father is greater than I. " But these passages refer
to the historical relation of the Father to the incarnate Logos in his estate of humiliation, or to the elevation of human
nature to participation in the glory and power of the divine, not to the eternal metaphysical relation of the Father to the
Son. [Phillip Schaff, History of the Christian Church (William B. Eerdmans Pub., Grand Rapids, 1994) p. 681-683]

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John 4: 34 (NRSV)
My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to complete his work.
John 5: 19, 20b (NRSV)
The son can do nothing of his own, but only what he sees the Father doing; for whatever
the Father does, the Son does likewise. The Father loves the Son and shows him all that
he himself is doing...
John 5: 30 (NASB)
I can do nothing on my own initiative... I do not seek my own will, but the will of Him
who sent me.
John 6: 38 (NRSV)
For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent
me.
John 6: 57 (NRSV)
As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father...
John 7: 16 (NRSV)
My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me.
John8: 28b-29 (NRSV)
I do nothing on my own, but I speak these things as the Father instructed me. And the
one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what is pleasing
to him.
John 8: 42b (NRSV)
For I came from God... I did not come on my own, but he sent me.
John 9: 4 (NRSV)
We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day...
John 15: 15 (NRSV)
Everything that I have learned from my Father I have made known to you.
Thus, the orthodox church has condemned subordinationism as a heresy and given the explanation that the
verses that ascribe inferiority to the Son are only talking about Christ's function or his earthly relation to God and not
his essence or "metaphysical relation" to the Father. The problem with this explanation is simple and straightforward:
no such "explanation" exists in the Bible. We assert that the Bible states a simple truth: that the Father is greater than
the Son in every way, and the Son honored the Father and acknowledged that fact. We further assert that the
"explanation" the orthodox church offers was made up after the fact to explain otherwise clear verses in light of their
unbiblical doctrine. Furthermore, the reason it took centuries to establish orthodox doctrine (often by the point of the
sword) was that it was unbiblical. That is also why church historians have to admit that "subordinationism" has
consistently been a problem in the church. See Appendix C.

Chapter 8: The Gospel of John: Great Scott! He's Back from the Future 183
John 16: 15 (NRSV)
All that the Father has is mine.
We must remember this dominant theme when we come upon some verses in John that
appear to be stating that Jesus and God are" equal. " These are often seized upon by Trinitarians
as proof texts to establish their doctrine, as when Jesus said, "Whoever has seen me has seen the
Father" (John 14: 9—NRSV), "And whoever sees me sees him who sent me" (John 12: 45—NRSV))
or "The Father and I are one" (John 10: 30—NRSV). We must keep in mind that the Bible cannot
contradict itself if it is the Word of God. The verses that say Christ is doing God's work and the
verses that say the Father and Son are "one" must be teaching a similar truth. Verses that teach
the "oneness" of the Father and the Son are not asserting any" sameness of essence" or intrinsic
deity for Jesus. Indeed, when viewed in light of the above well - documented subordination,
Jesus is seen to be referring to his obedient way of being, and therefore that his words and his
works were not his, but came from God, his Father. The two were "one" in purpose because
Jesus always lined himself up with his Father. In the case of John 14: 9, the very next verse
explicitly explains in what sense Jesus meant that if one had seen him, he had seen his Father:
John 14: 10 (NRSV)
"The Father who dwells in me does his works. "
This is a consistent theme throughout the Four Gospels. Jesus is the Son dependent upon
the Father. However, this theme is most markedly observable in the Gospel of John. Despite
his glorification and divine authority, Jesus in John is portrayed as being utterly dependent
upon his Father for everything. In this way, his example is not out of our reach, and in fact he
is modeling the proper attitude of any son of God, an identity and privilege he would soon confer
on all those who would believe on him. Thus, the example that Jesus Christ set for us as
Christians shines bright and clear. If we are going to be like Christ, we must learn the will of God
and obey it willingly and promptly. Christ, our example, said, "If you have seen me, you have
seen the Father, " and that was because he did what God would have done if God had been
personally present. The Gospel records give us an example, a target, something to aspire to and
to strive for so that we can be like Christ and his Father. Paul wrote to the Corinthian church:
"Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ" (1 Cor. 11: 1). Paul had the right idea.
Christianity is not a spectator sport where we watch from afar the activities of a few great
Christians and comment about how godly they are. Christ prayed about us being "one" as he
and the Father were "one. " True Christianity strives to make that prayer a reality.
The Fourth Gospel: A Unique
Perspective
We will now elaborate on the unique aspects of the Gospel of John, which in light of what
we have covered so far, will become even more understandable and illuminating. As we have
stated, John provides the final aspect of the fourfold cornerstone of the Christian faith: his

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divine Sonship. 21 There have been many men, many servants and many kings, but there is only
one "begotten Son of God. "
22 Therefore, it makes perfect sense that the Gospel of John would
be as unique as the one it is portraying. We will now examine many important and unique
contributions of this Gospel to our understanding of the identity of Jesus Christ. A careful
reading of the Gospel of John leads us to the conclusion that its purpose is very different from
the purpose traditionally given to explain its writing, that is, to prove that Jesus is a pre-existent
divine being, a second person in a triune Godhead incarnated as God in human flesh, etc, etc.
The fact is, John clearly states near the end of his Gospel that his purpose has been to enable us
to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God:
John 20: 30-31 (NRSV)
(30) Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not
written in this book.
(31) But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the
Son of God
, and that through believing you may have life in his name.
This is the same affirmation that Peter gave in Matthew 16: 16, which Jesus said God
Himself had
revealed to Peter. John's purpose for writing was also revealed to him by God. This
must be kept clearly in view when reading John's Gospel, for everything in it will contribute to
this goal. When the purpose is so clearly stated, why do so many Christians seem to think that
John's purpose is to prove that Jesus is God Himself? Hanson's comment below gives us a clear
view of how Trinitarians see support for their doctrine in the language of John, language that
cannot be found in the Synoptic Gospels. He also acknowledges the importance of viewing the
glorious Jesus of John against the historical backdrop of the Synoptic Gospels:
John's Jesus is omniscient, omnipotent, conscious of pre-existence, co-eternity, and
consubstantiality with the Father. The human limits of knowledge of a particular
culture, or a particular mind-set, of a particular race and geographical environment,
which are perceptible in the Synoptic accounts, are ignored in the Fourth Gospel.. Jesus
appears in [John] as a superman, fully aware of his divine nature, always in control of
the situation... Fortunately there are other accounts of Jesus in the New Testament
[esp. the Synoptics], and ultimately the pull of the actual Jesus makes itself felt. We are
faced with a Jesus who really did not now who touched him (Mark 5: 30), a Jesus who
discounts any goodness of his own (Mark 10: 18), a Jesus who when he comes to
Gethsemane is really uncertain about the Father's will for him. Without the Synoptic
accounts of Jesus, and above all those of Mark and Luke, the Jesus of the Fourth Gospel
rapidly turns into a legendary figure... 23
21. We use the term "divine" in the biblical sense of "authorship" or "origin, " and fully recognize the"divinity" of Christ
in this sense. But we distinguish "divinity, " meaning "of divine origin, " from "deity, " meaning "identical with God. " See
Glossary.
22. See the next chapter for more on the term "only-begotten. "
23. Op. cit., Hanson, p. 366.

Chapter 8: The Gospel of John: Great Scott! He's Back from the Future 185
This was precisely Augustine's attitude; the incarnation revealed to us a divine being
appearing as man who was nevertheless fully equipped with superhuman powers, so
that he could manipulate nature and matter exactly as he liked. The Jesus of the first
three Gospels has been developed into a figure comparable to the Buddha of the
Mahayana Scriptures, in which the original Gautama Sakyamuni has become a divine
visitant who can accomplish the most astounding miracles by lifting his finger. We are
in the realm of legend and are in full flight towards a positively superstitious attitude
towards Jesus. 24
Hanson is quite correct that the Jesus portrayed in the Gospel of John is different from the
Jesus of the other three Gospels. But we would expect that. In John, Christ is being set forth as
the only begotten Son. The fact that Christ is portrayed differently in John, however, does not
mean that he is somehow a different person. Different sections of Scripture focus on different
aspects of Christ's life, but he is just one person. 25 In particular, the prologue of John's Gospel
(1: 1 -18) is often wrested out of its context and made to mean something never intended by John
or God who inspired him. We will be handling the prologue and its concept of the logos in the
next chapter. But to remain faithful to the text of John, the entire Gospel must harmonize with
the rest of the New Testament. Accordingly, we must keep clearly in mind that this Gospel
makes known the intimate relationship Jesus had and has with his Father, and the glory that
results from it.
When we read John's Gospel in this light, we see that the way John is inspired to
write is perfectly consistent with this theme of Jesus' glorious divine Sonship.
When we refer to his "Sonship, " however, we are not just thinking of his first birth in a
manger, as is commonly supposed. Indeed, for those who hold to orthodox Christology, his
"incarnation" in human flesh represents the defining moment of his "eternal" existence. From
this perspective, his resurrection becomes little more than a return to his former glory, and is
therefore rendered anti - climactic and presupposed. But as we discussed in Chapter 3, the
resurrection of Jesus Christ is spoken of in Scripture as his birth into glory (see Ps. 2: 7; Heb. 1: 5;
24. Ibid., p. 365.
25. It is important when reading the Bible to pay close attention to what God is focusing on and emphasizing in a
particular part of Scripture. For instance, reading the book of Galatians one might be tempted to think that Abraham
was not like the rest of us. Romans says, "he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God" (Rom. 4: 20).
Yet reading Genesis 16 shows that Abraham did have a weak time in his life and ended up having a child by his wife's
slave, Hagar. The proper understanding of the Bible is not to assert that Galatians in wrong and Genesis correct, or vice
versa, but to see that the two accounts can be made to harmonize. If God gives you a promise, and you have a weak
period but then rise up and claim the promise by faith, God may focus on and emphasize your victory without speaking
of the weak time you went through. The example of Manasseh, son of Hezekiah and king of Judah is another good
example. Manasseh did a lot of evil as the king, and the Book of Kings records the evil that Manasseh did and then
records that he died. Chronicles, on the other hand, focuses on a different aspect of Manasseh's life and records that
he repented, prayed, tore down the idols he had built and restored the altar of God. The point we are making is that what
God reveals in different places of Scripture can be very different, but the diligent workman of the Word will see how they
harmonize and use the various records to build a complete picture.

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Acts 13: 33). This truth is clearly being communicated in Romans 1: 3, one of the earliest of all
New Testament writings, when it refers to Jesus as "the Son of God with power": 26
Romans 1: 2-4 (NRSV)
(2) [The gospel of God] which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy
scriptures
(3) the gospel concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the
flesh,
(4) and was declared ["appointed, " "installed, " "constituted"27 ] to be the Son of God
with power according to the spirit of holiness by resurrection from the dead,
Jesus
Christ our Lord.
Based upon this reality, the Gospel of John is perfectly consistent with the body of the New
Testament evidence, and its depiction of Jesus as the "Son" powerfully reflects this post-
resurrection emphasis. John's elevated view of Jesus as the glorified Christ magnifies his
intimacy with his Father who has so exalted him, and this is one of the most distinctive features
of the Fourth Gospel. The glory that he fully realized in his resurrection is projected back
throughout his earthly ministry even to the very ground of Creation itself, when God planned
his coming "before the foundation of the world. " This projecting of his post-resurrection glory
back onto the past is accomplished through the figure of speech prolepsis, which is "an
26. Some of the early Christian scribes realized that the resurrection was the time that Christ was clearly declared to
be the Son of God, and that bothered them because it conflicted with their theology. Their easy solution to this problem
was to change the texts they were supposed to be faithfully transcribing. Ehrman notes:" Some of the earliest traditions
put the Christological moment par excellence at his resurrection. For these traditions, God appointed Jesus to be his
Son when he vindicated him and exalted him to heaven. A textual corruption of this verse occurs as the addition of the
prefix pro to horisisthentos, impying "that God 'predestined' Jesus to attain his status as Son of God at the resurrection.
This would mean, of course, that Jesus already enjoyed a special status before God prior to the event itself (as the one
predestined") so that the resurrection was but the realization of a status proleptically (before the fact] conferred upon
him. In short, the variation, which cannot be traced beyond the confines of the Latin West, serves to undermine any
assumption that Jesus' resurrection effected an entirely new standing before God. " Ehrman, op. cit., p. 71-72.
27. Dunn quotes C. E. B. Cranfield's firm conclusion that the Greek word translated "declared, " horisthentos, means
more than "declared" or "shown to be, " and actually has the force of "installed. " In other words, the resurrection was
in some sense the time in which his Sonship was officially or actually realized. This leads Dunn to conclude:
 that "Jesus' divine Sonship stemmed from his resurrection. "
 that "the resurrection of Jesus was regarded |by the earliest Christian communities] as of central
significance in determining his divine Sonship, either as his installation to a status and prerogatives
not enjoyed before, or as a major enhancement of a Sonship already enjoyed. "
 that "there is no thought of a pre-existent Sonship here. "
 that "Sonship is seen in eschatological terms: the divine Sonship of which the original formula speaks
is a Sonship which begins from the resurrection.
 that "primitive Christian preaching seems to have regarded Jesus' resurrection as the day of his
appointment to divine sonship, as the event by which he became God's son. "
Dunn, op. cit., p. 34-36.

Chapter 8: The Gospel of John: Great Scott! He's Back from the Future 187
anticipating; especially the describing of an event as taking place before it could have done so,
the treating of a future event as if it had already happened. "28
It is not surprising that this bold proleptic picture of Christ could be misunderstood and
taken literally, thus breaking down the literal, historical and crucial importance of the resurrec-
tion. If he literally already enjoyed his resurrection glory before his death the difficulty of his
temptation and suffering would have been radically lessened. But the Fourth Gospel should not
be interpreted in a manner that virtually negates the significance of the resurrection, the
watershed event of his life. The resurrection becomes devalued by the assertion of Jesus'
apparently innate glory as a pre-existent divine being. If contradictions with the whole of
Scripture arise from literally interpreting a verse, a passage or an entire book, we must start
looking for figures of speech. These are legitimate literary devices employed to give vigor and
emphasis to verbal communication. In addition to prolepsis, John employs a related figure of
speech called heterosis, which is the exchange of one verb tense for another, in this case, the
present for the future. 29
The Gospel of John, therefore, is a profoundly literary portrait of the Messiah that is
emphasizing his post-resurrection glorification at the right hand of God. It goes beyond being
prophetic(i. e., foretelling of his future glory) and becomes proleptic by portraying him as already
glorious. The use of these figures of speech heterosis and prolepsis is not incidental and
occasional — it is the very warp and woof of the tapestry of John's Gospel. It is important to note
that we are not the only ones to notice this literary feature of the Fourth Gospel. A number of
scholars have noted this bold and beautiful bent of the Gospel of John. We will quote three:
The Jesus of this [Gospel] walks the earth with the prowess of the resurrected Christ;
but with respect to God he is the ever obedient agent. 30
"... the Jesus of the Fourth Gospel is the risen Lord retrojected back into the time of the
earthly ministry.
We can accept the Jesus of the Fourth Gospel as a model for the risen
Lord. Almost everything that the Jesus of the Fourth Gospel claims for himself is true
as far as the believer is concerned of the Jesus of faith, the risen Lord of the Church
apprehensible always by the Church's faith. As such, the language which John uses
28. Websters New Universal Unabridged Dictionary (Simon and Schuster, NY, 1983, p. 1439). Bullinger further defined
prolepsis as follows: "An anticipation of some future time which cannot yet be enjoyed; but has to be deferred. From
pro "before" and lepsis" a taking, " i. e., anticipation. The figure is employed when we anticipate what is going to be done,
and speak of future things as being already present. Some biblical examples are: Genesis 1: 28 speaks of both male and
female, though only Adam is in view at the time; Exodus 10: 29 describes the final departure of Moses, but Moses spoke
to Pharaoh once more; 1 Kings 1: 22: 50, (51) speak of Jehoshaphat's death as if it had already happened; Isaiah 37: 22
describes the future rejoicing of Jerusalem; In Isaiah 48: 5-7, God spoke of future things from the beginning. " E. W.
Bullinger, Figures of Speech Used in the Bible (Baker Book House Grand Rapids, MI 1968 [originally published 1898] p.
914-15).
29. Heterosis is also the exchange of one voice, mood, tense, person, number, degree or gender for another. Ibid.,
Bullinger, p. 510-534.
30. Sundberg op. cit., p. 30.

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about him fits him very well. Interpreted in terms of the risen Lord and not of the
historical Jesus, it makes excellent sense
. 31
the self-revelation of Jesus in John... stems from a theological interpretation by the
evangelist... In the mind of the evangelist the earthly Jesus speaks as though always
fully conscious of his exaltation, which begins with the crucifixion
. "32
The reason for these literary devices is to bring emphasis to the reality of Christ's exaltation
at the right hand of God since his resurrection. This is consistent with a variety of literary figures
and devices employed throughout the Bible that bring an appropriate and vivid emphasis to the
subject matter, as well as greatly enhancing its value as "the literature of eternity. " Misunder-
standing figurative language accounts for many errors and misconceptions, because our
Western minds assume that we understand what seems to be the plain meaning of language.
We do not customarily employ either prolepsis or heterosis in English, so we would not likely
recognize the use of either of these figures unless we were familiar with biblical figures of
speech.
For instance, one of the only variations of verb tenses we employ figuratively in English is
the "historic present, " when we use the present tense in relating a story from the past to enliven
it. For instance, we might relate an incident from the past in the present tense, by saying "Then
he goes to the meat market. " But to be factual, or literal, we would employ the past tense: "He
went to the meat market. " But English speakers and readers have little or no experience with
the use of the present or past tenses referring to the future, as is done in Hebrew and Aramaic.
In essence, this is what is happening in the Gospel of John. The perspective from which it is
written is actually "Back From The Future. " Great Scott!!! There has been a major disturbance
of the biblical "time - space continuum, " and it is caused by the proleptic nature of the Gospel
of John. We will come back to this subject after looking at more unique features in John.
John does not use the common Greek word for "pray" [proseuchomai), as do the other
Gospels, but erotao, which implies familiarity with the one being asked. 33 In John, Jesus speaks
to or asks of the Father with the simple confidence of a child. The intimacy of their communica-
tion is very evident when Jesus prays at Lazarus' tomb (John 11: 41, 42): " Father, I thank you that
you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people
standing here, that they may believe that you sent me. " Jesus experienced an invisible intimacy
in his relationship with God that explains the works he did. In the case of raising Lazarus, we
are given an opportunity to see how close he and his Father are, and that the Father always hears
his requests. This was due to the fact that he was accustomed to hearing and obeying God's
voice. He "heard" the Father and the Father "heard" him.
31. Hanson, op cit. p. 367-8.
32. R. I. Schnackenburg The Gospel According to St. John (Å. T., London and NY, 1968 of German ed. Freiburg 1965, 3
volumes 23 p. 328.
33. E. g., John 16: 26; 17: 9, 15, 20. This point about Jesus having an intimate, conversational relationship with his Father
is lost in the NIV. For example, in John 17: 1 the NIV reads: "he looked toward heaven and prayed. " However, the Greek
text, and most other versions, have "said" instead of "prayed." The same is true in John 17: 9, 15, 20 and 18: 1. The NIV
has "pray" or "prayed" while other versions more accurately have "say, " "request" or "ask. "

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John's Gospel records the words of Jesus more than does any other Gospel. The prologue
identifies Jesus as the living Word, so it makes sense that John would elevate the words of Jesus
over his works. This is the opposite of the Gospel of Mark, which focuses on his acts. In John
3, Jesus gives a lengthy lecture to Nicodemus late at night. In Chapter 4, he addresses a
Samaritan woman on worship and the coming gift of the spirit. Chapter 5 is a discourse about
the Sabbath. Chapter 6 is an elaborate discussion of his being the "Bread of Heaven. " In
Chapters 7 and 8, he addresses the Jews in the Temple, in Chapter 9 the Pharisees. In Chapter
10 he talks about his role as the Good Shepherd of the sheep. In Chapter 11 he raises Lazarus and
talks about his being "the resurrection and the life. " Chapters 13-17 cover his prophetic
declarations about the spirit of truth and include a lengthy high priestly prayer. At various
points in the Gospel, Jesus calls attention to the importance of his word and God's Word:
5: 24 - Hear my word and believe
6: 47 - Believing in him is to believe his words
8: 31 - Continue in my word
12: 48 - Receive my sayings; the word will judge
14: 24 - The word is not mine but the Father's
17: 14 - I have given them your Word
17: 17 - Thy Word is truth
17: 20 Those who will believe on Christ through the word of his disciples
Because John views Christ from his post-resurrection exaltation, it focuses on Christ in
heaven, and speaks of heaven as his place of origin. Accordingly, John uses the language of his
"coming from" heaven, and being "sent" from heaven. 34
John 3: 13
No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven — the Son of
Man.
The Jews would not have taken Christ's words to mean that he "incarnated. " It was
common for them to say that something "came from heaven" if God were its source. Thus, John
the Baptist was a man "sent from God" (John 1: 6). When God wanted to tell the people that He
would bless them if they gave their tithes, He told them that He would open the windows of
heaven and pour out a blessing (Mai. 3: 10). Of course, everyone understood the idiom being
used, and no one believed that God would literally pour things out of heaven. They knew that
God was the origin of the blessings they received. Similarly, James 1: 17 says, " Every good and
perfect gift is 'from above, '" and "comes down from the father. "
Another clear example of this idiom occurs in the context of Christ answering the
Pharisees concerning the question of his authority to heal, forgive sins and the like:
34. See Appendix A (John 3: 13).

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Matthew 21: 25a
"John's baptism — where did it come from? Was it from heaven or from men?"
This verse makes the idiom clear: things could be "from heaven, " i. e., from God, or they
could be "from men. "35 The idiom is the same when used of Jesus. Jesus is "from God, " "from
heaven" or "from above" in the sense that God is literally his heavenly Father and thus his origin.
In the Synoptics, Jesus trusts Judas Iscariot to be one of his apostles, who proves to be a
thief and a betrayer. But in John, Jesus knows the hearts of all men, and who can be trusted and
who cannot: but Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all men" (John 2: 24—
NASB). This is another example of John's exalted perspective of Christ. He is viewed as having
the same knowledge in his earthly ministry as he had after his ascension, when the apostles
invoke the risen Lord in the matter of choosing a replacement for Judas. 36
Acts 1: 24, 25 (NRSV)
Then they prayed and said, "Lord, you know everyone's heart. Show us which one of
these two you have chosen to take the place in this ministry and apostleship from which
Judas turned aside to go to his own place. "
Another example of proleptic language is in John's recording of Jesus dealing with Judas'
betrayal:
John 13: 2, 3 (NASB)
(2) And during supper, the devil having already put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, the
son of Simon, to betray him,
(3)  Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had
come forth from God and was going back to God
When was "all power" actually put under Jesus? After his resurrection, as indicated by his
saying in Matthew 28: 18: "All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me. "37
On the subject of the "cross" that Christ bore, John's unique perspective is particularly
evident. The Synoptics depict the Cross as "the emblem of suffering and shame" (as the old
hymn says), but John compares it to the lifting up of the brasen serpent in the wilderness for the
healing of Israel. In fact, Jesus' crucifixion is a kind of lifting up, or exaltation, for the healing and
deliverance of believers.
35. See also Gamaliel's speech in Acts 5: 38, 39.
36. The word "Lord" in Acts 1: 24 refers to the risen Lord Jesus because, in context, it is he who "knows everyone's
hearts. " We also recognize that the context is continuous from Acts 1: 2 and concerns "the apostles whom he had
chosen. " Since Jesus had chosen the original twelve, it seems evident that he would be the one asked about Judas'
replacement. See Appendix  (Acts 1: 24).
37. Bullinger, a Trinitarian, recognizes that "all authority" was given him only after his resurrection. In his Companion
Bible
in a text note on Matthew 28: 18, he writes: "[all authority] is given= has (just, or lately) been given. " (p. 1380).

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John 3: 14, 15 (NRSV)
(14) "And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man
be lifted up,
(15) that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. "
John 8: 28, 29 (NRSV)
(28) So Jesus said, "When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will realize that
I am he, and that I do nothing on my own, but I speak these things as the Father
instructed me.
(29) The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what
pleases him. "
John 12: 32, 33 (NASB)
(32) "And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself. "
(33) But he was saying this to indicate the kind of death by which he was to die.
The word "lifted up" is the term for "exalt, elevate or set on high. " In John, Jesus' exaltation
begins at and centers on the crucifixion, and altogether omits the historical ascension after his
resurrection. In a bold, proleptic re-interpretation of the Cross, the Gospel of John views it not
as a criminal act of sinners against the righteous Son of God, but as a symbol of healing and
deliverance for all who believe on him. This is the perspective Peter also communicated:
1 Peter 2: 24 (NASB)
And he himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, that we might die to sin and live
to righteousness; for by his wounds you were healed. 38
Another example of John's unique perspective concerns what "cross" Jesus bore. Where
the Synoptic Gospels agree that Simon of Cyrene was compelled to take the wooden cross from
Jesus as he left the Praetorium, or Pilate's palace, John implies that Jesus bore his cross all the
way to Calvary. 39 But the "cross" Christ bore in John was the figurative "cross" of our sins and
iniquities, as prophesied by Isaiah. 40 Rather than being a blatant contradiction of the other
Gospels, which are primarily concerned with recording the historical events of his life, John's
is written from a spiritual perspective.
Where the Synoptics contain many examples of Jesus casting out demons, the Gospel of
John omits this important and unique part of his ministry. Jesus mentions the Devil only in
38. Note the use of the figure of speech heterosis, which attributes our healing to the time in the past when Christ gave
his body as a sacrifice on Calvary. In actual fact, we must invoke the power and name of Jesus Christ to heal us in the
present (see
Acts 3: 16). However, this figure establishes the fact that the ground on which we stand in faith for healing
was established at the Cross, and need not be re-established for each believer every time he has a need.
39. Cp. Matthew 27: 32, Mark 15: 21 and Luke 23: 26 with John 19: 17.
40. Isaiah 53: 3-6; Colossians 2: 4; Matthew 8: 16, 17.

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connection with Judas Iscariot or the Pharisees. We can only speculate as to the reason for this
omission, but it seems to be related to the perspective of Jesus in his post-resurrection
dominion over principalities, powers, dominions and authorities. Jesus in John is proleptically
positioned far above all demonic activity, therefore demonstrating his superiority over demons
is rendered quite superfluous. 41
The "Signs": Springboard to the
Spoken Words of The Living Word
The core of the Gospel of John focuses on eight "signs" that specifically point to Christ as
the Son of God. In John, miracles are always called "signs" (Greek semeion, emphasizing their
significance) because they are recorded not so much as historical events or for their effects on
the people, as they are in the Synoptic Gospels. In those records, his miracles attract attention
and generate faith in others. In John, however, his miracles provide a springboard for a spiritual
discourse — spiritual words spoken by the living Word (the logos). This is further evidence that
John focuses on the words of Jesus.
For instance, in the healing of a royal official's son in Capernaum (4: 46-54), Jesus chastises
the man for the very fact that he was seeking a miracle, saying, "Unless you people see
miraculous signs and wonders, you will never believe. " He expected them to understand that
his miracles illustrated his intimate relationship with God, his Father. This is clear also from the
record of the healing of a crippled man at the pool of Bethesda (5: 1-15). Because he healed the
man on the Sabbath, the Jews began persecuting him. His answer to them was to relate the
miracle to his relationship with God: "My Father is always at work to this very day, and I too am
working" (verse 17) and "the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his
Father doing... " (verse 19).
The conclusion of the record involving the healing of the man born blind is the spiritual
blindness of the Pharisees (John 9: 1-41). The raising of Lazarus after he had been dead four days
(11: 1-44) is preceded by Jesus declaring himself to be "the resurrection and the life. " Mary's
response to this declaration is to affirm her belief that Jesus was "the Christ, the Son of God"
(verse27), echoing the theme of John from20: 3. In other words, the "sign" is significant because
of the words that Jesus and others speak in association with the event itself.
After the feeding of the 5000 (6: 1-15), Jesus again delivered a rebuke to those seeking him
with the wrong motive. In this case, it was not only the miraculous sign that was prompting their
seeking him, but the "all you can eat" free food he produced (v. 26). After another miraculous
event, his walking on the water (6: 16-21), a "watershed" discourse follows (6: 32-58), separating
out those who were willing to view him in more spiritual light. The way Jesus identified the true
disciples was through the use of figurative language. He spoke of them "eating his flesh" and
41. Yet in John Jesus is accused on several occasions of having a demon. This makes sense because the devil is insanely
jealous of the Lord and tries to degrade and besmirch him in any way possible.

Chapter 8: The Gospel of John: Great Scott! He's Back from the Future
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"drinking his blood. " Those who thought that he was speaking literally were very confused and
offended (v. 52, 60 and 61). But obviously he had a figurative, spiritual meaning in mind. 42 We
see from these records and others that the Gospel of John contains more of the words of Jesus
than any other Gospel. Indeed, its focus is on Jesus' words because they elucidate his glorious
relationship with his Father. Many times these words are spoken in figurative language, as in
the use of heterosis and prolepsis.
There are many other unique events, ideas and dialogues in John not mentioned or
considered in the Synoptic Gospels. Only in John is it said that Jesus "lays down his life, " and
no one takes it from him. Only John calls Jesus "the Lamb of God, " because only as the Son of
God is he not contaminated by sin nature and thus qualified to be the perfect sacrifice for all
mankind. John does not include his genealogy, birth or baptism because none of these events
contribute to an understanding of his glorification, which he derives directly from his Father.
In John, Jesus' "genealogy, " if we want to call it that, is very short: "the only begotten son, who
is in the bosom of the Father. "43 His ancestry through Mary, his virgin birth and his anointing
with holy spirit at his baptism, though historical events, are not relevant to the theme of the
Gospel, and hence are omitted.
This does not mean that the Jesus portrayed in the Gospel of John is not the historical
person. It simply means that the purpose of John is not historical, but spiritual (or theological).
The historical "Jesus" is unified with the exalted "Christ" into a proleptic portrait of "Jesus
Christ" that simultaneously brings him down to earth and exalts him. Thus, we have a clear,
"earthly" image of the resurrected and exalted Lord in whom we are to have faith. This is very
evident as we look more closely at John's post-resurrection perspective of Christ.
Jesus in John: "Back From the Future"
In previous chapters we have clearly seen the two primary aspects of Christ's life and
ministry: suffering and glory. We have concluded from our examination of many scriptures that
these two phases of his coming are quite distinct and separate. His first coming was as the
suffering servant, but he was resurrected into his glory. Yet the Gospel of John in many respects
paints a portrait of Jesus as already glorified even before his resurrection. He has glory even
before he was born!
42. Ryken observes: "Assimilating religious knowledge and growing spiritually from it are likewise compared to a
process of eating and digestion. Paul fed immature Christians with 'milk' because they were not ready to digest solid
food (1 Cor. 3: 1-2), and Hebrews 5: 11-14 repeats the image. Similarly, Peter enjoins his audience to 'long for the pure
spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation' (1 Pet. 2: 2 RSV). God's true shepherds feed the people with
knowledge and understanding 0er 3: 15). Conversely, the absence of hearing the words of the Lord is a famine on the
land (Amos 8: 11). Assimilating folly or falsehood is likewise pictured as assimilating food into the body (Prov. 15: 14).
In its ultimate metaphoric reaches, to eat is to participate in God's salvation in Christ. " Leland Ryken, Dictionary of
Biblical Imagery
(Inter Varsity Press, Downers Grove, IL, 1998), p. 227.
43. The Old Syriac reading of John 1: 18 is "from the bosom of his Father. " This would harmonize with the emphasis
in John upon God being his origin, having being "sent" from God. This reading is in the Curetonian manuscript (William
Cureton, Remains of a Very Ancient Recension of the Four Gospels in Syriac (John Murray, London, 1858), p. 38. )

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John 17: 4, 5 (NASB)
(4) " I glorified thee on the earth, having accomplished the work which thou hast given
me to do.
(5) And now, glorify Thou me together with Thyself, Father, with the glory which I had
with Thee before the world was
. "
John 12: 41 (NRSV)
"Isaiah said this because he saw his glory and spoke about him. "
John 17: 24 (NRSV)
"Father, I desire that those also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am
[he is pictured as already seated in heaven], to see my glory, which you have given me
because you loved me before the foundation of the world. "
This "prophetic glory" that was his even before his birth was because God's plan was for
him to be the glorious redeemer of Creation. This plan was so well defined by the body of
prophecy spoken and written about the Coming One, that it was a virtual certainty. Therefore
it could be spoken about as a" reality" long before it was actually fulfilled. 44 In this light, we can
properly interpret the following verse, which is often used to "prove" the literal "pre-existence"
of Christ.
John 8: 56-58 (NRSV)
(56) "Your ancestor Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day; he saw it and was glad. "
(57) Then the Jews said to him, "You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen
Abraham!"
(58) Jesus said to them, "Very truly, I tell you, before Abraham was, I am. "
The context of verse 58 is clear from verse 56: it is the "day" that Abraham "saw, " which is
still in the future. Even in Abraham's time, it was established as a certainty in the mind of God
that the Messiah would come and establish "the city with foundations" (Heb. 11: 10). 45
If we accept that John 8: 58 is somehow saying that Jesus is an "eternal and divine person"
who lived before he was born, then the Gospel of John is contradicting the Synoptic consensus
(Matt. 1: 18). But if we accept that the Synoptic view is the literal and historical one, then John's
way of portraying the Messiah becomes not only understandable, but profoundly harmonious
with the other Gospels. In John, the glory that Jesus has as Messiah is pictured as a present
reality, not a future one, as it is in the Synoptics (Matt. 16: 27; 19: 28; 24: 30; 25: 31; Mark8: 38; 3: 26;21: 27). We will cite one verse in particular that clearly shows the perspective of the Synoptics
that Jesus entered into his glory after the resurrection:
44. See the discussion of the "prophetic perfect" in Chapter 9.
45. See also Appendix A (John 5: 58)

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Luke 24: 26 (NRSV)
"Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things [crucifixion and
death] and then enter into his glory [via resurrection]?"
The "Mount of Transfiguration" event recorded in the Synoptics foreshadows his resur-
rected glory (Matt. 17: 2ff; Mark 9: 2ff; Luke 9: 26-32), but, clearly, this glorious experience is
related to his imminent suffering and death and subsequent resurrection. 46 Glorification is not
the normal state of his existence in the Synoptics, but in John, as Hanson observes, "the
Transfiguration is taken as an index of Jesus' real person while on earth... "47 In the Gospel of
John, however, there is no mention at all of the Transfiguration, because it related to his earthly
sufferings. John's perspective is his heavenly and eternal glory transposed onto his earthly life
and ministry. 48 Again, we see John's proleptic perspective of Jesus so anchored in the future
that it is spoken of in the present: he is already glorious; there is no need to record a Transfigu-
ration. The Ascension is also conspicuously absent from John's Gospel for the same reason.
Jesus in John is already exalted. The Johannine portrait of Jesus is of one who walked the earth
with something akin to his future exalted glory even while still carrying out his earthly ministry.
More Proleptic Language
More evidence that John's view is proleptic is the fact that John has no record of Jesus'
temptations by the Devil or his agony in the Garden of Gethsemane. The risen Lord is beyond
such temptation, and to struggle in the flesh with an assignment from God is unthinkable. The
reader may recall from Chapter 6 that we saw a correlation between the eagle and the Gospel
of John because of the eagle's exalted perspective of the earth. This is in essence what the Jesus
of the Gospel of John is doing — looking down upon his earthly life and reinterpreting it in light
of his exalted position at the right hand of God.
This should not be a complete surprise, though, because we know that Jesus Christ was
intimately involved with the inspiration of Scripture after his resurrection (Rom. 1: 1; 1 Cor. 1: 1;
Gal. 1: 11, 12, et al). Thus, in many of the passages in John in which Christ speaks, the words are
46. The visionary "presence" of Moses and Elijah is very significant in this record, because each was escorted to his
burial by God in a manner that pointed to the special death, burial and resurrection of the Messiah. God Himself buried
Moses (Deut. 34: 6), and the burial place was kept a secret, presumably to keep the Israelites from idolatrous worship
of their dead hero. The burial of Moses' body was apparently the occasion of a major spiritual battle (see Jude 9). Elijah
was moved by God away from all who knew him, and taken up into the air by a whirlwind (2 Kings 2: 11). The Bible does
not mention the place he was set down, but we know he died because only Jesus has been granted immortality (see also
Heb. 11: 13- "these all died"). If Elijah, a man just like us (James 5: 17), went to heaven without dying before Christ came
to atone for his sin, then eternal redemption was available without Jesus' sacrifice. See Is There Death After Life?
published by CES.
47. Hanson, op. cit., p. 365.
48. We say "eternal" glory because it began, in the mind of God, at the creation of the present heaven and earth and
will continue forever.

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those of the risen Christ, not the earthly Christ of the Synoptics. An example of him speaking in
a way that blends an earthly with a heavenly perspective is his prayer, on the eve of his arrest,
for those who will believe in him in the future. We will point out the statements in which the
risen Christ is speaking, those that point prophetically to his post-resurrection glorification.
The other statements are consistent with the Synoptic view and should be considered literal
statements that the earthly Jesus actually spoke.
John 17: 20-24 (NRSV)
(20) "I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me
through their word,
(21) that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also
be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.
(22) The glory that you have given me I have given them [fulfilled at Pentecost in the
gift of holy spirit], so that they may be one, as we are one,
(23) I in them [future, at Pentecost] and you in me, that they may become completely
one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you
have loved me.
(24) Father, I desire that those also, whom you have given me, may be with me where
I am [he speaks in the present tense as if he is already in his exalted position in heaven],
to see my glory, which you have given me [past tense; again he is speaking as if he were
already raised] because you loved me before the foundation of the world.
This prophetic and proleptic nature of the Gospel of John is made even clearer from the
many other verses that attribute to Christ during his earthly ministry functions and qualities
that properly belong to God, and which would actually be delegated to him after his resurrec-
tion. John, by revelation, is painting a prophetic picture of a post-resurrection Christ that is
consistent with that revealed to Paul and written especially in his later epistles—Ephesians,
Philippians and Colossians. This Jesus in John is already at the right hand of God, invested with
all authority. This is seen in John's occasional use of the present tense in the following
scriptures, which reveals that he is writing as if Jesus was already risen.
John 1: 18 (KJV)
No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is [present tense] in
the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him. 49
Another interesting example of John's "Back from the Future" perspective is found in
Jesus' discussion with the Samaritan woman concerning the issue of true worship:
49. There are many Alexandrian texts that read "God the only Son, " or "the only begotten God, " and so the NIV and
NASB translations are not baseless. However, there is much compelling evidence that this is an example of the orthodox
corruption of Scripture, and that the original text reads "only begotten Son. " Ehrman points out that the term "only
begotten son" occurs elsewhere in John's writings, and always in the form of "only begotten Son. " Cp. John 1: 14; 3: 16,
18; 1 John 4: 19 (Ehrman, op. cit., p. 78-82). Also, Kittel, op. cit., Vol. IV, p. 740, footnote 14. See Appendix N.

Chapter 8: The Gospel of John: Great Scott! He's Back from the Future 197
John 4: 21-24 (NRSV)
(21) Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe me, the hour is coming [future] when you will
worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.
(22) You [Samaritans] worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for
salvation is from the Jews.
(23) But the hour is coming [future] and is now here [i. e., is so certainly coming that it
is spoken of as having already come] when the true worshipers will worship the Father
in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship him.
(24) God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth. "
The spiritual worship of which Jesus speaks would actually become available on the Day
of Pentecost with the gift of holy spirit. Yet it is spoken of in John as having already arrived. This
is typical of the prophetic and proleptic language employed in John's Gospel.
At other times, Jesus speaks in the present tense, but he is clearly referring to a future time,
sometimes even the end of the age, when the "day of the Lord" will come.
John 5: 22 (NRSV)
"The Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son" [When? In the
future — Acts 17: 31].
John 5: 26 (NRSV)
"For just as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in
himself"
[this indicates that he already has in the present the resurrection life by which
he will one day raise the dead at the end of this age].
John 11: 25 (NRSV)
Jesus said to her, " I am the resurrection and the life [note the present tense]. Those who
believe in me, even though they die, will live. " [When? In the future — "I will raise him
at the last day" (John 6: 44)]
Many more examples of prophetic and proleptic language can be found in John, but we
do not need to belabor the point here. We assume that the reader will find numerous examples
for himself now that it has been pointed out. The words of John's Gospel have proven to be
words of spirit and life (John 6: 63), just as Jesus pronounced them to be in his discourse after the
feeding of the five thousand. F. F. Bruce aptly expresses his awe at the literary arrangement of
the Gospel of John, which has continued to inspire and engender faith in the risen Christ, even
though greatly misunderstood:
What Shakespeare does by dramatic insight... all this and much more the Spirit of God
accomplished in our Evangelist [John]. It does not take divine inspiration to provide a
verbatim transcript; but to reproduce the words which were spirit and life to their first
believing hearers in such a way that they continue to communicate their saving
message and prove themselves to be spirit and life to men and women today, nineteen
centuries after John wrote — that is the work of the Spirit of God. It is through the Spirit's

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operation that, in William Temple's words, 'the mind of Jesus himself was what the
Fourth Gospel disclosed'; and it is through the illumination granted by the same Spirit
that one may still recognize in this gospel the authentic voice of Jesus. 50
The Relationship Between
Father and Son in John
There are many sections in the Gospel of John that illustrate the intimate relationship
between God and Christ, but we have picked two in particular that we feel are especially
appropriate in light of what we have been discussing in this chapter and throughout this book.
They are John 5: 16-32 and John 10: 24-36. In the first part of John 5, Jesus healed a crippled man
who had been an invalid for 38 years. The man picked up his mat and walked away, but it was
the Sabbath, and he ran into some religious leaders who reproved him for carrying his mat on
that day. He said to them, "Hey, I just got healed after 38 years (he may also have thought,
"something you never did for me"), and the man who healed me told me to pick up my mat and
go for a walk. " The religious leaders asked the man who told him to pick up his mat and walk,
but the man couldn't tell them, not knowing who Jesus was. Later, Jesus found him in the
Temple and encouraged him to clean up his life, now that he had been healed. The man then
went away and told the religious leaders that it was Jesus who had made him well.
John 5: 16 (NRSV)
Therefore, the Jews started persecuting Jesus, because he was doing such things on the
Sabbath.
One would think that religious leaders, supposedly representing God, would be very
blessed that the man had been healed, but these Jews were, to say the least, hard to please. In
fact, they decided that because Jesus had done this on the Sabbath day, he was worthy of
death. 51 Jesus did not hide from the religious leaders even though they were against him, but
instead he addressed them directly.
50. F. F. Bruce, The Gospel of John (Wm. B. Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, MI, 1983), pp. 16, 17). For more on this, see
Appendix A (John 3: 13).
51. It is important to realize that Jesus would never ask a man to break a commandment of God. It was the religious
leaders of Christ's day who had actually broken the commandments of God by their traditions (Matt. 15: 1-9). Carrying
a bedding mat from a place you were lying sick would not have been work, except according to the twisted religious
traditions of the time. The man needed to leave the pool of Bethesda, where people went to be healed, and start walking
out on the healing he had received. He could not very well have left his mat, or it would have been stolen. Jesus was
being loving in telling the man to take his mat, but the religious leaders were so twisted by their dogma that they could
not even rejoice with a man who was healed after 38 years of being crippled.

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John 5: 17 (NRSV)
But Jesus answered them, "My Father is still working, and I also am working. "
What was Jesus saying to those religious leaders who should have known the Old Testa-
ment backward and forward? In essence, he said to them, " Hey, wake up! Everything my Father,
God, has done up until this point, as set forth in the Old Testament, has set the stage for me. I
am the one of whom the Old Testament is speaking. Now I am here and I am working. The fact
that I healed the crippled man should not surprise you, because it was prophesied that I would
do such things. " As the next verse shows, this great truth did little to change their minds.
John 5: 18 (NRSV)
For this reason the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because he was not only
breaking the Sabbath, but was also calling God his own Father, making himself equal
with God.
There is no record of Jesus saying that he was "equal with God. " Notice that this is what
the Jews said that he said, and that is why they were trying to kill him. We have already seen in
Philippians 2: 6 that Jesus did not think that equality with God was something to be seized.
Watch what Jesus says in response to their accusations:
John 5: 19, 20 (NRSV)
(19) Jesus said to them: "Very truly, I tell you, the Son can do nothing on his own, but
only what he sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, the Son does likewise.
(20) The Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing; and he will
show him greater works than these, so that you will be astonished. "
Rather than claiming "equality" [as in identity] with God, Jesus spoke of God as his source
and his total reliance upon God (see also John 7: 16, 17). If Jesus were trying to convince people
he was God, or even if he were openly proclaiming himself to be the Messiah, this would have
been a wide open door. Instead, he downplayed his own role and spoke of what the Father was
doing and of His love. If Jesus were God, he certainly could do whatever he wanted by himself,
but he said he was the Son of God, and therefore could only do what the Father showed him.
Remember that the context is Jesus having healed the crippled man. In verse 20, Jesus said, in
essence, "If you think healing the crippled man was a big deal, just hang around, because I am
going to do many greater things than that. " What greater things was he talking about? Let's keep
reading.
John 5: 21 (NRSV)
"For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to
whom he is pleased to give it. "
We see here that Jesus anticipated his own resurrection and his future joy of raising others.
In verse 21, we must again note the figures of speech heterosis and prolepsis. Here again is an
exchange of the future tense for the present tense anticipating the day when Jesus would
literally have resurrection life to give. Jesus Christ had not yet himself been raised from the dead,

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and certainly he had not raised anyone else to everlasting life, yet he speaks of giving life in the
present tense. He does so to emphasize his faith in the certainty of these things coming to pass,
and his references to them in this way are placed in the Gospel of John as part of the proleptic
portrait of Jesus Christ. He did not doubt his own ability to obey his Father, nor his Father's
ability to raise him from the dead and highly exalt him.
John 5: 22, 23 (NRSV)
(22) "The Father judges no one but has given all judgment to the Son,
(23) so that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Anyone who does not
honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. "
In the above verses, we see that it will be Jesus Christ who will judge all men, and that
thereby all men will honor the Son even as they honor the Father. That is what we saw in
Philippians 2: 10, 11: "every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father. "
We believe it befits justice that Jesus Christ, the one who was judged, condemned and
executed by men, will be the one to finally judge all men. Every unrepentant, evil person who
has ever lived, who literally tortured and crucified him or who figuratively did so by persecuting
those who have loved him, will one day look in the eyes of the Son of God as their judge, and he
will be vindicated.
John 5: 24, 25 (NRSV)
(24) "Very truly, I tell you, anyone who hears my word and believes him who sent me has
eternal life, and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.
(25) I tell you the truth, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the
voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live. "
Once again we see here that it is Jesus Christ, as the Promised Seed, who will call people
to new and everlasting life.
John 5: 26 (NRSV)
"For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son to have life in himself. "
Jesus Christ understood that the chief property of a seed is that it has life in itself, and that
as the Promised Seed, he would, after his resurrection and exaltation, have life in himself to give
to others. As the next verse says, it is Jesus Christ who will decide who is to live and who is to die.
Rest assured that one day there will be justice for all.
John 5: 27-29 (NRSV)
(27) "And he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man.
(28) Do not be astonished at this, for the hour is coming when all who are in their graves
will hear his voice.
(29) and will come out — those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those
who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation. "

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This is a prophecy of what is commonly known as the resurrections of "the just" and "the
unjust. " The Bible clearly says that all people who have ever lived will get up from the dead.
Those in the resurrection of the just will be going to one party, while the majority of those in the
resurrection of the unjust will be going to another party, which is considerably shorter and has
no party favors. 52 Those in the resurrection of the just will be getting up for everlasting life in
Paradise. The unrighteous in the resurrection of the unjust will be getting up for judgment,
condemnation and destruction in the lake of fire.
John 5: 30 [NRSV)
"I can do nothing on my own; as I hear, I judge; and my judgment is just, because I seek
to do not my own will but the will of him who sent me. "
Because Jesus Christ works in perfect harmony with his heavenly Father, there will be
justice for all.
John 5: 31, 32 (NRSV)
(31) "If I testify about myself, my testimony is not true.
(32) There is another who testifies on my behalf, and I know that his testimony to me
is true. "
The phrase "another who testifies" about Jesus Christ refers to God, his heavenly Father.
The most important way God testified who Jesus was by raising him from the dead (Acts 17: 31).
Although the Pharisees to whom Jesus was speaking missed the whole point of the Old
Testament and failed to recognize him as the Messiah, some did cleave unto him as such. How
sad that so many people today have misunderstood the Scriptures and to some degree missed
the heart of the Son of God that is so specifically revealed in the Four Gospels.
There is one other record in the Gospel of John that we want to explore, one that
graphically illustrates the relationship between God and His Son, Jesus Christ. Almost incon-
ceivably, it is often twisted in an attempt to prove that Jesus is, in fact, God. As we examine it,
we will see the great truth contained therein. It was winter, and Jesus was at the Temple in
Jerusalem for a Jewish holiday.
John 10: 24-30 (NASB)
(24) The Jews therefore gathered around him, and were saying to him, "How long will
you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly. "
(25) Jesus answered them, " I told you, and you do not believe; the works that I do in my
Father's name, these bear witness of me,
(26) But you do not believe because you are not of my sheep.
(27) My sheep hear my voice and I know them, and they follow me;
52. It is known as the "resurrection of the unjust" because it is the only resurrection when all the unjust people who have
ever lived will be raised from the dead, judged and condemned. At the same time, people who believed on Jesus Christ
during his Millennial Kingdom will receive salvation.

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(28)  and I give eternal life to them, and they shall never perish; and no one shall snatch
them out of my hand.
(29)  My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; and no one is able to
snatch them out of the Father's hand.
(30)  I and the Father are one. "
Although some people use verse 30 in an attempt to prove that Jesus is God, the context
(in particular, verses 28-29) clearly shows its meaning. Jesus and his Father are "one" in that no
one can pluck any of their sheep out of either of their hands. 53
John 10: 31-33 (NASB)
(31) The Jews took up stones again to stone Him.
(32)  Jesus answered them, "I showed you many good works from the Father; for which
of them are you stoning Me?"
(33) The Jews answered Him, "For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy;
and because You, being a man, make Yourself out to be God. "
Some quote verse 33 to prove Jesus is God. Note that the verse does not say that Jesus is
God, or that he claimed to be God, but rather that the Jews said that Jesus was making himself
"God. " We assert that an accurate translation of John 10: 33 would reveal that the Jews said that
Jesus was claiming to be "a god, " i. e., a representative of God. 54 Because they did not believe he
represented God at all, they were actually going to stone him, which indicates that their overall
spiritual perception was perhaps somewhat distorted. Let us look at Jesus' reply:
John 10: 34-36 (NASB)
(34) Jesus answered them, "Has it not been written in your Law, º said, you are gods?
(35) If he called them 'gods, ' to whom the Word of God came (and the Scripture cannot
be broken)
(36) Do you say of Him, whom the Father santified and sent into the world, 'You are
blaspheming, ' because I said, º am the Son of God'?"
In verse 34, Jesus is quoting Psalm 82, verses 1 and 6. There, as in other Old Testament
references, representatives of God were referred to as "gods. " This was a common Hebrew
usage that all the people understood. Jesus quotes these references, and then says, in essence:
"Look, if those Old Testament leaders and judges were referred to as 'gods, ' what about me? I
am by far the best representative God has ever had. Why do you say I am blaspheming when I
say I am the Son of God?"
53. The Greek word for "one" is hen, and means "one single. " In Jesus' prayer as recorded in John 17: 20-23, he makes
it very clear what "one" means. He prayed that all those who believe in him will be "one, " even as he and his Father are
"one. " Obviously, this means one in unity of heart and in purpose. See Appendix A (John 10: 30).
54. See Appendix A John 10: 33).

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Is not this section of Scripture a clear record of Jesus himself refuting the idea that he is
God? It is also a record of Jesus differentiating between the Son of God and God Himself,
something that more Christians today could profit from doing. Had Jesus been God, surely this
would have been a wonderful opportunity to for him to plainly say so, but he did not. His
testimony of himself is perfectly consistent with the stated purpose of the Gospel of John: to
reveal that Jesus is the Son of God. With the understanding of John which we have set forth in
this chapter, this gospel now perfectly harmonizes with the rest of the New Testament. The
historical "Jesus" is unified with the exalted "Christ" into a proleptic portrait of "Jesus Christ"
that simultaneously brings him down to earth and exalts him. How truly awesome is the One
who has inspired and revealed in His Word such a breathtaking view of the Lord Jesus, "the
Christ, the Son of the living God. "

CHAPTER NINE
"But What About
John 1: 1?"
Without a doubt, misunderstanding the prologue of the Gospel of John (verses 1-18) has
done more to further the cause of Trinitarian orthodoxy than misunderstanding any other
section of Scripture. Whenever we challenge the traditional understanding of God and Christ,
the first three verses of John's prologue are invariably and almost immediately brought to the
forefront of the discussion. Thus, it behooves us, as workmen of God's Word to thoroughly
consider them. We trust you will see that they harmonize beautifully with the rest of the Gospel
of John and the whole of Scripture.
The first 18 verses of the Gospel of John, commonly called "the prologue, " are a powerful
introduction to the rest of the book. Just as the introduction of Matthew starts with a kingly
genealogy, Mark very quickly shows Jesus in the service of the Lord and Luke starts with material
about Jesus' human relationships and his genealogy from the first man, Adam, John introduces
us to Jesus as the Plan and Wisdom of God, and His only begotten Son. The prologue introduces
and supports the theme of the Gospel of John, that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. We
addressed that in the previous chapter, but now need to look at it again:
John 20: 30-31
(30) Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are
not recorded in this book.
(31) But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God,
and that by believing you may have life in his name.
The purpose of John's Gospel is clearly stated, and therefore the prologue introducing this
Gospel must also support the theme that Jesus is the Son of God, which it does magnificently.
We will see that the prologue establishes right at the beginning of the Gospel the proleptic view
of Christ that we examined in the last chapter. We will also look at both the Greek and Hebrew
concepts of "word, " and see that John's use of logos is a magnificent blend of Greek and Hebrew
thought.
Truly this Gospel has universal appeal to humanity because it presents a view of Jesus
Christ perfectly consistent with the body of Old Testament prophecies concerning Messiah.
Once understood, the prologue of the Gospel of John also harmonizes with the Synoptic

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Gospels and the testimony of the remainder of the New Testament. Finally, we must address
the relationship of the Gospel of John to the developing Gnosticism of the late first century. In
doing so, we will see that John uses some of the language and concepts of Gnosticism itself for
the purpose of opposing it.
We will now go through the prologue highlighting the key phrases, beginning with the first
three verses.
John 1: 1-3 (KJV)
(1) In the beginning was the word [logos], and the word was with God, and the word was
God.
(2) The same was in the beginning with God.
(3) All things were made by [dia] him, and without him was not anything made that was
made.
The Gospel of John begins with the phrase "In the beginning was the word (Greek = logos),
which powerfully brings the reader's mind back to Genesis 1: 1: " In the beginning God... " Before
we can examine the idea of the "beginning, " however, we must have an understanding of what
the logos is, which was "in the beginning. "
The Meaning of Logos in Greek
It is a challenge for the modern translator to even translate the word logos into a single
English word. 1 Logos is derived from lego, "to say or speak, " and its root, leg, means "to gather
or arrange. " For the Greeks, to speak is to utter the arrangement or gathering of one's thoughts.
This is reflected in English, as in" I gather that you are not coming this morning. " This meaning
then developed into "speak, reckon, think" then into "word" and finally into "reason. "
The logosis God's expression, His communication of Himself, just as a spoken word is the
expression of the inner and unseen thoughts of a person. Thus, logos includes the idea of "plan, "
"purpose, " "wisdom" and even "power. " Logos is the term that God uses to represent His
purpose for this new creation, which was eventually realized in the person of Jesus. The
translation of logos as "word" is a good one - word translation of its meaning, but it falls short of
illuminating the richness of "logos" in its Greek usage, a richness that sheds light on both the
purpose of God and the person of Jesus.
Logos expressed the essential unity of language and thought, both of which consist, in their
most advanced forms, of words. When we think, we are talking to ourselves; when we talk, we
1. The Bible itself demonstrates the wide range of meaning logos has, and some of the ways it is translated in Scripture
(NIV) are: account, appearance, book, command, conversation, eloquence, flattery, grievance, heard, instruction,
matter, message, ministry, news, proposal, question, reason, reasonable, reply, report, rule, rumor, said, say, saying,
sentence, speaker, speaking, speech, stories, story, talk, talking, teaching, testimony, thing, things, this, truths, what,
why, word, and words.

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are thinking out loud. English words such as "dialogue" and "monologue" signify the connec-
tion of logos with language, while words like "logic" and "logistics" signify its connection with
thought. Logos, in its earliest usage, did not have to do with words perse, but rather with words
that made sense out of and gave meaning to human existence and experience.
In addition to its connection to language and thought, logos was also associated with the
reality of things. To think and speak, in other words, is to think and speak about something. To
have and give a logos was, in ancient Greece, to have and give a rational account, a reasonable
explanation, of something in the world of human experience, whether an object (of nature or
human nature) or an event (an act of God or man). The English suffix "-ology" signifies the
connection of logos with the world of things, things that have become the objects of human
interest and study, e. g., biology, physiology, sociology, psychology and theology.
Another defining point of logos was its practical connection to human life. Every logos, or
reasonable explanation of a human experience, was intended to lead to a wise course of action,
a rational approach to handling similar experiences in the future. Logos, in other words, implied
a purpose fulness to life based on a reasonable explanation and a rational understanding of
human existence.
Logos, then, in its original Greek usage, encompassed human language and thought in its
relation to the things of human experience and the purpose of human existence. The biblical
usage of logos runs parallel to this concept in that "the Word" is God's purpose or plan, His
reasonable explanation of, and His rationale for, His creation of all things before they became
corrupted in human experience. His rationale constitutes wisdom, that is, a rational under-
standing of and approach to human life. Sir Anthony Buzzard waxes eloquent:
Recent commentaries on John admit that despite the long-standing tradition to the
contrary, the term "word" in the famous prologue of John need not refer to the Son of God before
he was born. Our translations imply belief in the traditional doctrine of incarnation by
A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (Arndt and Gingrich's
revision of Walter Bauer's work, University of Chicago Press, second ed., 1979) lists the following as some of the
definitions for logos (the words in italics are translated from logos):
 speaking; words you say (Rom. 15: 18, "what I have said and done").
 a statement you make (Luke 20: 20, "they might catch him in some statement: -NASB).
 a question (Matt. 21: 24, "I will ask you one question").
 preaching (1 Tim. 5: 17, "especially those whose work is preaching and teaching").
 command (Gal. 5: 14, "the entire law is summed up in a single command").
 proverb; saying, (John 4: 37, "thus the saying, 'One sows, and another reaps' ").
 message; instruction; proclamation (Luke 4: 32, "his message had authority").
 assertion; declaration; teaching (John 6: 60, "this is a hard teaching").
 the subject under discussion; matter, (Acts 8: 21, "you have no part in this ministry' and Acts 15: 6 "The
apostles came together to look into this matter").
 revelation from God (Matt. 15: 6, "you nullify the Word of God ").
 God's revelation spoken by His servants (Heb. 13: 7, "leaders spoke the Word of God").
 a reckoning, an account (Matt. 12: 36, "men will give account" at the day of judgment).
 an account or "matter" in a financial sense (Matt. 18: 23, a king settled "accounts" with his servants.
Phil. 4: 15, "the matter of giving and receiving").
 a reason; motive (Acts 10: 29, "And so I ask for what reason you have sent for me").
See Appendix A (John 1: 1).

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capitalizing "Word. " But what was it that became flesh in John 1: 14? Was it a pre-existing
person? Or was it the self - expressive activity of God, the Father, His eternal plan? A plan may
take flesh, for example, when the design in the architect's mind finally takes shape as a house.
What pre-existed the visible bricks and mortar was the intention in the mind of the architect.
Thus, it is quite in order to read John 1: 1 -3a: "In the beginning was the creative purpose of God.
It was with God and was fully expressive of God [just as wisdom was with God before creation].
All things came into being through it. " This rendering suits the Old Testament use of "word"
admirably: "So shall My word be that goes forth out of My mouth; it shall not return to Me
empty, without accomplishing what I desire and without succeeding in the matter for which
I sent it.
2
We are now in a better position to see why Jesus is known as "the word (logos) in the flesh. "
Jesus was the ultimate expression of God. God's plan, wisdom and purpose was the logos, and
when we speak of the Bible, it is called "the Word" because it also is God's expression of Himself.
When we speak of a prophecy, we say, it is "the word of the Lord, " both because it is in the form
of words and because it is God's expression of Himself. Jesus was the logos in the most complete
sense. He was the ultimate expression of God and the essence of His plan and purpose. Thus,
it is quite correct to say that Jesus was the logos, but he was not all of the logos. "Jesus" does not
equal "the logos, " he was part of and the ultimate expression of the logos. If we see Jesus, we see
the Father, but it is also true that if we study the Bible, God's Word, God's expression of Himself
in writing, we will see the Father. More dimly, to be sure, because the written Word is not the
clear and ultimate expression of God that the Living Word is, but it is the logos just the same.
"
The Hebrew Word for "Word
As is true with all genuine study of the Bible, the real question is not what we today think
of these words in John's prologue, but how the readers in the first century would have under-
stood them, especially those who had a Semitic understanding. 3 One scholar made the
following insightful comment about the Hebrew view of "word" not emphasizing the rationale
or the plan of God, but His power to bring His will to pass upon the earth:
2. Anthony F. Buzzard and Charles F. Hunting, The Doctrine of The Trinity: Christianity's Self-inflicted Wound,
(Atlanta Bible College and Restoration Fellowship, June 1994).
3. The Gospel of John is now widely viewed as having been originally written in Aramaic, a Semitic language of even
greater antiquity than Hebrew, and the language that Jesus himself spoke. It was the language of the Galileans, which
included Jesus. One New Testament scholar writes:
We find then, that, broadly speaking, sayings and discourse material prove to be that which displays the
most unambiguous signs of translation out of Aramaic... In the case of John, not all would be willing to find
Aramaic sources even behind the discourses: rather the work of a bilingual author has been postulated, in which
the more natural Aramaic has left its indelible imprint on the more mannered Greek... John's Greek can be
closely paralleled from Epictetus, but in the opinion of most scholars appears to be a koine [Greek] written by one
whose native thought and speech were Aramaic; there may even be passages translated from that language... this
too underlines the description of the Gospel as markedly Semitic.

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All over the ancient Orient, in Assyria and Babylon as well as in Egypt, the word,
especially the Word of God, was not only nor even primarily an expression of thought;
it was a mighty and dynamic force. The Hebrew conception of "the divine word" had
an express dynamic character and possessed a tremendous power. "4
The Hebrew conception of "word" (dabhar) was more dynamic than the Greek concep-
tion, which is characteristic of the language as a whole. One basic meaning of the root of dabhar
is "to be behind" and thus be able to drive forward from behind. This is consistent with the
Semitic idea expressed by Jesus in Luke 6: 45 that "out of the heart the mouth speaks. " In other
words, what is in the heart drives the mind, then the mouth and finally the actions. Thus, the
meaning of dabhar developed along a line defined by three points: "speak, " "word" and finally
"deed. "5 Boman shows that in the Hebrew mind, words were equivalent to deeds, and this fact
is integrated into the very construction of the language itself:
Dabhar means not only "Word, " but also "deed. " Abraham's servant recounted to Isaac
all the 'words' that he had done (Gen. 24: 66) [seen in the literal Hebrew rendering of this
verse]. The word is the highest and noblest function of man and is, for that reason,
identical with his action. "Word" and "deed" are thus not two different meanings of
dabhar, but the "deed" is the consequence of the basic meaning inhering in dabhar.
Our term 'word' is thus a poor translation for the Hebrew dabhar, because for us, 'word'
never includes the deed within it. The commentators understand as a contrived
witticism Goethe's translation of John 1: 1... "In the beginning was the deed. "6 Actually,
Goethe is on solid linguistic ground because he goes back to the Hebrew (Aramaic)
original and translates its deepest meaning; for if dabhar forms a unity of word and
deed, in our thinking the deed is the higher concept in the unity. 7
F. F. Bruce is another scholar who recognizes that the key to understanding the signifi-
cance of the concept of" logos" is by tracing its Old Testament roots:
New Bible Dictionary, "Language of the New Testament, " by J. N. Birdsall (W. B. Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, MI,
1975), p. 715). The significance of this fact is that if John's Gospel is written from a Semitic perspective, then its
references to concepts like logos should be understood at least in part from a Semitic perspective also. This puts the
logos concept squarely in what is called "the wisdom literature" of Judaism, wherein personification of concepts is a
common figure of speech. Spirit and Wisdom and Logos (Reason or Word) are all figuratively said to have facilitated and
participated in the act of creation (cp. Genesis 1: 2; Prov. 8: l, 22ff).
4. Thorlief Boman, Hebrew Thought Compared With Greek (Norton, NY, 1960), p. 58.
5. Boman cites a number of other scholars who see the Semitic view of logos, specifically Lorenz Durr, W. F. Albright,
Herder and Bultmann. Boman, op. cit., p. 61.
6. "Im Anfang war die Tat"—"In the beginning was the word, the action. " J. W von Goethe, Faust, line 1237. Quoted
in Bruce, op. cit., p. 29.
7. Boman, op. cit., p. 66.

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The true background to John's thought and language is found not in Greek philosophy
but in Hebrew revelation. The 'Word of God' in the Old Testament denotes God in
action, especially in creation, revelation and deliverance. 8
The Word of God is repeatedly portrayed in the Old Testament as the agent of God's
creative power, as the following verses show:
Psalm 33: 6
By the word of the Lord the heavens were made.
Psalms 107: 20
He sent forth his word and healed them, and delivered them from destruction.
In Isaiah, the "word" of God is spoken of as an agent independent of, but fully in the service
of, God:
Isaiah 55: 11
My word that goes forth from my mouth shall not return to me empty; but it shall
accomplish that which I purpose, and prosper in the thing for which I sent it.
This is reminiscent of the personification of wisdom in Proverbs, where "she" is portrayed
as God's helper in creation:
Proverbs 8: 22, 23, 30
(22) "The Lord brought me [wisdom] forth as the first of his works, before his deeds of
old;
(23) I was appointed from eternity, from the beginning, before the world began
(30) Then I was his craftsman at his side. I was filled with delight day after day, rejoicing
always in his presence. "
Broughton and Southgate argue that "Word, " "Spirit" and "Wisdom" are all personified
because they are intimately connected to how God has related to the world as its Creator, and
that John's use of logos is consistent with this biblical usage.
We can see how John draws on all the Old Testament teaching... Wisdom is personified
in Proverbs 8 as saying that she was in the beginning, that she was with God, and that
she was His instrument in creation. The Word of God created the heavens (Ps. 33: 6), and
so did the Spirit as described in Job 26: 13 [and Gen. 1: 2]. The language clearly is of figure
and metaphor, of personification, not actual personality. And John is saying exactly the
same of the logos or Word. No Jewish reader brought up on the writings of the prophets
would have deduced from John's introduction that he was alluding to a person who had
existed with God from all time. They would see it instead as a continuation of the
imagery by which the Word or Wisdom or the Spirit — those manifestations of God
8. Bruce, op. cit., John, p. 29.

Chapter 9: "But What About John 1: 1 ?"
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which are inseparable from Him — are described as putting God's intentions into
effect. 9
Barclay, a respected Greek scholar, also recognizes that the logos is intimately connected
to both power and wisdom.
First, God's Word is not only speech; it is power. Second, it is impossible to separate the
ideas of Word and Wisdom; and it was God's Wisdom, which created and permeated
the world, which God made. 10
There is still more evidence for connecting the Semitic understanding of logos with
"power. " The Targums are Aramaic paraphrases of the Hebrew text, and they are well known
for describing the wisdom and action of God as His" Word. " This is especially important to note
because Aramaic was the spoken language of many Jews at the time of Christ, including Christ
himself, and thus the people at the time of Christ would have been very familiar with them.
Remembering that a Targum is usually a paraphrase of what the Hebrew text says, note how the
following examples attribute action to the "word" of the Lord:
Genesis 39: 2
And the word of the Lord was Joseph's helper (Hebrew text: "The Lord was with
Joseph").
Exodus 19: 17
And Moses brought the people "to meet the word of the Lord" (Hebrew text: "And
Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God").
Job 42: 9
And the word of the Lord accepted the face of Job (Hebrew text: "And the Lord accepted
the face of Job").
Psalm 2: 4
And the word of the Lord shall laugh them to scorn (Hebrew text: "The Lord shall laugh
at them"). 11
The contrast between the Hebrew text and the Aramaic paraphrases in the verses above
show that the Jews had no problem personifying the "Word" of God such that it could act on
God's behalf. They also prove that the Jews were familiar with the idea of the "Word" referring
9. Broughton, James H. and Southgate, Peter J., The Trinity: True or False? (The Dawn Book Supply, Nottingham,
1995), p. 247. Broughton and Southgate note that the spirit of God is also personified. We would add the example of
Genesis 1: 2, where the spirit is described as a living thing, again in the context of God's creative action: "Now the earth
was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering [KJV "brooded"]
over the waters. "
10. Barclay, New Testament Words, (Westminster Press, Philadelphia, 1974), p. 186.
11. These examples are from A Commentary on the New Testament from the Talmud and Hebraica by Dr. John
Lightfoot (Hendrickson Pub., Peabody MA, 1989) Vol. 3, p. 238.

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to His wisdom and action. This is especially important to note because these Jews were fiercely
monotheistic, and did not in any way believe in a "Triune God. " They were familiar with the
idioms of their own language, and understood that the wisdom and power of God were being
personified and did not represent actual "persons" in any way.
Thus, "the Word" in John 1: 1 represents an intersection of the two differing Hebrew and
Greek lines of thought. 12 Although there are similarities, the Hebrew and the Greek languages
reflect profound differences in the way the world was perceived. Boman observes:
According to the Israelite conception, everything is in eternal movement: God and
man, nature and the world. The totality of existence, olam, is time, history, life. The
history of heaven and earth (Gen. 2: 4) is of the same form as the history of Adam (5: 1),
Noah (6: 9), and Shem (11: 10); it is referred to in each case by the same word, toledhoth
[generations]. The fact that God created the world and man, once and for all implies
that God makes history and brings forth life and that he continues them until they
achieve their goal... As space was the given thought - form for the Greeks, so for the
Hebrews it was rime... For the Hebrew, the decisive reality of the world of experience
was the word; for the Greek it was the thing. Yet the word had a great significance for
the Greek on account of its meaning; on the whole, however, the meaning of the word
is independent of the word as spoken or dynamic reality. 13
As we read the Gospel of John with a true understanding of the concept of logos, the
wonderful love of our heavenly Father is clearly shown. From the very beginning God had a
purpose, a plan that he brought to pass in the world in a way that reveals his love and wisdom
and clearly expresses Himself. It should be apparent, then, that the use of logos in the prologue
of John reflects the richness of the biblical usage of the term "Word" when it is used in relation
to God and his creative purpose and activity.
While in John 1:1 the logos is God's self expression and His wisdom, plan and power, many
times in the New Testament the logos is the message of the coming, the life, the death, the
resurrection, the ascension, the exaltation, the lordship and the coming again of Jesus the
Messiah. If the logos that was "in the beginning" is understood in these terms, then it becomes
clear that God had this very series of events in mind when He created the cosmos. "The Word
was God" (John 1: 1) in that it is God's self-revelation, the account that God chose to give of
Himself and His will to all nations. 14
12. The NIV Study Bible note on logos (John 1:1) agrees that the "word" represents an intersection of Greek and Hebrew
thought, but their Trinitarian bias is revealed in the fact that they say "Word" was a way that the Hebrews referred to
God, when in fact it consistently refers to the creative activity, purpose and action of God. No Jew would have mistaken
"the Word" of God for God Himself:
Greeks used this term not only of the spoken word but also of the unspoken word, the word still in the
mind — the reason. When they applied it to the universe, they meant the rational principle that governs all things.
Jews, on the other hand, used it as a way of referring to God. Thus, John used a term that was meaningful to both
Jews and Gentiles.
13. Boman, op. cit, pp. 205, 206.
14. A better translation of that phrase ("the Word was God") would be "what God was, the word was" (NEB), or "the
Word was divine, " (Moffatt). See Appendix A (John 1: 1).

Chapter 9: "But What About John 1: 1?"
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The logos or message of God, as it has been revealed in Jesus, includes the following
account of the meaning and purpose of creation: Jesus' coming was prophesied throughout the
Jewish Scriptures; he was finally born a man, and by his free will lived a sinless life; Jesus died
on the Cross to mark the beginning of the end of the present age of sin and death, revealing that
it is only a matter of time until this age and fallen humanity as it now exists come to an end; Jesus
was raised from the dead to reveal that death (the experience that all humans since Adam have
held in common) is contrary to God's will and will ultimately be abolished by resurrection; Jesus
was exalted as Lord to the right hand of God where he presently exercises this authority; after
he comes to gather together the Church, Jesus will come again at the end of this age in judgment,
bringing destruction on the unbelieving world and salvation to the community of faith; he will
rule for one thousand years on this earth; finally he will destroy Satan and all evil, end the
heavens and earth of the present age and begin the new heavens and earth of the age to come,
a "new creation. "
"In the Beginning"
Once we understand that the logos is God's self expression, His wisdom, plan and
purposes, and that it can include His power and His actions, we are in a position to really
understand the full meaning of the phrase, "In the beginning. "
It is often simply assumed that "the beginning" referred to here is the origin of creation,
identical to the creation described in Genesis 1: 2. However, that assumption is usually made
because most Christians believe that in John 1: 1, Jesus is the "word" and Jesus was "in the
beginning" We trust that by now the reader knows that Jesus did not pre-exist his birth and that
he was not with God in Genesis 1: 1. We also trust that the reader understands that the logos of
John 1: 1 is not identical to "Jesus. " What we will present in this section is that "the beginning"
is actually a double entendre: it does refers to the earliest time when God conceived of the plan
of man's salvation, however, like the rest of the Gospel of John, it has proleptic overtones,
speaking of the future as if it were a reality. 15 Thus, "the beginning" referred to in John 1: 1 also
refers to the new creation of which Jesus Christ is the prototype.
The meaning of "beginning" that immediately comes to mind when John 1: 1 is read refers
to the time before history when God first conceived of man, and foresaw the possibility that he
would fall and need a Savior. This is because of the familiar phrase, "In the beginning God" in
Genesis 1: 1. John tells us that "in the beginning" God had wisdom and a plan, and was prepared
to start acting that plan out so that the people he created and invested His love in could be
rescued from death and live with Him eternally. The crowning piece of the plan of God was the
creation of Jesus Christ, who was in a very real sense, "the last word. "
However, there was much groundwork that needed to be done before he who would
15. There are a number of passages in the Bible that have more than one meaning. In his magnificent work titled
Figures of Speech Used in the Bible (Baker Books, Grand Rapids, 1968), E. W. Bullinger covers some of these under the
figure amphibologia, or "Double Meaning. " The fact that God so intricately and carefully interweaves two meanings
into one word and makes them both correct is more convincing proof that the Bible was not authored by men but by
God, and that He has inspired it in such a way that only those who really look into the depth of Scripture will find its great
buried treasure.

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perfectly represent God could come. That groundwork was laid in the time period covered by
the Old Testament, and so in a very real sense, God's plan was being expressed in wisdom and
action all through the Old Testament. The logos was being expressed as Abraham set off to
sacrifice Isaac, as Moses lifted the serpent up on the pole, as Solomon built the Temple, and as
Isaiah penned the verses that stated the Servant of God would be pierced for our transgressions.
It was expressed in pieces and parts in history, as people acted, and in prophecy, as people
spoke. Then one day, probably in 3 BC, the types, foreshadowings and prophecies ceased, and
the logos, the plan, purpose, wisdom and power of God, "became flesh" in the man Jesus Christ.
Thus, the word " beginning" in John 1: 1 does clearly represent the plan and power of God before
our history.
As we have already pointed out, "the beginning" also has overtones of the new creation.
We spent a lot of time in the last chapter developing the idea that John was written from the
perspective that Jesus was already in glory. This is proleptic language, writing about the future
as if it was an accomplished reality. At least two places in the first chapter of John show that it
too was written from the perspective that the life of Christ had already been lived and he was
now in glory with His father. John 1: 14 says, "We have seen his glory, " and John 1: 18 says that
Jesus "is at the Father's side. " We are not the only ones to consider this possibility that the
"beginning" in John 1: 1 can refer to the new creation also. Bruce argues for this interpretation:
It is not by accident that the Gospel begins with the same phrase as the Book of Genesis.
In Genesis 1: 1, 'In the beginning' introduces the story of the old creation; here it
introduces the story of the new creation. In both works of creation the agent is the Word
of God. 16
The Racovian Catechism, one of the great doctrinal works of the Unitarian movement of
the 16th and 17th centuries, states that the word "beginning" in John 1: 1 refers to the beginning
of the new dispensation and thus is similar to Mark 1: 1 which starts, "The beginning of the
Gospel about Jesus Christ. "
In the cited passage (John 1: 1) wherein the Word is said to have been in the beginning,
there is no reference to an antecedent eternity, without commencement; because
mention is made here of a beginning, which is opposed to that eternity. But the word
beginning, used absolutely, is to be understood of the subject matter under consider-
ation. Thus, Daniel 8: 1, "In the third year of the reign of king Belshazzar a vision
appeared to me, even unto me Daniel, after that which appeared unto me at the first. "
John 15: 27, "And ye also shall bear witness because ye have been with me FROM the
beginning. "
John 16: 4, "These things I said not unto you at the beginning because I was
with you. And Acts 11: 15, "And as I began to speak the Holy Spirit fell on them, as on us
at the beginning. "
As then the matter of which John is treating is the Gospel, or the things transacted under
the Gospel, nothing else ought to be understood here besides the beginning of the
Gospel; a matter clearly known to the Christians whom he addressed, namely, the
advent and preaching of John the Baptist, according to the testimony of all the
16. Bruce, op. cit., pp. 28, 29.

Chapter 9: "But What About John 1: 1 ?"
215
evangelists [i. e., Matthew, Mark, Luke and John], each of whom begins his history with
the coming and preaching of the Baptist. Mark indeed (1: 1) expressly states that this
was the beginning of the Gospel. In like manner, John himself employs the word
beginning, placed thus absolutely, in the introduction to his First Epistle, at which
beginning he uses the same term (logos) Word, as if he meant to be his own interpreter
[ "That which is from the beginning... concerning the Word (logos) of life. " 1 John 1: 1]. "
In this context of the new creation, then, "the Word" is the plan or purpose according to
which God is restoring His creation, as we saw in Chapter 3. 18 As such, "the Word" was
conceived in the mind of God even before this present creation, and was the center point
determining the trajectory of "the diameter of the ages. " But "the Word, " or this plan, was not
fully revealed to human understanding until it "became flesh" as the living Word, Jesus Christ,
God's perfect and ultimate communication to mankind. Thus, the purpose of God became the
person of Jesus, whom the Bible calls "the Christ, " the Son of God, the "image" of the invisible
God. As E. W. Bullinger notes on John 1: 1 in the Companion Bible. "As the spoken word reveals
the invisible thought, so the Living Word reveals the invisible God. 19 Paul communicates
essentially this same truth, also in connection with the original creation:
2 Corinthians 4: 6
For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness, " made his light shine in our hearts
to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
In the ninth verse of the prologue of John, Jesus Christ is referred to as "the light that gives
light to every man, " reinforcing the idea that Christ is the true light that has shined in the
spiritual darkness that has engulfed mankind.
So, the careful reader sees the beauty and depth of the phrase "in the beginning" in John
1: 1. We believe the richness of the text is revealed when one sees that it hearkens back to Genesis
and reminds us that God has been expressing Himself via His plan, purpose, wisdom and power
all through the Old Testament. Yet it also includes the concept of the new creation and the
"beginning" of the age when Christ will come and eventually bring everything back into an
orderly subjection to God. This proleptic view of the beginning fits with the proleptic view of
Christ that occurs throughout the entire Gospel of John, which we studied extensively in the last
17. The Racovian Catechism (Christian Educational Services, P. O Box 30336, Indianapolis, IN, 46230, 1994). The
Racovian Catechism
was first published in Polish in 1605, translated into Latin in 1609, into English in 1818, and recently
reprinted by CES.
18. Although many theologians and even some translators treat the "word" of John 1: 1 as if it were "the pre — incarnate
Christ" that is an unwarranted assumption. Note the following from the Ryrie Study Bible.
Word (Gk., logos). Logos means "word, thought, concept and the expressions thereof. " In the Old
Testament, the concept conveyed activity and revelation, and the word or wisdom of God is often personified
(Ps. 33: 6; Prov. 8). In the Targums (Aramaic paraphrases of the Old Testament), it was a designation of God. To
the Greek mind, it expressed the ideas of reason and creative control. Revelation is the keynote idea in the logos
concept. Here it is applied to Jesus, who is all that God is and the expression of Him (1: 1, 14). Note on John 1: 1
in Ryrie Study Bible Expanded Edition (Moody Press, Chicago, 1995 update).
19. Bullinger, op. cit., Companion, p. 1512.

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chapter. We believe that it misses the point to say that the word "beginning" refers only to the
beginning of time, and not at all to the beginning of the new creation" or vice versa. We think
that God worded it the way He did in order to include both perspectives.
"And the word was with [pros] God"
We will now continue with our tour through the prologue of John with the next phrase of
the first verse, "and the word was with [pros] God. " E. W. Bullinger comments on pros when it
is used with the accusative case, as in John 1: 1:
"Implying intimate and closest inter - communion, together with distinct indepen-
dence. " 20
Pros, then, contains both the necessarily corresponding ideas of intimacy and indepen-
dence,
because a separation is required between two things in order for them to come together
in intimacy. If they are already "one in essence, " as traditional Christian teaching asserts, then
the need for, and value of, intimacy is virtually eliminated. The single Greek preposition pros
marvelously encapsulates a precise thumbnail description of the essence of the Gospel of John,
which revolves around the themes of the intimate yet independent and subordinate relation-
ship of the Son to the Father. It is evident that one thing cannot be "with" another thing and be
identical to it at the same time. Even Trinitarian scholars recognize this:
John always perceives a distinction between the divinity of the pre-existent Son and
that of the Father. If he states "the Word is God, " he still speaks of the Word being
directed toward God (pros ton theon). 21
Logically, nothing can be both "identical to" and "with" anything else. Thus, the sense in
which "the word" was "God" is limited by this statement that it was also " with God, " and points
to a meaning closer to "represents, " "manifests, " or "reveals. " Hence, the Word was "divine"
because it represented and manifested God. In the same way, Jesus, "the Word in the flesh, "
represented and manifested God, and, in that limited way, was "divine. "
Although many use the phrase ("the Word was with God") to attempt to establish the
doctrine of the pre-existence of Christ, this idea is based upon a supposed identity between "the
Word" and Jesus Christ. The argument goes: "The Word was with God in the beginning, and
20. E. W. Bullinger, A Critical Lexicon and Concordance to the Greek New Testament (Samuel Bagster and Sons, Ltd.,
London, 1969) p. 888.
21. R. E. Brown, Community, p. 53. In another passage, Brown responds to A. C. Sundberg, who wrote two articles for
Biblical Research Journal, " Isos To Theo: Christology in John 5: 17-30" (15, 1970, p. 19-31) and "Christology in the Fourth
Gospel" (21, 1976, p. 29-37). Brown admits that later theological speculations about the equality of the Son with the
Father go far beyond what can be substantiated by the Gospel of John:
A classic contrast is between [John] 10: 30, "The Father and I are one, " and 14: 28, "The Father is greater
than I" [which] shows that the Christ of John still stands at quite a distance from the Christology of Nicaea where
the Father is not greater than the Son.

Chapter 9: "But What About John 1: 1?"
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Jesus was the Word, therefore Jesus was there in the beginning. " The assumption that "the
word" is the man, Jesus, is reflected in the fact that Bible translators assign the masculine gender
to the pronouns referring to Word. The pronouns related to logos of ten get translated "he" when
in fact the Greek word logos, though masculine in gender, is intrinsically neither male nor
female. 22 In 1525, the pronoun associated with logos was translated "it" and not "he" by William
Tyndale, who provided the translation that formed the basis for the KJV. Although approxi-
mately 90 percent of Tyndale's work was preserved in the KJV, his use of the neuter for logos was
changed to "he. " The Wycliffe translation of 1380, the Cranmer Bible of 1539 and the Geneva
Bible
of 1557 also translated the pronoun associated with logos as "it. "
But even if the pronoun associated with logos could legitimately be translated "he, " this
could be readily explained by the use of personification, and does not necessitate a literal person
called "the logos. " As we have already seen, the use of personification of logos puts the logos
concept squarely in what is called the wisdom literature of Judaism, wherein personification of
concepts is a common figure. Dunn comments on the use of personification in the prologue of
John, wherein the usage of logos moves from "impersonal personification to actual person, "
namely Jesus:
We are dealing with personifications rather than persons, personified actions of God
rather than an individual divine being as such. The point is obscured by the fact that
we have to translate the masculine logos as 'he" throughout the poem. But if we
translated logos as "God's utterance" [or "it"] instead, it would become clearer that the
poem did not necessarily intend the logos in v. 1-13 to be thought of as a personal divine
being. "23
The "word" was with God in the same sense that "wisdom" was with God. Proverbs 8: 29, 30
says, "When He [God] marked out the foundations of the earth, I [wisdom] was the craftsman
at His side. " No one we know of believes that there was a being called "Wisdom" who helped
God make the heavens and the earth. Everyone knows that wisdom is personified to make the
record interesting and easy to understand. So too, in John 1: 1 when Scripture says that the logos
was "with God, " it is a personification. God had His plan and power, and "when the time had
fully come" (Gal. 4: 4), Jesus was conceived in the womb of Mary. This means that the person
22. The Greek and Hebrew languages assign genders to nouns, just as do Spanish, French, German and many other
languages do. Thus, every noun in Greek and Hebrew is assigned a gender. In Greek, there are masculine, feminine and
neuter nouns, while in Hebrew there are only masculine and feminine. The origin of the gender is ancient, and does
not seem to follow a specific pattern. In Hebrew, for example, altar (mizbeach) is masculine, while the menorah is
feminine. An arrow (chets) and an ax (qardom) are masculine, while a sword (chereb) is feminine. A beetle (chargol) is
masculine, while a bee (deborah) is feminine. In Greek, for example, logos is masculine, while rhema and euanggelion
(gospel, good news) are neuter and biblos (book, scroll; from which we get "Bible") and didache (doctrine or teaching)
is feminine. "Spirit" (pneuma) is neuter, while "comforter" (parakletos) is masculine. A chain (halusis) is feminine, a
rope (schoinion) is neuter, while a leather strap (imas) and a nail (helos) are masculine. When these words are translated
into English, we use "it" because they are things. If someone asks, "Where is the chain, " we say "It is in the garage, " not
"She is in the garage. " Thus, the point should be made that just because logos is masculine does not mean that the
English pronoun "he" is the proper pronoun to use when associated with it. We assert that "it" is the proper pronoun
to use in verses like John 1: 2, 3, etc.

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called "Jesus" did not yet exist, as is the case with all human persons, until he was conceived in
his mother's womb. Prior to his conception, his existence was not personal, but prophetic, as
foretold in the Old Testament Scriptures (the "Word"). Before Jesus' conception in the womb
of Mary, the logos was to Jesus what promise is to fulfillment. When "the logos became flesh, "
the promise was fulfilled in the form of a person. While this understanding will be objection-
able, perhaps anathema, to Trinitarian believers, it must be admitted that it is not a denial of
Jesus' divine Sonship or Messiahship but, rather, a compelling alternative interpretation of
relevant scriptural texts.
All the texts in which Jesus spoke of his heavenly existence with the Father before his
coming (which, interestingly, are all found in John's Gospel) are best understood in a prophetic
light. 24 In other words, Jesus did not speak from experience about his "pre-existence" with the
Father, but, rather, he spoke out of his faith in the logos, which he understood from the
testimony of the prophets of Israel. Jesus was so sure of the future fulfillment of God's purpose
and promises regarding his resurrection from the dead and his exaltation to God's right hand
that he spoke of them as having already taken place. By speaking of God's purpose and
promises as if they had already been fulfilled (i. e., proleptically), and then carrying them out by
obedience to God's Word, Jesus distinguished himself as "the author and perfecter of our faith"
(Heb. 12: 2), the one whose faith is the model for all believers to follow.
The logos, then, as it relates to Jesus Christ, has existed in three stages: first as God's
purpose "in the beginning, " then as God's promises to mankind, and finally as God's person,
Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God.
"And the Word was God, " i. e.,
"If you've seen me, you've seen the Father. "
The words "and the Word was God" might seem to supply the premises for a logical
syllogism with a necessary conclusion:
Jesus is the Word [logos].
The Word was God.
Therefore, Jesus is God.
According to standard Christian teaching, this is apparently an open-and-shut case.
However, most scholars recognize that the issue is not as cut-and-dried as most Christians
think. This is reflected in the various ways the verse is translated. The New English Bible
superbly translates the verse as, "and what God was, the word was. " We also believe that James
Moffatt has captured the sense better than most translations when he renders the phrase, "the
logos was divine. " The whole of Scripture, the semantic range of the Greek word for "God, "
theos, and the absence of the definite article before theos must each be considered. We will
quote two scholars who, after analyzing the precision of the Greek words employed in John 1: 1,
24. See Appendix A (John 3: 13).

Chapter 9: "But What About John 1: 1 ?"
219
recognize the limitations of concluding from John's prologue that the terms "Jesus" and "God"
are in any way identical, equivalent, synonymous or interchangeable:
Because logos has the article [ho] preceding it, it is marked out as the subject. The fact
that theos is the first word after the conjunction kai ("and") shows that the main
emphasis of the clause lies on it. Had the article preceded theos as well as logos, the
meaning would have been that the Word was completely identical with God, which is
impossible if the Word was also "with God. " What is meant is that the Word shared the
nature and being of God, or, to use a piece of modern jargon, was an extension of the
personality of God. The NEB paraphrase, "what God was, the Word was, " brings out the
meaning of the clause as successfully as a paraphrase can. John intends that the whole
of his gospel shall be read in the light of this verse. The deeds and words of Jesus are the
deeds and words of God [i. e., "If you have seen me you have seen the Father"]; if this be
not true, the book [i. e., me Gospel of John] is blasphemous. 25
What it does say is defined as succinctly and accurately as it can be in the opening verse
of St. John's Gospel. But we have to be equally careful about the translation. The Greek
runs: kai theos en ho logos. The so-called Authorized Version has: "And the Word was
God. " This would indeed suggest the view that "Jesus" and 'God' were identical and
interchangeable. But in Greek this would most naturally be represented by" God" with
the article, not theos but ho theos. But, equally, St John is not saying that Jesus is a
"divine" man, in the sense with which the ancient world was familiar [the product of
God and man] or in the sense in which the Liberals spoke of him [as a great man,
teacher, prophet, etc. ]. That would be theios. The Greek expression steers carefully
between the two. It is impossible to represent it in a single English word, but the New
English Bible,
I believe, gets the sense pretty exactly with its rendering, "And what God
was, the Word was. "
In other words, if one looked at Jesus, one saw God — for "he who has seen me, has seen
the Father (John 14: 9). " He was the complete expression, the Word, of God. Through
him, as through no one else, God spoke and God acted: when one met him, one was
met — and saved and judged — by God. And it was to this conviction that the Apostles
bore their witness. In this man — in his life, death and resurrection — they had experi-
enced God at work; and in the language of their day they confessed, like the centurion
at the Cross, "Truly this man was the Son of God" (Mark 15: 39). Here was more than just
a man: here was a window into God at work. For "God was in Christ reconciling the
world to himself (2 Cor. 5: 19). 26
Dunn, another modern scholar, also sees the prologue and its use of logos as communi-
cating the same truth — that the Word is the image of God or that which can be known of Him.
He quotes Philo, a first-century Alexandrian Jew familiar with the sense of logos as debated and
used in apostolic times:
To use Philo's favorite sun - and - light symbolism, the logos is to God as the corona is to
25. Bruce, op. cit., p. 313.
26. Robinson, Honest to God (Westminster Press, Philadelphia, 1963), pp. 70, 71.

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One God & One Lord
the sun, the sun's halo which man can look upon when he cannot look directly on the
sun itself. That is not to say that the logos is God as such, any more than the corona is
the sun as such, but the logos is that alone which may be seen of God.
God is unknowable by man, except in a small degree by the creation, but the logos
expresses God's ideas to man. There is no idea of personality attached to the logos. The
logos seems to be nothing more for Philo than God himself in his approach to man, God
himself insofar as he may be known by man. 27
Thus, even Trinitarian scholars acknowledge that to say "the word was God" is not
synonymous with saying "Jesus is God. " Indeed, the phrase, "what God was, the Word was"
communicates in a nutshell what is about to be developed in the body of the Gospel of John—
that Jesus perfectly represents and reflects the Father's glory. The phrase, like the Gospel itself,
portrays him in his post-resurrection glorification in which he shines as the "image of God" (See
Chapter 2).
C. H. Dodd is another scholar who sees in the logos the meeting of the divine, God's
communication of Himself, with the human, the man in whom God most clearly revealed
Himself. The logos is the "final concentration of the whole creative and revealing thought of
God" in "an individual who is what humanity was designed to be in the divine purpose. "28 In
other words, Jesus Christ, the living Word of God, is what Man was intended to be, the perfect
representative of God.
"Through [dia] him all things were made"
The pronoun "him" in John 1: 3 ("through him all things were made), can legitimately be
translated as "it. " It does not have to be translated as "him, " and it does not have to refer to a
"person" in any way. A primary reason why people get the idea that "the Word" is a person is
that the pronoun "he" is used with it. The Greek text does, of course, have the masculine
pronoun, because as we have already pointed out, the Greek language assigns a gender to all
nouns, and the gender of the pronoun must agree with the gender of the noun. Because the
noun controlling the pronouns in verse three is logos, the pronouns in Greek are all masculine,
but they would only be translated into English as "he" if the noun were speaking of á person, not
a thing. If the logos is not a literal person, then the pronoun should be "it. "
Once we clearly understand that the gender of a pronoun is determined by the gender of
the noun, we can see why one cannot build a doctrine on the gender of a noun and its agreeing
pronoun. No student of the Bible should take the position that "the Word" is somehow a
masculine person based on its pronoun any more than he would take the position that a book
was a feminine person or a desk was a masculine person because that is the gender assigned to
those nouns in the French language. Indeed, if one tried to build a theology based on the gender
of the noun in the language, great confusion would result. In Hebrew, "spirit" is feminine and
27.  Dunn., op. cit., pp. 226-227.
28.  C. H. Dodd, The Interpretation of the Fourth Gospel, (Cambridge, 1953), p. 282.

Chapter 9: "But What About John 1: 1?"
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must have feminine pronouns, while in Greek, "spirit" is neuter and takes neuter pronouns.
Thus, a person trying to build a theology on the basis of the gender of the noun and pronoun
would find himself in an interesting situation trying to explain how it could be that "the spirit"
of God somehow changed genders as the New Testament was written.
Because the translators of the Bible have almost always been Trinitarians, and because
"the Word" has almost always been associated with Christ, the pronouns referring to the logos
in verse three have almost always been translated as "him. " However, because the logos is the
plan, purpose, wisdom and power of God, then the Greek pronoun should be translated into
English as "it. " To demand that "the Word" is a masculine person and therefore a third part of
a three-part Godhead because the pronouns used when referring to it are masculine is poor
scholarship.
Viewed in light of the above translation, the opening of the Gospel of John reveals
wonderful truth, and is also a powerful polemic against the primary heresies of the day. We
paraphrase:
In the beginning there was God, who had a plan, purpose, wisdom and power (i. e., the
logos) which was, by its very nature and origin, divine. It was through and on account
of this reason, plan, purpose and power that everything was made. Nothing was made
outside its scope. Later, this plan became flesh in the person of Jesus Christ and
tabernacled among us.
Understanding the opening of John this way fits with the whole of Scripture. Just as the
word "beginning" in John 1: 1 was a double entendre and referred to the beginning before history
and the beginning of the new creation, John 1: 3 continues that mode. John 1: 3 also contains
overtones of Christ's control over the new creation. God never created anything outside the
confines of His wisdom, plan and power, so it surely is true that "without it (the logos) nothing
was made that has been made. " However, it is also true that John 1: 3 points toward the creation
of the new order by Jesus Christ. Colossians refers to this when it says, "all things were created
by him and for him" (Col. 1: 16). 29 Also, Ephesians 1: 15 says that Christ created a "new man" out
of Jew and Gentile.
The reader will recall that in Chapter 3 we saw that the Greek preposition dia is distinctly
associated with Jesus Christ, and particularly his relationship to God's creation—indicating
that he is the one through whom, better understood as on whose behalf, God acted. Thus, he is
spoken of as the agent, or the means or the purpose of the ages and of creation itself. That this
word dia occurs in the prologue of John used in this sense ties this passage to the other passages
in the New Testament that describe the post-resurrection relationship between Christ and God,
particularly 1 Corinthians 8: 6 and Hebrews 1: 2 and 3. Jesus Christ is once again being portrayed
as "the purpose of the ages, " the one through whom we have life.
To assume that Christ is the Creator of the Genesis 1 creation is to introduce confusion into
what is a clear New Testament theme: God is the creator of the heavens and the earth (as
Scripture states);
29. See Appendix A (Col. 1: 15-20).

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One God & One Lord
Ephesians 3: 9
and to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery, which for ages past
was kept hidden in God, who created all things. 30
"In him was life and that life was the light of men"
John 1: 4 continues the powerful introduction to the Gospel of John, and also continues
with phrases that refer to both God and the original creation, and Christ and the new creation.
There is no question that in God was life for mankind. The Father is life, and defined life. Christ
said, "the Father has life in Himself (John 5: 26). This is so well known that there is no need to
belabor the point. Once Christ was resurrected, however, God gave Christ the job of giving life.
Christ even said, " He has granted the Son to have life in himself (John 5: 26), and because of that,
one day the dead will hear Christ's voice and live (John 5: 25).
Anyone who has a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ will testify that there
is more than just eternal life in the Son, and the same was true for the believers of the Old
Testament. In both ancient times and in the new creation since the Age of Grace started, a
relationship with God, or with God and Christ meant life and vitality on a day-by-day basis.
Psalm 36: 9 mentions both life and light, just as John 1: 4 does:
Psalm 36: 9
For with you [God) is the fountain of life; in your light we see light.
Today, in the Age of Grace, Christ is the one who gives life and is our life, even as Colossians
says: When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory (Col. 3: 4).
"And the light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness did not overcome it
"
John 1: 5 can clearly be seen to make a reference to both the original creation and the new
creation that is headed up by Jesus Christ. There is no question that when one reads, "and the
light shines out of darkness" that his mind is drawn back to the primal darkness of Genesis 1 and
the time that God spoke the words, "Let there be light!" Furthermore, the light of God shown
throughout the Old Testament. It is well known that the word "light" refers not just to physical
light, but to knowledge and truth as well. And, all through the Old Testament, try as he might
to obscure, blot out or discolor the light, the Serpent did not succeed. The darkness just did not
overcome the light.
30. The NIV correctly omits the words "by Jesus Christ" after the words [God] who created all things. These words were
added to the text in an apparent attempt by an orthodox scribe to insert Christ artificially into the actual act of creation.
Christ was not in on the action, but he was the reason for it.

Chapters "But What About John 1: 1?"
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John 1: 5 not only echoes the language of Genesis 1 but can refer to the new creation as well.
It is well known that Christ is referred to as the light. For example, when Christ preached in the
area of the Galilee, Matthew records:
Matthew 4: 16
The people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the
shadow of death a light has dawned.
John records Jesus saying, "I am the light of the world" (John 8: 12). Thus, anyone who
studies the life of Christ and the New Testament can see clearly that John 1: 5 can also refer to
Jesus Christ and the light that he was, and that shown forth from him. F. F. Bruce comments on
John 1: 5:
In the first creation, "darkness was upon the face of the deep" (Gen. 1: 2) until God called
light into being, so the new creation (in which the Word is God's agent as effectively as
in the earlier one) involves the banishing of spiritual darkness by the light which shines
in the Word. Apart from the light (as is emphasized repeatedly in the body of the Gospel)
the world of mankind is shrouded in darkness... Light and darkness are to be under-
stood ethically rather than metaphysically; "light" is a synonym of goodness and truth,
while "darkness" is a synonym of evil and falsehood. 31
This relationship between light and darkness in an ethical context is clearly seen else-
where in the New Testament, notably in the following passage from Paul's epistle to the
Ephesians. The light of Christ shines in the hearts of believers and shows the way to righteous
conduct:
Ephesians 5: 8-15
(8) For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of
light
(9) (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth)
(10) and find out what pleases the Lord.
(11) Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.
(12) for it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret.
(13) But everything exposed by the light becomes visible,
(14) for it is light that makes everything visible. This is why it is said: "Wake up Ï sleeper,
rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you. "
(15) Be very careful, then, how you live.
Christ is the means by which God is making His light shine and establishing a new and
righteous creation, because the one spoken of in Genesis 1 has been stained by sin. The process
31. Bruce, op. cit., p. 34.

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One God & One Lord
will be completed only when Christ has finished his work of subduing all God's enemies, as
described in 1 Corinthians 15: 24-28. So again in John 1: 5 we see the intricate pattern that God
is weaving, using words and phrases which powerfully remind us of His great work at the
beginning of time and in the Old Testament, but also pointing at the great work of His Son and
the time of the new creation.
"The word became flesh and dwelt
among us, full of grace and truth"
Of all the Gospel writers, John is most concerned with emphasizing that Jesus came in the
flesh. This is an important theme in the Johannine epistles as well (1 John 4: 2; 2 John 7). This
will be explained later in this chapter in the discussion of John's relationship to the Gnostics,
who took a dim view of "flesh. "
It is at this point in the prologue, in John 1: 14, that "the Word of God" becomes associated
with a particular historical person, Jesus of Nazareth. Up until this verse, the prologue has been
dealing with impersonal personification of a concept called the logos, but this verse is the
transition from personification to actual person. 32 Dunn recognizes that to this point in the
prologue there is nothing that would have particularly arrested the attention of a Hellenistic
Jew. 33
Again we will quote J. A. T. Robinson, who captures our sentiments about this verse:
The Word, which was theos, God in his self-revelation and expression, sarx egeneto
[became flesh], was embodied totally in and as a human being, became a person, was
personalized, not just personified. But that the logos came into existence or expres-
sion as a person does not mean that it was a person before.
In terms of the later
distinction, it was not that the logos was hypostatic [i. e., a person] and then assumed an
impersonal human nature, but that the logos was anhypostatic until the Word of God
finally came to self-expression not merely in nature and in a people but in an individual
historical person, and thus became hypostatic... Jesus is genuinely and utterly a man
who so competely incarnates [in a figurative sense] God that the one is the human face
of the other. 34
Another scholar weighs in on this point:
For John, Jesus is really man, but in a unique, all surpassing relationship with God.
Anyone who knows him knows the Father. 35
32. Robinson, op. cit., Priority, p. 379, 80.
33. Dunn, op. cit., Christology, ñ. 241. Dunn writes (emphasis his): "... we must recognize that prior to v. 14 nothing has
been said which would be strange to a Hellenistic Jew
familiar with the Wisdom tradition or the sort of mystical
philosophizing that we find in Philo. "
34. Robinson, op. cit, Priority, p. 380, 381.
35. E. Schillebeeckx, Christ: the Christian Experience in the Modern World (Å. T., London, 1980), p. 431.

Chapter 9: "But What About John 1: 1?"
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Concerning the personality of the logos, another scholar, T. W. Manson, writes:
I very much doubt whether he [John] thought of the logos as a personality. The only
personality on the scene is "Jesus the son of Joseph from Nazareth. " That personality
embodies the logos so completely that Jesus becomes a complete revelation of God. But
in what sense are we using the word "embodies"? I think in the old prophetic sense, but
with the limitations that were attached to the prophets removed. The word that Isaiah
speaks is the word of the Lord, but it is also Isaiah's—it has become part of him. Not
every word of Isaiah is a word of the Lord. For John, every word of Jesus is a word of the
Lord. 36
To us, it makes perfect sense that Jesus so internalized the standard of "It is written" that
he was its very embodiment. This speaks highly of his love for the Word of God and his
dependence upon it. In everything he said and did, he was looking to obey, properly explain or
fulfill the Word of God, his Father. It was in this sense that it could be said of him that he was
"the logos made flesh, " not that he was such by his mere birth. He had to learn to obey God and
His Word (Heb. 5: 8), which means that he first had to learn it inside and out.
The logos was not "made flesh" through a metaphysical or mystical process by which a
pre-existent spirit being transmigrated his eternal consciousness into a temporal human
zygote at the moment of conception. The logos was "made flesh" through a process that began
when God fulfilled His Word to His people by creating the long awaited Seed of Promise, the
seed of the woman, the one who would be just like his dad, a "the chip off the old Rock. " This
man, by internalizing the standard of the Word of God that was to guide his life, walked in perfect
obedience "in the flesh. "
In Chapter 18, we will develop in greater detail the historical development of the doctrine
of the incarnation and its mythological overtones.
"The glory of the only begotten one"
This term "only begotten" in the phrase "only begotten Son" in John 1: 18 is traditionally
understood to refer to his virgin birth, when he was first "begotten. "37 However, it is widely
recognized in scholarly circles that "only begotten" is a mistranslation of the Greek word
36. T. W. Manson, On Paul and John, ed. M. Black (SBT 38, London and Naperville, 1963), p. 156.
37 Ehrman argues against the translation of 1: 18 as monogenes theos, "only begotten God, " although it is found in the
vast
majority of Alexandrian texts:
Outside of the New Testament, the term simply means "one of a kind" or unique" and does so with
reference to any range of animate or inanimate objects... There seems little reason any longer to dispute the
reading found in virtually every witness outside the Alexandrian tradition. The prologue ends with the statement
that "the unique Son who is in the bosom of the Father, that one has made him known" [Op. cit., p. 81).

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One God & One Lord
monogenes. 36 "Unique" is a profoundly appropriate term to characterize Jesus Christ, the Son
of God. His uniqueness begins with the voluminous prophetic utterances about his coming. No
other human being has ever been so specifically described and anticipated. Then his virgin
birth is indeed another aspect of his uniqueness. Adam was created directly by God, not
through the agency of a woman. Others received a child by God's promise, but through the
normal process of sexual intercourse. No other human being, even Adam, was ever directly
conceived by God Himself, yet carried in a woman's body.
No man ever walked the earth with such commanding presence and authority, nor did as
many miracles. No man walked in such moral perfection nor was treated so unjustly. No man
showed so much compassion for his fellow man, nor risked his own life and reputation more for
the sake of helping those who were downcast and troubled. No man ever represented God so
perfectly, and yet died in a manner that seemed to say that he had been cursed of God. Men have
been miraculously raised from the dead, but only one has died and been raised with an entirely
new and immortal body. And, finally, no man has ever sat where he sits, presiding over the
angels at the right hand of God Himself.
Jesus Christ was the only begotten Son of God, and, as we have already seen, that sonship
was clearly declared when he "born" from the dead. That monogenes also reflects the post-
resurrection glory of Jesus Christ is evident from the qualifying phrase of John 1: 18—"who is at
the Father's side. " In other words, Jesus is pictured as being at the Father's side, providing a
capstone to the prologue and sealing it with the stamp of his exalted glory. This leads us to the
conclusion that the prologue of John from the very first verse has overtones of Christ's present
state of being at the right hand of God. Thus, the prologue of John fits with the remainder of the
New Testament, including those passages that describe Christ in his post-resurrection glory.
To show the relationship of the language of John, and especially the prologue, to other
passages in the New Testament that define the post-resurrection identity of Jesus Christ, we
have created the following table. In it we have attempted to correlate the appropriate phrases
that address a similar idea. Though it may be incomplete, the general affinity of the themes of
these passages can be easily seen, and helps us to harmonize some of the language which, taken
by itself, might lead to the erroneous conclusion that Jesus Christ is God, an eternal being,
"essential deity, " etc. as Trinitarians propose.
38. Robinson explains the origin of the translation:
Under the influence of the Arian controversy, Jerome [the medieval scholar responsible for the Latin
translation of the Bible that became the standard text of Roman Catholicism] translated monogenes regarding
Jesus as unigenitus (John 1: 14, 18; 3: 16, 18; 1 John 4: 9; of all others, except Isaac in Heb. 11: 17). He preserves the
unicus of the old Latin [which Luke perpetuated in the AV as "only begotten" yet the word does not derive from
gennao [birth], but genos [genus, kind]; it means 'one of a kind. "
Robinson, op. cit., Priority, p. 397, n. 156.

Chapter 9: "But What About John 1: 1?"
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John 1: 1 Hebrews 1: 3 1 Corinthians 8: 6 Eph. 1: 15ff Col. 1: 12ff
From (para) the
Father, the one true
God (17: 3)
God
There is one God —
out of (ek) whom are
all things and we unto
(eis) Him (God)
I keep asking the God
of our Lord Jesus
Christ (1: 15)
Giving thanks unto the
Father (v. 12); it
pleased the Father
(v. 19)
To those who believed
in his name he gave
the right to become
children of God
God appointed him
heir of all things, and
we are joint heirs with
him (Rom. 8: 17)
The riches of his
glorious inheritance in
the saints
Made us adequate to
share in the
inheritance, brought us
into the kingdom of His
Son
The Word was God
("what God was, the
word was" NEB)
The radiance of God's
glory; the exact repre-
sentation of his being
One Lord
The image of the
invisible God
The unique Son
(monogenes)
This day I have
begotten (gennao)
thee (by resurrection,
verse 5)
The firstborn of the
(new) creation; the
firstborn from the dead
God made the ages
through (dia w/gen)
him
We through (dia w/
gen) him and unto
(eis) whom are all
things
By(enw/dative) him
all things were created
by (dia) him and for
(e/s=unto) him
He who comes after
me has surpassed me
because he was
before me
He became so much
superior to the angels
Seated him at his own
right hand in the
heavenly realms far
above all
He is before all things;
in all things he has
preeminence
Far above all rule
(arches)
authority (exousia)
power (dunameos)
dominion (kurotetos)
Rulers (arrchai)
authority (exousias)
thrones (thronoi)
dominions (kuriotetes)
Sustaining all things
by his powerful word
He fills everything in
every way
In him all things hold
together
The Word was with
(pros) God
Thy throne, 0 God, is
forever
In him all fullness
dwells

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Prolepsis and Logos
If Jesus is not identical to the logos, what exactly is the relationship between them? The
relationship of Jesus to the logos of God can best be described as intimate and prophetic, two
important characteristics of the entire Gospel of John. Jesus was conceived in the mind of God
"in the beginning, " and was in view when God created the present heavens and earth. 39 God
knew His plan and throughout the Old Testament communicated it through a body of pro-
phetic language that pointed toward Christ's coming. Jesus refers to this plan in his prayer on
the eve of his death:
John 17: 24
Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory,
the glory you have given me because you loved me before [ pro] the creation of the world.
Peter communicates this same truth in his first epistle:
1 Peter 1: 20
For he was foreknown before [pro] the foundation of the world, but has appeared in
these last times for the sake of you.
John and the Gnostics
(Not a First-Century Rock Band)
We will be handling the subject of Gnosticism in greater depth in Chapter 17 on the
beginnings of heresy, but the Gnostics deserve some mention with respect to the prologue of
the Gospel of John. As we have noted, the Gnostics seized upon the Gospel of John and
borrowed much of its language and many of its themes for their diverse speculations. 40 This fact
39. Scripture delineates between the creation and the foundation of the creation. This is reflected in the usage of two
different Greek preposition used in relationship to the words katabole, meaning foundation, and kosmos, meaning
"world. " Some things were prepared in secret from (apo) the foundation of the world, and some things before (pro) the
foundation of the world. This is a matter for further study, but it is interesting that Ephesians 1: 4 says that we in the
Church were chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world. The Church was a part of "the unsearchable riches
of Christ" (Eph. 3: 8), which was a part of "the secret" which "for ages past was kept hidden in God" (v. 9).
Arndt and Gingrich, Lexicon, op. cit., p. 409.
40. F. F. Bruce comments on the early Gnostic use of the Gospel of John:
In the earlier part of the second century the Fourth Gospel was recognized and quoted by Gnostic writers at least
as much as by those whose teaching came to be acknowledged as more in line with the apostolic tradition. There are
affinities to its thought and language in the letters of Ignatius, bishop of Antioch (c. AD 110) and in the collection of
hymns called the Odes of Solomon (from about the same period, which have a Gnostic flavor... Hippolytus states that

Chapter 9: "But What About John 1: 1?"
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led many Christians of the time to doubt the credibility of the Fourth Gospel. 41 By the end of the
second century, the Gospel of John was accepted as one of the four canonical Gospels. Irenaeus
was the first of the "Church fathers" to fully accept it and begin to comment on it.
But we ought to ask why the Gnostics gravitated to this Gospel and if the Gospel of John
addresses Gnostic teaching in any way. John is clearly not a polemical book specifically
addressing competing Gnostic teaching, but we believe that part of its inspired genius is the way
it subtly corrects the incipient Gnosticism of its day. 42 Though primarily addressed to those
who would believe, it was also written to maintain belief in the midst of a world full of idolatrous
and anti-biblical philosophical systems. One scholar, representing the opinion of many, has
noted, upon studying the relationship of John to Gnosticism: "At every crucial point the Gospel
is in tension with the Gnostic point of view, indeed repudiates it. "43 Thus, the Gospel of John
is like all Scripture—profitable for doctrine, reproof and correction (2 Tim. 3: 16). The essence
of the teaching of the Gospel of John that corrects Gnostic error is contained in the prologue. But
before we discuss this, we will first point out earlier scriptural evidence of incipient Gnosticism
and why it is very likely that there was a well-established Gnostic version of Christianity that had
developed by the time John wrote his Gospel.
Because Paul was fighting doctrinal battles with the proto-Gnostics at various points in his
epistles, we know that the germs of Gnostic thought had already infected the Christian Church
the Gnostic Basilides (c. AD 130) quoted John 1: 9 (about the true light coming into the world) as a gloss on the creative
word' Let there be light' (Gen. 1: 3); if he is right, then that is the earliest known explicit quotation from the Gospel of John.
The Gospel of Truth (c. AD 140), a Gnostic work coming either from Valentinus or from one of his disciples,
has several echoes of [John], if not direct quotations... Later, he says, 'those who were material were strangers and
did not see his form or recognize him. For he came forth in flesh (sarx) of such a kind that nothing could block
his progress (31: 1-7). Here "flesh" is conceded, but not in the sense of ordinary flesh: this flesh is not material
or subject to physical limitations, but is rather as free from them as was Jesus' resurrection body, to which closed
doors presented no barrier (John 20: 19).
A disciple of Valentinus named Heraclean, who died c. AD 180, is the first known commentator on the
fourth Gospel (F. F. Bruce, op. cit., pp. 7, 8).
41. This illustrates the wisdom of avoiding the trap of "guilt by association. " Because the Gnostics found John's Gospel
to their liking, this fact does not bear on the truth or falsehood of the Gospel itself. In fact, this reasoning is irrational
to the core, and is a variation of the logical fallacy called Ad Hominem (to the man). Jesus was accused by the Pharisees
of being a fraud because they did not like the people who he associated with. The canonicity of John is determined by
careful analysis and comparison with the entire Bible to see if it harmonizes. On this basis, John passes with flying
colors. See Appendix Ê for more about logical fallacies.
42. Robinson observes that John and Paul have distinct approaches to combat Gnostic thinking. This is logical because
of the developing Gnostic beliefs of the latter half of the first century. Paul employed many of their own terms and used
them against the Gnostic teachers, especially in 1 Corinthians and Colossians. In these epistles, he emphasized that
Christianity is the true gnosis and Christ is the true wisdom. Throughout his epistles he uses many of the same Greek
words the Gnostics used: pistis (faith), sophia (wisdom), gnosis (knowledge), pneumatikos (spiritual matters), musterion
(secret), apokalupsis (appearing), pleroma (fullness) and eikon (image). John's Gospel, however is conspicuous in the
way it avoids these terms, even pistis (faith). It uses pleroma only once, and in a different sense than the Gnostics used
it. Robinson opines: " [John] seems to wish to give his opponents no handle by using the nouns [he used the verb forms
instead]. One scholar suggests that in light of the conspicuous absence of all key Gnostic terms, John must have
employed the term logos in the belief that it was not tainted by Gnostic overtones. Robinson, op. cit. pp. 105ff.
43. S. C. Neill, The Interpretation of the New Testament, 1861-1961 (Oxford Press, NY, 1964), p. 210.

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well before John wrote his Gospel. In particular, the epistles to the Corinthians, Colossians,
Timothy and Titus address teachings of Paul's time that would later develop into full-blown
Gnostic religious systems. 2 Peter also addresses some issues. For instance, Paul spoke of the
"super apostles" in Corinth who thought that they had been initiated into a deeper awareness
of wisdom and truth than he had, and were therefore more qualified to lead others into a truly
spiritual life (2 Cor. 11: 5). Paul responded that he was not a trained speaker like those men were,
but had the marks of a true apostle nevertheless (1 Cor. 12: 6). Earlier, in 1 Corinthians 2: 4, Paul
had compared his approach with those who use "wise and persuasive words, " as opposed to the
demonstration of the spirit.
What would later become fully developed Gnosticism had its roots in vain speculation that
was divorced from both the accuracy of Scripture and the reality of the power of God activated
by faith. What would mark the Gnostic system of thought more than anything was their
dualistic view of the world: spirit is entirely good and matter is entirely evil. "Spirituality, "
therefore, involved becoming as far removed from the shackles of matter as possible. Because
they held the material world to be sinful and debased, they believed that the true God could have
had nothing whatever to do with its creation. Therefore they invented various intermediary
deities called "demiurges, " who were actually responsible for the creation of this world, but
these were actually evil beings who were responsible for the corruption, degradation and deceit
of the material world. Thus, for John to pose the logos as intermediary to both God and creation
would have corrected this growing Gnostic error. It also provided a way of looking at the
relationship between God and creation that appealed to others beside Gnostics who had a
problem with too closely associating a transcendent God with an imperfect creation. Unfortu-
nately, some people took that idea too far and tried to show that God did not really wish to come
into contact with His creation:
The logos theory was all too warmly welcomed by thinkers strongly imbued with Greek
metaphysics, because the logos performed the cosmological function of relieving the
Father, the supreme God, of the painful necessity of coming in close contact with the
world. 44
For the logos, an immaterial reality, to become "flesh" integrates and connects the
"spiritual" realm with the "physical" realm in a way that corrects the error of the Gnostic
teaching and the tendencies of Greek philosophy. It even explains the quasi-mystical conno-
tation of the phrase "the logos became flesh, " because John employs a poetic image to show the
intimacy of God with His creation, and the extent of His involvement with it. We know from
Scripture that He personally conceived Jesus in the womb of Mary. That act of creation marked
the beginning of putting his Plan for the Man into action. When modern theologians and Bible
teachers make the logos refer to a pre — incarnate Jesus, and then take the phrase "the logos
became flesh" to mean that God became a man, they miss the precise point it is making. John
is not propounding a mystical process by which a pre-existent spirit being became clothed in
flesh. Rather, it is asserting that the prophetic plan and purpose of God has become a irue man,
"in the flesh, " and that as the "purpose of the ages, " even creation itself is organized around him.
44. Hanson, op. cit., Prophetic, p. 369.

Chapter 9: "But What About John 1: 1?"
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In John 6: 54, Jesus challenges and offends many of his followers by way of figuratively
suggesting that they eat his flesh and drink his blood. This apparent exhortation to cannibalism
would have horrified the pro to-Gnostic readers who did not even want to believe that Jesus had
"come in the flesh" at all, much less "eat" his flesh. These proto-Gnostics, the forerunners of the
Docetists, were teaching that Jesus was not a true flesh and blood human being, because that
would necessarily make him evil. They viewed him as essentially a spirit being who took on only
the appearance of flesh. This teaching is also known as "Docetism. "45 John addresses the issue
in a direct and stern way in his first epistle. Though he obviously spoke in a figurative manner,
Jesus' words in John 6: 54 are a subtle but devastating jab at Gnostic aversion to the flesh. This
is a classic example of the way God employs figurative language to confound those who are
taken in idolatry.
"Pre-existence" of human beings was also a feature of Gnostic thought. 46 So it is worth
considering the possibility that since this doctrine cannot be supported elsewhere in the New
Testament, there is a dual purpose served by employing such language in John. We know from
elsewhere in the Gospels that Jesus spoke in parables, a particular kind of figure of speech, to
reveal those who had a firm desire to understand spiritual things. Such language served to
separate out the believers from the unbelievers. The language of the Gospel of John has the
same deliberate quality as the parables, where the casually interested person or one who has
already been deceived by mythology and philosophy could easily become misled by a loose
45. The early spread of Docetism among the believers explains the use of the phrase, "Jesus Christ is come in the flesh, "
in 1 John 4: 2 and 3, to combat a false spirit that was introducing error among the believers. Those who were teaching
that Jesus Christ was a heavenly messenger and not a true man were in some cases using John's Gospel as a springboard
for their theological speculations, even as others cloaked in orthodoxy have used it to propound Trinitarian dogma.
46. Brown, a Trinitarian who himself believes in the pre-existence of Christ, recognizes that "pre-existence" was a
favorite subject of the Gnostics: "A common thesis in the Gnostic systems involves the pre-existence of human beings
in the divine sphere before their life on earth. In the Fourth Gospel, only the Son of God pre-exists; others become
children of God through faith, water, and Spirit during their earthly lives. According to Irenaeus, the Gnostic initiate
connected his own status with a theology of pre-existence: "I derive being from Him who is pre-existent and return to
my own place from which I came forth" (R. E. Brown, The Community of the Beloved Disciple, p. 151).
Regarding the concept of pre-existence in the Fourth Gospel, Robinson and Dunn have opposing points of view.
We side with Robinson, but believe that Dunn's comments are important because they show the common language
used by both John and the Gnostic literature. We understand the correspondence between John and the Gnostics
because John was inspired to subtly address many of their erroneous beliefs, among which was pre-existence.
Dunn believes that John was "taken for something of a ride" by the "cultural evolution" of the late first century,
and was influenced by the Gnostics, accounting for their early and enthusiastic acceptance of his Gospel:
It could be said that the Fourth Evangelist was as much a prisoner of his language as its creator... That is
to say, perhaps we see in the Fourth Gospel what started as an elaboration of the logos-Son imagery applied to
Jesus inevitably in the transition of conceptualizations coming to express a conception of Christ's personal pre-
existence, which early Gnosticism found more congenial than early orthodoxy. (Dunn, op. cit, Christology, 264).
Robinson rebuts Dunn, as follows:
I agree that this happened, but I believe it happened to John rather than in John, and that he was "taken
over" by the gnosticizers. In evidence, I would cite again the Johannine Episties, which are saying in effect: "If
that's what you think I meant, that I was teaching a docetic-type Christology—denying Christ come in the flesh
and trying to have the Father without the Son—then this is the very opposite: it is Antichrist. "
Robinson, op. cit, Priority, pp. 381-2.

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interpretation of the language on a literal level and go off into error. 47 It is highly likely that the
language of pre-existence used in John relates to the Gnostic belief in pre-existence and
contributed to their early adoption of the Gospel.
At this point it is useful to know some of the details of the Gnostic Redeemer myth, which
involved a figure of light. Dart takes excerpts of Bultmann's version of the myth to show its main
features:
The Gnostic myth tells the fate of the soul, humanity's true inner self represented as "a
spark of a heavenly figure of light, the original man. " In primordial times, demonic
powers of darkness conquer this figure of light, tearing it into shreds.
The sparks of light are used by the demons to "create a world out of the chaos of
darkness as a counterpart of the world of light, of which they were jealous. " The demons
closely guarded the elements of light enclosed in humans. "The demons endeavor to
stupefy them and make them drunk, sending them to sleep and making them forget
their heavenly home. " Some people nevertheless become conscious of their heavenly
origin and of the alien nature of the world. They yearn for deliverance.
The supreme deity takes pity on the imprisoned sparks of light, and sends down the
heavenly figure of light, His Son, to redeem them. This Son arrays himself in the
garment of the earthly body, lest the demons should recognize him. He invites his own
to join him, awakens them from their sleep, reminds them of their heavenly home, and
teaches them about the way to return.
The redeemer teaches them sacred and secret passwords, for the souls will have to pass
the different spheres of the planets, watch posts of the demonic cosmic powers. "After
accomplishing his work, he ascends and returns to heaven again to prepare a way for
his own to follow him. This they will do when they die. " The redeemer's work will be
completed when he is able to reassemble all the sparks of light in heaven. That done,
the world will come to an end, returning to its original chaos. "The darkness is left to
itself, and that is the judgment. "48
We believe that these Gnostic writings came later and used the prologue as the spring-
board for their speculations. But if they were contemporaneously written, then it is easy to see
how John would be presenting the truth of which the Gnostic writings are the spiritual
counterfeit. If somehow the Gnostic writings did come first, John would be addressing their
errors in his gospel by employing similar imagery with an entirely different purpose and effect.
47.  This deliberate usage of opponent's language, mythology and metaphor is evident elsewhere in Scripture. In
particular, Jesus employed the image of the afterlife adopted by the Pharisees in contradiction to the Jewish Scriptures.
In Luke 16: 19ff, Jesus spoke a parable to the Pharisees revolving around their conception of "Abraham's bosom, " a
mythical and unbiblical" place" where the Jewish dead were said to dwell. Since Jesus nowhere else in the Gospels spoke
of any other hope for the future except a bodily resurrection and his personal return in glory, it is clear that he did not
intend to validate their error. His purpose was to teach that if someone does not believe Moses and the Prophets, even
if one returned from the dead, they would still not believe. See the final chapter of ft There Death After Life?, published
by CES.
48.  John Dart The Jesus of Heresy and History San Francisco, Harper and Row, 1988, p. 40.

Chapter 9: "But What About John 1: 1?"
233
In any event, we think it is important to recognize that one of the purposes of the Gospel of John
is to correct Gnostic teaching by setting forth Christian truth that is grounded in the historical
reality of the resurrection and exaltation of Jesus, the Christ, the unique Son of God.
The prologue also pierces the elitist program of special enlightenment, subjective expe-
rience, spiritual initiation and esoteric knowledge, that was developed by the Gnostics. To all
who receive him, Jesus Christ gives "the right to become children of God" (1: 12) without any
initiation or special knowledge. In John, Jesus is clearly rejected by the Jews, who should have
been the "initiated ones, " and so God sent to "the world" instead. He is the Savior for all
mankind, not just the elite and enlightened ones. 49 We trust that as more is learned from
Gnostic sources, we will gain even more insight into the precise usage of biblical terms and
concepts employed by John. We will have more to say about Gnosticism in the historical section
of this book, particularly Chapters 17-19.
 Conclusion
And so we have seen how marvelously the prologue introduces the content of the Gospel
of John. It introduces God's plan, power and wisdom in bringing forth His only begotten Son.
It introduces the intimate but distinct relationship between the Father and the Son. It
introduces the conflict between light and darkness and how darkness is not able to win that
conflict. And it introduces the plan-of-God-become-flesh, who we know as the Lord Jesus
Christ. We have also seen how its language harmonizes with the other passages in the New
Testament that describe his post-resurrection identity, as well as subtly introduces its readers
to important truths that correct the doctrinal errors of the Gnostics. That it could accomplish
all this and more in a few verses is powerful testimony to its divine inspiration. We find it ironic
that the Gnostics embraced this Gospel despite its repudiation of many of their doctrines, and
we find it equally ironic that Trinitarians have embraced John as their favorite section of the
New Testament when in fact it not only falls far short of validating "orthodox" Christian
teaching, but in fact contradicts it.
Once understood, the Gospel of John, including its prologue, presents a clear and compel-
ling portrait of the One who came in fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies, lived a life of
profound submission to his Father (the one true God) and was highly exalted because of his
perfect obedience. This post-resurrection glory of the risen Lord is so intimately associated
with his earthly ministry that it provides wide literary license for a proleptic portrait of the
unique One, the Lord Jesus Christ. Rather than being confused by the language of John, we must
49. Phillip Lee wrote an interesting indictment of contemporary Christianity, identifying aspects of Gnostic thought
that have re-emerged in the Church today. One is the emphasis on personal religious experiences (at conversion, in
worship, etc. ) over doctrine and discipline. Another is subjective knowledge over a knowledge of nature and history.
Another is a shift from man's need for deliverance from sin, which requires repentance and atonement, to his need for
deliverance from ignorance, which requires special knowledge and enlightenment. The latter accounts for the name
Gnostic, from the Greek word gnosis, meaning knowledge (Against the Protestant Gnostics (Oxford Press, N. Y., 1973),
pp. 102-113.

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work (as" workmen of the Word"—2 Tim. 2: 15) to see its profound harmony with the rest of the
New Testament. By so doing, we cannot help but stand in humble awe at the majesty of our God,
the glory of our risen Lord and the wondrous perfection of the Word, the logos, that so
eloquently and profoundly provides the words that give faith, hope, life and light to those who
believe them.

PART FOUR
Jesus: Both
Lord and Christ

CHAPTER TEN
The Book of Acts:
"A Man Accredited
by God"
The Book of Acts forms the biblical link between Jesus Christ coming to fulfill the Old
Testament promises to Israel and his beginning the Church (the "Body of Christ") on the Day
of Pentecost. 1 This book presents a clear and unified witness of the apostle's view of Jesus
Christ, and what they taught as "the apostles' doctrine. " They viewed him as the Son of God, a
man sent by God to be the promised Messiah first to Israel, then to the Gentiles. The were
convinced of his Messiahship by his resurrection, which they boldly preached as they fanned
out throughout the Mediterranean countries. Nowhere in Acts is there any suggestion that
Jesus was "God" in any sense, and this omission is remarkable if this doctrine were in fact a part
of apostolic Christianity.
The Book of Acts begins with a brief recap of the 40-day period that Christ spent in his
resurrected body among the believers. He had ordered them to stay in Jerusalem until they were
empowered by the gift of holy spirit. This filling, or "baptism, " with the spirit would equip them
1. Scripturally, the "Body of Christ" is figurative language that refers to the Church, that is, all Christians. Jesus Christ
is called the "head" of his body, the Church. Thus, in the Church Epistles, Christians are referred to as being "in Christ. "
Since every human being is born dead in sin, he must be "born again" in order to have life in Christ. That new birth
happens the moment one confesses with his mouth that Jesus is Lord and believes in his heart that God raised him from
the dead (Rom. 10: 9). It is via the new birth that one receives spiritual life and a guarantee of living forever in Paradise.
At the moment of one's new birth, he is endued with holy spirit, "power from on high, ""the divine nature, " which equips
him to be like Jesus Christ and do the works that Jesus did. What did Jesus do in his body during his earthly ministry?
He expects those who believe in him to do the same things, and, in fact, he told them that they could (John 14: 12). Jesus
Christ is called" the firstborn from among the dead. " As such, he was the Head, but he did not have a body until the Day
of Pentecost when the Church, the "one new man" (Eph. 2: 15), was born. That spiritual organism has been growing ever
since as more and more people are added to it by way of their belief in Christ and resulting new births. It is the Lord Jesus
Christ who pours out the gift of holy spirit into the heart of each new person who believes in him as Lord (Acts 2: 33). In
that moment it is as if Jesus pulls you from the dead group into which you were bom and places you in his Body so that
you are now part of him. For more detailed teaching on this, see The Mystery Revisited, The Purpose of the Ages,
Introduction to God's Heart, Truth or Tradition?
and Let's Not Keep the Secret A Secret audiotapes available through CES.

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to be his "witnesses. " Having thus given them their marching orders for the next few days, and
for their lifetimes, he ascended heavenward in complete defiance of the law of gravity.
One can only try to imagine the shock and wonder that filled the hearts of his disciples
when he ascended into heaven before their very eyes. They were transfixed by the sight,
pondering its significance. They were still trying to figure out when he would restore the
kingdom to Israel, and they were very unclear about what his ascension meant. Almost
immediately, an angel disrupted their reverie and reassured them that Christ would be return-
ing to earth in the same way he left them. With this promise ringing in their ears, they headed
back to Jerusalem to begin their new job as the Lord's empowered witnesses.
Though the meaning of the ascension understandably befuddled them, as time went on
God revealed more and more about what it meant. The pinnacle of this revelation about the
ascension is found in Ephesians:
Ephesians 4: 7-13
(7) But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.
(8) This is why it says: "When he ascended on high, he led captives in his train and gave
gifts to men. "
(9) (What does "he ascended" mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly
regions?
(10) He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in
order to fill the whole universe. )
(11) It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be
evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers,
(12) To prepare God's people for works of service, so that the Body of Christ may be built
up
(13) until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and
become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
After the ascension, the Book of Acts then describes the growth and development of the
early Church as Christ gave and guided these ministries to act in his stead, causing spiritual
growth in the lives of all those who followed him. But Christ was not just working with these "gift
ministries, " as they are sometimes called. He worked directly with his brethren, like Ananias,
"a certain disciple" (Acts 9: 10), or indirectly with them through those to whom he had specifi-
cally entrusted with the ministry of apostle, prophet, etc. What was clear to the first-century
believers was that Christ was no longer physically present to do his work, so they were supposed
to be doing it. But they were to do it by the power of the spirit that he had given them, and in
conjunction with his continued leading of them. This they were to continue to do until they saw
him reappear through the clouds, which they expected to happen in their lifetime.
Acts 2 records the events on the Jewish feast day of Pentecost that year when the Church
began. The initial outpouring of holy spirit upon the disciples of Jesus, and their speaking in

Chapter 10: The Book of Acts: "A Man Accredited by God"
tongues in the Temple, caused no small stir. 2 Peter then stood up and addressed the huge crowd
assembled there. We will now focus on fifteen verses of his discourse that contain a magnificent
exposition of an Old Testament passage that Peter quotes and then explains. It is this teaching
that pricked the hearts of about 3, 000 people who got born again that day (Acts 2: 41). The key
points in Peter's speech that led to their new birth were later capsulized in one classic verse in
the Church Episties. Here it is:
Romans 10: 9
That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord, " and believe in your heart that God
raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
We will see that what Peter said in Acts 2 focuses on the two basic components in the above
verse: the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and his lordship. It is significant that Peter
did not portray Jesus as God nor further state that believing this was a requirement for salvation.
In contrast, Peter referred to Jesus as "a MAN accredited by God. " If Peter held the traditional
Trinitarian concept of Christ, his omission is astounding. If Peter believed that those listening
to him that day needed to believe that Jesus was God in order to be saved, as is often taught by
Trinitarians today, he certainly did not say so. The fact that the Bible states that about 3000
people were saved that day, without hearing anything about the Trinity or Christ being God, is
proof that this belief is not a requirement for salvation. Had this been an oral exam to graduate
from most seminaries today, Peter would have flunked, yet by God's standards, his sermon is
right on:
Acts 2: 22
"Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by
miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves
know. "
We see in this verse that Peter was being very specific to identify the particular Jesus of
whom he is speaking—"Jesus of Nazareth. " When Peter said Jesus was "a man accredited by
God, " he meant that God supported and energized Jesus. Peter continued:
Acts 2: 23
"This man was handed over to you by God's set purpose and foreknowledge; and you,
with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the Cross. "
Remember that Jesus came specifically to the nation of Israel as their Messiah. And what
did they do to him? They killed him, as he prophesied they would. He also prophesied that God
would raise him from the dead, and Peter confirmed this in the next verse, when he declared the
resurrection of Christ:
2. Traditionally, Christians believe that the original outpouring of the gift of holy spirit occurred in the "upper room. "
Bible students are beginning to recognize that this is not tenable, because, for one reason, the multitudes involved could
not possibly have fit into the upper room. Also, in Scripture, "the house" often refers to the Temple. Consider this note
in the NIV Study Bible: "Evidently not the upstairs room where they [the Apostles] were staying, but perhaps someplace
in the temple precincts, for the apostles were 'continuously in the Temple' [Luke 24: 53] when it was open. "

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Acts 2: 24
" But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was
impossible for death to keep its hold on him. "
The first reason it was not possible for death to hold Jesus is because God Almighty, the
Creator of the heavens and the earth, who cannot lie, had promised in Old Testament prophecy
that He would raise His Son from the dead. That is why "the gates of the grave" (Matt. 16: 18) will
not be strong enough to retain its captives. 3 It was also not possible because Jesus Christ was
a righteous man without sin, who did not deserve the penalty or "wages" of sin, which is death.
Therefore, God could legally and ethically raise him from the dead. Again we see the absolute
urgency of his obedience to God, for a single sin would have made it possible for the grave to
hold him in its clutches.
Remember that Peter was talking to Jewish people. Who was one of the chief heroes of
Judaism? David, and it was David who had prophesied about the future resurrection of the
Messiah. By quoting David, Peter really got the attention of those Jews.
Acts 2: 25-27
(25) " David said about him: º saw the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right
hand, I will not be shaken.
(26) Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will live in hope,
(27) because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see
decay. '"
How did David know that he would be raised from the dead? Because he believed in the
resurrection of the "Holy One" (the Messiah) who would one day raise him to everlasting life.
3. The phrase, "the gates of hell" has been popularized and thrown around in Christianity with little or no understand-
ing of its real meaning. The phrase is usually used in emotional sermons designed to inspire Christians to storm the
Devil's stronghold. The Greek word translated "hell" in the KJV is hades, and it is transliterated into "hades" in the NIV.
Hades was the Greek word used in the Septuagint to translate the Hebrew word sheol. E. W. Bullinger has an extensive
study of sheol in his lexicon, and concludes: "Sheol therefore means the state of death; or the state of the dead, of which
the grave is a tangible evidence. " Our book Is There Death After Life? covers the subject of sheol in Chapter 4. When Jesus
Christ said that "the gates of hades" would not be able to prevail against his Church, he was using the phrase in the same
way it is used in the Old Testament, where it occurs twice, using the word sheol. Job asks, "Where then is my hope? Who
can see any hope for me? Will it go down to the gates of death [sheol]? Will we descend together into the dust?" (Job
17: 15, 16). In the Book of Job, the "gates of sheol" are the gates of the grave. When someone dies, it is as if gates were
permanently shut behind him. There is no way out, no way back to the land of the living.
King Hezekiah of Judah later used the phrase, "the gates of sheol" in exactly the same way Job had many years
earlier. Hezekiah almost died from a sickness and was miraculously healed. After the experience, he wrote: "In the
prime of my life must I go through the gates of death [sheol] and be robbed of the rest of my years?" (Isa. 38: 10). A related
phrase, "the gates of death, " occurs in Job 38: 17; Psalm 9: 13 and Psalm 107: 18.
Thus, a study of the way the phrase is used in Scripture reveals its meaning and how Jesus used it. Because Jesus
Christ is the resurrection and the life, he could say that he would build his Church and the gates of Hades would not
prevail against it. Although the gates of the grave will close over us if we die, we will break through them unto everlasting
life when the Lord calls us at his appearing.

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Acts 2: 28
'"You have made known to me the paths of life; you will fill me with joy in your
presence. '"
Peter made it clear that David knew he would see his Redeemer face to face. Then he
launched into an exposition of the verses he had just quoted.
Acts 2: 29-31
(29) "Brothers, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried,
and his tomb is here to this day.
(30) But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would
place one of his descendants on his throne.
(31) Seeing what was ahead, he spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not
abandoned to the grave, nor did his body see decay. "
Peter told the Jews that David had prophesied about the resurrection of the man they had
just murdered. Then he boldly stated that the resurrection had been accomplished.
Acts 2: 32, 33
(32) "God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact.
(33) Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy
Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear. "
Peter was saying that not only did God raise His Son from the dead, but also that He highly
exalted him and gave him holy spirit, which Jesus had in turn given to those who believed in him
as Lord. In the next verses, Peter made it plain that David is not in heaven. Then he spoke of
Jesus exalted at the right hand of God, another truth prophesied in the Old Testament from
which he quoted.
Acts 2: 34, 35
(34) "For David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said, 'The Lord said to my Lord: "Sit
at my right hand
(35) until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet. " "'
Peter finished this amazing presentation with a resounding crescendo:
Acts 2: 36
"Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified,
both Lord and Christ. "
The idea that "Jesus is Lord" is clearly explained within Scripture. Acts 2, beginning in
verse 22, sets forth the biblical understanding of this concept. On the Day of Pentecost, Peter
boldly set forth the truth that Jesus was "a MAN accredited by GOD... by miracles, wonders and
signs which God did among you by him. " He then went on to say that this "man" was handed

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over to the Jewish leaders, crucified and killed by them. Then God raised him (this man) from
the dead and "exalted" him (this man) to His (God's) right hand where he (this man) received
from the Father and then poured out to people the promised holy spirit.
What was Peter saying? He was making the claim that Jesus was the Christ prophesied in
the Old Testament. After this, Peter concluded by quoting the messianic prophecy of Psalm 110:
Acts 2: 34b-36
(34) "The Lord [Septuagint=kurios, but Hebrew text=Yahweh] said to my Lord
[Septuagint=kurios, Hebrew text=Adon]: 'Sit at my right hand
(35) until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet'
(36) Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: GOD has MADE this JESUS, whom you
crucified, both Lord and CHRIST. "
Was Peter identifying Jesus as the Yahweh of the Old Testament?4 Hardly. He was instead
proving from Scripture that Jesus was the Christ, that is, Yahweh's Anointed One. According to
Scripture, the Christ (Messiah) had to suffer and rise again. In addition, as the Christ of Old
Testament prophecy, Jesus had been exalted to the right hand of God and installed by God as
Lord over all. In short, he had entered into his glory (Luke 24: 26, 46).
Psalm 110: 1
The Lord [Yahweh] says to my lord [adon]: "sit at my right hand until I make your
enemies a footstool for your feet. "
As we saw in Chapter 5, the Jews regarded Psalm 110 as a messianic prophecy concerning
the coming Christ. Psalm 110 also speaks of the coronation of a king, in this case, a king from
the line of David. In its original context, it may have been speaking of Solomon, but in its larger
context, it was either a foreshadowing or direct foretelling of the future Davidic king, that is, the
Messiah or Christ.
Remember that to Peter's audience on the Day of Pentecost, the Hebrew understanding
of the text would have been clear. The Messiah (or King) who is being installed in Psalm 110 is
referred to as Adon, not as Yahweh. Yahweh was the personal (proper) name of God in the Old
Testament. On the other hand, Adon was a descriptive name meaning "Lord. " It was used to
describe both men and God. Unfortunately, both of these terms were translated from Hebrew
into the Septuagint (the Greek Old Testament) as kurios and then later into English as
"Lord. "5 In our English Bibles, they are distinguished only by various means of capitalization
within the Old Testament.
No monotheistic Jew living at that time would have taken Peter's statements recorded in
Acts 2 to mean that the Messiah (or Christ) was Yahweh, that is, God. This would have been
ludicrous to them, and had Peter proclaimed this, no one would have given him the time of day.
4. For more information on the name Yahweh, see Appendix M.
5. See Appendix  for a detailed examination of kurios.

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Instead, Peter clearly set forth that it was, in fact, God Himself, Yahweh of the Old Testament,
the God of their fathers, Who had raised Jesus from the dead and highly exalted him to the
heavenly position of Lord in fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies concerning the Christ.
As Philippians 2 states, God elevated the man He had named "Jesus" (meaning" Yahweh our
Savior") to the most highly exalted position possible. Thus, his name is above every name.
The Greek term kurios (Lord) was used in a variety of ways in New Testament times, as well
as in the New Testament itself. Its basic meaning is "Lord, " "master" or "owner, " always
indicating one who has authority. But it does not of itself imply or indicate deity, even though
God was called "Lord" and the pagan gods of the East were called "lords. " Masters of slaves,
property owners, kings, emperors and great teachers could also be called "lords" (kurios). In
its vocative use (marking the one addressed), the term was often equivalent to "Sir" as a
respectful way of addressing an honorable person (See Matt. 21: 30; John 12: 21; 20: 13; Acts
16: 30). But no matter what language was spoken by the various believers of those times, the
understanding of "Jesus is Lord" would have been governed by their understanding of the
messianic fulfillment of Psalm 110. It was only later that this understanding was corrupted. 6
The point is simply that in Psalm 110, God was not talking to Himself or with the "second
person of the Trinity" Instead, Yahweh was pictured as talking with the Messiah, David's
"Lord. " David foresaw that God would raise the Christ from the dead and install him as Messiah
and Lord at His right hand in heaven. David recognized him as his superior, his Lord. As a result,
David himself had the hope of a future resurrection.
Since Peter told his audience that Jesus is Lord, and God raised him from the dead, and we
know from that and other similar scriptures in Acts and the Epistles that salvation is dependent
upon the confession that "Jesus is Lord, " it certainly seems logical that we should desire to know
exactly what this statement means. In its note on Romans 10: 9, the NIV Study Bible offers a view
that is all too often held and promoted in evangelical Christian circles. Under the heading,
"Jesus is Lord" (page 1721), we read:
The earliest Christian confession of faith (cf. 1 Corinthians 12: 3), probably used at
baptisms. In view of the fact that "Lord" (Greek kurios) is used over 6, 000 times in the
Septuagint (the Greek translation of the O. T. ) to translate the name of Israel's God
(Yahweh), it is clear that Paul, when using this word of Jesus, is ascribing DEITY to him
[emphasis ours].
Can "deity, " that is, that Jesus is "God, " really be ascribed to him on this basis? No. "Lord"
is simply the most appropriate title for Jesus, especially now that he sits at God's right hand. 7
This is one of the many places where the NIV ranslators have endeavored to imprint their own
Trinitarian belief either onto the text itself (via their translation) or onto the understanding of
the text (via their study notes). Some examples of other places include: John 1: 1, 18; Romans 9: 5;
1 John 5: 20. 8 This list could go on and on. In pointing out these examples, we do not mean to
6. See Appendix A (Rom. 10: 9)
7. See Appendix Â, Uses and Usages of Kurios.
8. F or our explanation of these verses see Appendix A.

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denigrate what we consider to be an excellent translation. They are simply indicative of the
extent to which the Trinitarian interpretation has colored the understanding of most trans-
lators and Bible scholars. So ingrained is it in most Christians' minds that seldom do any of their
thoughts about its illogic lead them to seriously seek any alternative.
Another consequence of not seeing the difference between "Lord" and "God" is the
fallacious idea that one is not saved unless he believes that Jesus is God. This is in spite of the
clarity of Romans 10: 9, which says that salvation is dependent upon confessing that Jesus is
Lord. There is no verse that says to be saved one must believe that Jesus is "God" or "divine. "
Furthermore, in all the records in Acts, there is no presentation of the Trinity. For example, as
we have seen, about 3000 Jews were saved on the Day of Pentecost without Peter mentioning
the Trinity or that Christ was somehow God. The Roman soldier Cornelius and his household
were saved in spite of the fact Peter never mentioned the Trinity. The jailer in Philippi was saved,
and Paul's words were short and to the point: "Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved"
(Acts 16: 31).
Are we to believe that Paul did not really communicate the whole message of salvation to
the jailer, and somehow missed saying that this simple jailer really needed to believe that Jesus
had two natures incorporated into one body and was actually a "co-equal and co-eternal
being, " actually "God in human flesh?" We hardly think so. Surely the fact that Acts portrays
thousands of people being saved, yet not once records anyone teaching the doctrine of the
Trinity should be conclusive proof that the Trinity was not a part of early Church doctrine. How
many precious Christian saints have been made to doubt their salvation and thus suffer
emotional trauma at the hands of those promoting this false doctrine? It is also a lever of
intimidation used to tyrannize thinking people by labeling them "cultists" and ostracizing them
from fellowship with the Body of Christ.
Acts states clearly that God has exalted Jesus the Christ to His own right hand and installed
him as Lord, and the rest of the New Testament agrees. All authority in heaven and on earth has
been given to him. Angels, powers and principalities have been made subject to him. He is the
Head over all the Church. God has placed all things under his feet, with one exception—
Himself. Thus, Jesus is now "Lord, " installed and coronated by God in fulfillment of the great
biblical prophecy of Psalm 110. To confess "Jesus is Lord" is to bring glory and honor to God
(Phil. 2: 11). It is to acknowledge the accomplishments of God Himself in bringing about victory
over sin, death and Satan. In the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and his exaltation
as Lord, God's wisdom and power are revealed.
We also want to point out that in Acts 2: 36 Peter says that God "has made this same Jesus
both Lord and Christ. " The context of this statement is his resurrection, therefore the question
arises, when did God make Jesus the Christ? Had he not made him the Christ before his
resurrection? The answer is found later in the Book of Acts, when Peter addresses a Gentile
audience for the first time:
Acts 10: 38
How God anointed [chrio] Jesus of Nazareth with the holy spirit and power, and how he
went around doing good and healing all who where under the power of the devil,
because God was with him.

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God anointed Jesus at his baptism, empowering him to be the Messiah, or Christ. But as
we recognized in Chapter 7, Jesus was veiled about his messianic claims, knowing that only
resurrection would authenticate his Messiahship. Therefore Peter appropriately speaks of God
having "made" (i. e., proven) Jesus the Christ through his resurrection. This further explains
why the Gospel (the Good News) preached by his disciples in Acts revolves abound the truth that
Jesus Christ is the Messiah, as verified by his resurrection (see Acts 9: 22; 13: 34; 17: 3, 31; 18: 28).
The Active Christ
When Peter boldly addressed the house of Israel in Acts 2: 36, he confronted them with the
irony that it was they who had crucified Jesus. In essence, he said to those Jews: "AH of your lives
you were looking for the Messiah, but when he came face to face with you, you killed him, just
like the Old Testament prophecies said you would. God, however, has raised him from the dead
and exalted him as Lord and the Anointed One. "
Why did the Jews fail to recognize Jesus as the Messiah? Chiefly because they failed to
believe in the sufferings of the Messiah that had to precede his exaltation and glory. They were
looking for a political deliverer, not a man whose blood had to be shed for their redemption.
They should have seen in Exodus 12 the suffering of the Redeemer in the types of the Passover
Lamb and the other sacrifices. They should have seen his death in Genesis 22, Psalm 22 and
Isaiah 53. Graciously, God gave them another chance by way of the message of Peter, and about
3, 000 responded affirmatively. Based upon what happened in the days that followed, it appears
that most of the religious leaders, however, slunk off in anger and prepared to persecute the
disciples just as they had their Master. The believers, however, had been cut to the heart by
Peter's words, and prepared to follow in the Apostles' doctrine.
Acts 2: 37-41
(37) When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the
other apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?"
(38) Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ
for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of Holy Spirit.
(39) The promise is for you and you children and for all who are far off—and for all whom
the Lord our God will call. "
(40) With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them,
"Save yourselves from this corrupt generation. "
(41) Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were
added to their number that day.
The Book of Acts shows that Jesus had not lied when he told Peter " I will build my Church. "
We see Jesus Christ actively and powerfully working to build and support the Church, which is
his Body. He pours out the gift of holy spirit to all who believe. He adds to the Church those who

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call on his name. He heals people. He is supporting the outreach of his Church in many ways:
by signs and miracles and by specific guidance and revelation. Records like the vision he gave
to Peter on the rooftop show him preparing the hearts of Christians for ever greater works of
service. That he personally appeared to Paul on the road to Damascus shows him building his
Body and lightening the persecution of Christians at the same time.
He is calling out ministries to provide leadership, sending angels to do his work, defending
his causes against the Adversary's forces, and encouraging those who stand for him. On two
occasions in Acts, he appeared to the Apostle Paul to encourage him (18: 9; 23: 11). Thus, the
Book of Acts is indeed a book of "acts. " Jesus is acting powerfully on our behalf, the ascended
Christ working hard for his earth bound Church. It is also a book of inspiration and hope for the
believer. Although the Book of Acts also shows the hard work and suffering involved in the
Christian life, it is easy to see how much Christ loves and supports those who give their lives to
him.
The Book of Acts also records the history of the early Church as believers reached out with
the Word, first to the Jews, and then later to the Gentiles. In the early part of the Book of Acts,
despite Jesus' admonition to His followers to "go unto all nations, " the message of salvation by
grace through faith in Christ was preached only to Jews. Acts faithfully sets forth the growth of
the Church. First the Jews, then the Samaritans (Acts 8), then the Gentiles (Acts 10). It sets forth
the actions of the Church as the Lord Jesus began to reveal the truths that set the Church of the
Body apart from the "Old Testament. " These doctrinal truths are clear in the Church Epistles,
which set forth the truth about the "administration of grace, " in which all believers, no matter
what their nationality or heritage, Jew and Gentile alike, form the One Body of Christ. The truth
of the "Secret" (often mistranslated as the "Mystery") that is set forth in the Church Epistles, was
unfolded gradually throughout the period covered in the Book of Acts. As we shall see, Jesus
Christ will one day confirm all of God's promises to Israel (Rom. 15: 8). He will also give
everlasting life to all Gentiles who call upon his name.
The relationship between God and Jesus Christ is clearly portrayed in Acts. As we have
already seen in the record of Peter's sermon in Acts 2, Christ is shown as distinct from God. He
is the man approved by God. Nowhere in Acts is there any hint of a "Trinity, " and nowhere in
Acts is anyone told to believe in the Trinity or that Jesus is God. All through the Book of Acts,
people get saved when they accept Christ as the Man whom God raised from the dead and made
Lord. The disciples call him the servant of God (4: 27) and "a man" (17: 31). As Stephen was being
stoned to death by the Jews, he saw a vision of both God and His Son.
Acts 7: 55, 56
(55) But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God,
and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.
(56) "Look, "he said, "I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand
of God. "
Stephen did not look up into heaven and see a Triune God, he saw God on his throne, just
as the elders of Israel and prophets had seen. 9 And at the right hand of God stood the
9. See Appendix A (Gen. 18: 1).

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resurrected Christ. Stephen was so blessed and amazed at the vision that he shouted out what
he saw, even though no one else could see it.
Conclusion
As the Head of the Church that began on the Day of Pentecost, it was the Lord Jesus Christ
who spearheaded the outreach of God's Word as recorded in the Book of Acts. He is the Lord
who spoke to Ananias about going to see Paul, and the one who spoke to Peter on the rooftop
about going to see Cornelius. 10 He is the Lord whose power energized the many signs, miracles
and wonders done by those who believed in him and who went forth in the authority of his
name.
The" apostles' doctrine" concerning Jesus Christ as clear. They believed him to be "a man
accredited by God, " the Messiah, the Son of the Living God. Since the early Christians lived in
closer proximity to the Lord Jesus and presumably derived their doctrinal understanding "at his
feet, " why would later Christians want to try to "improve" upon the apostolic witness? Would
it not be wiser to attempt to cleave to their same language and understanding? Yet in many,
many ways, the Church strayed from its apostolic roots, and this will become more evident in
the later chapters of this book when we address the historical development of the Church's
doctrine concerning Christ.
Having a biblically accurate view of Christ should help us hold to his "headship" and look
to him for the direction of his "body. " Jesus Christ is the same Lord today, and we need to expect
and believe that "this same Jesus" is working powerfully in the Church today, just as he did in
Acts. As fellow laborers with him, it is incumbent upon us to work with him by acting upon the
guidance he gives us, because only with our cooperation can he accomplish his mission of
proclaiming the true Gospel to all people. When we obey him and walk with him, we can see the
same kind of deliverance in people's lives as there was almost 2000 years ago.
10. In Acts 10: 14, Peter recognizes that the source of the vision was the "Lord. " (see Appendix B). But in verse 15, the
voice from heaven says, "Do not call anything impure that God has made clean. " When Peter is recounting his vision
to the circumcision "police" in Acts 11: 4-18, he says the same thing. Had God been speaking directly to Peter, He would
have said, "Do not call anything impure that I have made clean. " The use of the third person here argues for the source
of the vision being Jesus Christ and not God Himself.

CHAPTER ELEVEN
The Church
Epistles: the Head
of His "Body"
Paul's epistles, called "the Church Epistles, " were written to the various churches that he
helped to establish. They were intended to be encyclical, meaning that they were passed along
from one church to another so that all could learn and be established in the faith. Virtually
every Bible commentator recognizes the importance of these documents in the growth of the
Christian Church, and Paul is recognized as perhaps the most influential of the apostles. His
view of Christ and the relationship he had with both God and Christ reveal much about "the
apostles' doctrine. "
Paul's epistles confirm what the Gospels and Acts reveal about our risen Lord and Savior,
and go on to reveal even more about him. The Gospel records close with Jesus in his resurrected
form, and state that he had been given all authority (Matt. 28: 18). Jesus clearly demonstrated
his loyalty to, and connection with, God by calling God both his "Father" and his "God" (John
20: 17). He spoke of things that were still future (John 20: 22). Furthermore, he demonstrated his
Lordship and authority by changing his form (Mark 16: 12), disappearing from one place and
appearing in another (Luke 24: 31, 36, 37), and filling the apostles' nets with fish (John 21: 6).
The Book of Acts focuses on Jesus in action. He responded to the prayers of the disciples
(Acts 1: 24-26), poured out the gift of holy spirit (Acts 2: 33), added believers to the Church (Acts
2: 47), revealed himself in support of his Church (Acts 7: 55; 9: 3-6), guided and directed his
disciples (Acts 9: 10-15; 16: 7, 22: 17-21), provided power for healing (Acts 9: 34), and comforted
his people in difficult circumstances (Acts 18: 9; 23: 11). Acts also has teachings by Paul, Peter
and others that make known many things about the Lord. He is the Man accredited by God by
signs and wonders, who was crucified and then raised from the dead, and the Man whom God
has appointed to judge the world.
The Epistles confirm what the Gospels and Acts say about the risen Lord, and add to them.
They confirm that Jesus Christ is not dead, but alive, having been raised from the dead by God,
something specifically stated more than a dozen times. A clear example is 1 Corinthians 6: 14,

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which reads, " By His power, God raised the Lord from the dead, and he will raise us also. " While
the Book of Acts states that Jesus showed himself alive to his disciples and "gave many
convincing proofs that he was alive" (Acts 1: 3), it is revealed in the Epistles that many more
people than that saw him alive.
1 Corinthians 15: 3-8 (NRSV)
(3) For I handed on to you as of first importance what I in turn had received: that Christ
died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures,
(4) and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with
the Scriptures,
(5) and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the Twelve.
(6) Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at one time, most
of whom are still alive, though some have died.
(7) Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles.
(8) Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.
It was during the latter half of the period covered in the Book of Acts that Paul's letters to
Christians in Rome, Corinth, Galatia, Ephesus, Philippi, Colosse and Thessalonica were writ-
ten. These "Church Epistles" are the apex of God's revelation to mankind. Christ had promised
his disciples that when the holy spirit came, it would guide them into "all truth" (John 16: 12).
We believe that the bulk of the" all truth" that Christ was referring to is the information revealed
in the Church Epistles. 1 The Church Epistles are specifically addressed to Christians, the Body
of Christ, the "called out" (ekklesia= people "called out" for some purpose), as the introduction
to each of the Epistles shows. Although a particular location is usually mentioned in each
introduction, it was well understood in both ancient and modern times that the truths being
taught applied to the entire Church worldwide. 2 Note the following examples:
Romans 1: 7 (NRSV)
To all God's beloved in Rome, who are called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from
God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 3
1. For more on the "all truth" referring to the Church Epistles, see the works by E. W. Bullinger, The Church Epistles
(Eyre and Spottiswoode, London, 1905) p. 10, 11, and How to Enjoy the Bible (Samuel Bagster and Sons, London, 1970)
p. 142, 143. See also Appendix J.
2. In Colossians 4: 16, the believers are instructed to have others read the epistle, and they are instructed to read the
epistle from Laodicea. Scholars have long believed that the letter to the Laodiceans is actually the Epistle of Ephesians
that was being spread from church to church and may have even been sent to Laodicea as well as Ephesus when it was
sent out from Paul in Rome.
3. The word "saints" means "those set apart by God. " It is translated from the Greek word hagioi, "holy one. " It is used
of angels and of men. Christians are called "saints" because, having been "born again, " they have been made holy by
God because of the sanctifying presence of God's gift of holy spirit. It is unfortunate that many Christians think of saints
only as especially holy people, and usually those who are already dead. The Epistles do not use the word "saint" that
way at all. All Christians are "saints, " just as they are "witnesses" and "ambassadors" for the Lord Jesus Christ. The
question is, what kind of saints, witnesses and ambassadors are we?

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1 Corinthians 1: 2 (NRSV)
To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called
to be saints, together with all those who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus
Christ, both their Lord and ours.
There are great truths in the Church Epistles that were kept "secret" from those who lived
before they were written. These truths were "not made known to men in other generations, "
and were "for ages past kept hidden in God. " They were "unsearchable" in the Old Testament
scriptures. 4 The Church Epistles reveal these "secrets, " the basic thrust of which was that
instead of there being two groups, Jews and Gentiles, one with special privileges and one
without, Christ has now created, and continues to add to, "one new man" (Eph. 2: 15) a body of
believers called out from among both Jew and Gentile. Other corresponding blessings that were
secret include: secure salvation, a position with Christ in the heavenlies, deliverance from the
Great Tribulation, being sealed with the gift of holy spirit (a deposit that guarantees life in the
age to come), the theretofore unavailable manifestations of speaking in tongues and interpre-
tation of tongues, and a perfectly righteous standing before the Father. The Epistles also show
Jesus Christ in his position as Lord and Head of the Church, and define his role as such.
The Church Epistles form the heart of the Christian's curriculum for life today. They are
God's revelation to the Church of the Body of Christ that started on the Day of Pentecost, when
holy spirit was poured out in new birth for the first time. It will end when the Christians are taken
up ("raptured") into the air to be with the Lord. 5 Because the Lord Jesus created a "new man, "
i. e., the Church that is his Body, it is not surprising that he would have new information
concerning this "new man" that he had created, and the Church Epistles contain that vital
knowledge.
More Christians today need to recognize the indispensable importance of the Church
Epistles, because only by knowing and applying the truth in them can a Christian have the
quality of life that God intends him to have. Among many other wonderful things, they contain
information about what Jesus Christ is now doing, and particularly what he, as the Head, is
doing for us, the Body. It is interesting that in no ancient biblical manuscript ever found are the
Church Epistles in any other order than they are in the Bible today. 6
Luke 24: 51 and Acts 1: 9-11 record Jesus leaving the earth and ascending into heaven. The
apostles witnessed his ascension, but only until "a cloud took him out of their sight" (Acts 1: 9—
NRSV). However, even if the sky had been cloudless, Jesus would have disappeared from sight
4. It is unfortunate that in most versions of the Bible the Greek word musterion is translated "mystery" instead of
"secret. " The important difference is that a "mystery" cannot be known, but a "secret" can be. Translating musterion
as "mystery" has helped promulgate the idea that God and the things of God are essentially beyond human compre-
hension. For a more detailed explanation of the Greek word musterion, see Appendix A (Col. 2: 2). Ephesians 3: 2-9 says
in several different ways that the truths now known were hidden in times past.
5. One of the great scriptural proofs of the uniqueness of the Christian Church is the gathering together of all
Christians from the earth, and from their graves, into the air to meet the Lord Jesus. In contrast, the believers of the Old
Testament will come from their graves and settle on the land (Ezek. 37: 11-14), fulfilling the prophecy that "the meek
shall inherit the earth" (Psalm 37: 9, 11, 29; Matt. 5: 5).
6. To review the importance of the order of the Epistles of Paul, see Appendix J.

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after he had gone up a mile or so. Humans simply become too small to see with the naked eye
beyond such a distance. There are many clear scriptures that say that Jesus is now in heaven
(Acts 3: 21; Eph. 1: 20; 6: 9; Col. 4: 1; Heb. 1: 3; etc. ) Nevertheless, occasionally people become
confused by the wording of Ephesians 4: 10, which says that Jesus ascended "higher than all the
heavens. " The noted Bible commentator R. C. H. Lenski writes:
Christ's ascent "far above" all the heavens must not be interpreted mechanically as
implying somewhere beyond all the heavens, beyond the place where God, the angels
and the blessed saints dwell; the sense is that the ascension gave Christ his exaltation
and supremacy over all the heavens. We have the commentary in Ephesians 1: 20, 21;
Philippians 2: 9-11. To be far above the heavens is not to be somewhere that is not
heaven—where would that be? Christ ascended "into heaven" (Acts 1: 11). 7
Jesus still has a physical body, and so he is located in time and space. Where exactly he is
now is not revealed in the Bible, other than to say that he is "seated at the right hand of God"
(Acts 2: 33, Rom. 8: 34). Actually, that is figurative language indicating his function as God's
"right hand man. " This means that he is busy, going wherever he needs to go to do whatever he
needs to do in carrying out the will of God. Scripture also reveals that he is in us and we are in
him, this via the gift of holy spirit that he gave us when we got born again.
Recognizing Our Personal
Relationship with Jesus Christ
For those followers of Christ who had the privilege of knowing him "in the flesh, " it would
have been a difficult, though necessary, transition for them to learn to relate to him as the risen
Lord. Though he was now invisible to them (except when making rare personal or visionary
appearances), he was intimately involved with them through the gift of holy spirit that he
poured out into each of them. Instead of just remembering his words and actions from the time
when he was physically among them, they had to learn to think of him as spiritually "with" them,
gently but surely guiding each of them as his representatives on the earth.
As more and more people were won to the Lord, the number of those who had actually
physically witnessed his earthly ministry became proportionately smaller and smaller. It would
7. R. C. H. Lenski, The Interpretation of St. Paul's Epistles to the Galatians, Ephesians, and Philippians (Augsburg Pub.
House, Minneapolis, MN, 1961), pp. 523, 524. Another scripture that confuses people in regard to the whereabouts of
Jesus is Hebrews 4: 14, which says that Jesus "has gone through the heavens. " Since the most common use of the words
"gone through" (Greek=dierkomat) is going all the way through, some teach that Jesus must have gone through heaven
and out the other side. However, the Bible never mentions anything "beyond heaven, " and since God is in heaven and
Christ is with God, Jesus could not have passed all the way through heaven. Acts 13: 6 reveals a use of dierkomai that
is "through part of but still inside. " Paul and Barnabas "passed through" the Isle of Cyprus, but were still on it and
ministered in the city of Paphos. In the same way, Jesus "passed through" the heavens, i. e., he went through some of
heaven, but he is still in heaven, he has not passed out the other side as if there were something beyond.

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have been easy for those who had been with Jesus physically to "pull rank" on the newer
believers who had believed without seeing him in the flesh. The Gospel of John, written late in
the first century when few were left who had actually been with Jesus, addresses this issue. Jesus
himself spoke of those who would need to believe in him without seeing him, as they heard the
Good News about the Lord.
John 20: 29 (NASB)
Jesus said to him [Thomas], "Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are
those who did not see, and yet believed. "
Note that Jesus says that those who have believed without seeing are "blessed, " because
they are not dependent upon their memories of him nor do they have any status from previous
association with him. Paul also forcefully addresses this issue:
2 Corinthians 5: 16 (NRSV)
From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view; even though
we once knew Christ from a human point of view, we know him no longer in that way.
This is a powerful point that must be recognized, even though we do not face exactly the
same issue that the first-century believers did. We have never had the opportunity to know
Christ according to the flesh, except through the Gospel accounts of his earthly life. These
accounts are immensely helpful to us to get to know our Savior, but it is not enough to read about
his life in the Gospels and try to be like him. We are called to know him personally and intimately
via the holy spirit that he has given us.
Many verses in the Church Epistles say that we are "in Christ, " and therefore it is simply
not enough to read about him. Having Christ with us and in us is the perspective of the Church
Epistles, not the Gospels, and it is imperative that we become thoroughly acquainted with who
we are in Christ and who he is in us. This understanding is available only through a knowledge
of the Church Epistles, which call us not to look back to Christ in his earthly ministry, but rather
to look up to him in his heavenly one. Characteristic of this perspective is the following passage
from Colossians:
Colossians 3: 1-4 (NRSV)
(1) So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ
is, seated at the right hand of God.
(2) Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.
(3) for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
(4) When Christ, who is your life is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in
glory.
This is the perspective of the Church Epistles. We are "with Christ, " and Christ is even our
very life. The following verse in Galatians also shows the "resurrection life" of the believer in
Christ:

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Galatians 2: 19b, 20 (NRSV)
I have been crucified with Christ and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives
in me. And the life I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me
and gave himself for me.
In his resurrection glory, Christ is "re-living" his life in us who believe in him. Rather than
living solely under external laws and ordinances, we are given access to a living relationship
with him who gave himself for us. Knowing that he is living in us and that we are "in him" makes
our obedience that much more available and compelling, because we know that he is at work
within us to help us think, speak and live the way he did. What a privilege, and how sad that so
few Christians are really taught this "Church Epistle" perspective of the Christian faith.
Jesus Christ, the "Head"
of a Spiritual "Body"
One great truth that is clearly revealed in the Church Epistles is that all believers, both Jew
and Gentile, have been made into a new man (Eph. 2: 15), a "Body" with Christ as the "Head" and
all the members of the church as its parts. 8 Representative of many scriptures in the Church
Epistles teaching this truth is the following:
Romans 12: 5 (NASB)
So we who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.
1 Corinthians 12: 27 (NASB)
Now you are Christ's body, and individually members of it.
Ephesians 4: 16 (NASB)
From whom [Christ] the whole body, being fitted and held together by that which every
joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part,
causes the
growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.
8. The "new man" from both Jew and Gentile is exactly that: new. Interestingly, there are today many converts to
Christianity from Judaism who still hold to the Jewish laws and believe that the law is valid for them since they are Jews.
We believe that misses the point of the message in the Church Epistles. What Christ is doing now for Christians is very
different than what God did for Jews and Gentiles under the Law. Christians are not to be separated into different
congregations, some "messianic Jews" and some "Gentile congregations. " The Epistles contain directives not to be
separate from each other or form distinct groups (1 Cor. 1: 10-13). They reveal that the Levitical requirements were a
shadow of the reality which is Christ (Col. 3: 17), and that the Law was done away in Christ. Since the Law was given to
Moses, if it was to be done away with, that fact had to be written very clearly, and it was: Christ abolished the Law (Eph.
2: 15) and was the end of the Law (Rom. 10: 4). Christians are not under the Law (Rom. 6: 14, 15), are dead to the Law (Rom.
7: 5), are released from the Law (Rom. 7: 6; 8: 2) and are not under the supervision of the Law (Gal. 3: 25).

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Colossians 1: 18 (NASB)
He [Christ] is also the head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the first-
born from the dead; so that He Himself might come to have first place in everything.
Colossians 2: 19 (NASB)
And not holding fast to the Head [Christ], from whom the entire body, being supplied
and held together by the joints and ligaments, grows with a growth which is from God.
Christ is presented as the Head of the Body in which each member has a particular
function in harmony with the whole (see Rom. 12: 3ff; 1 Cor. 12: 12-27). The truth that Christ is
Head of his Body, the Church, forms a key doctrinal cornerstone of Ephesians:
Ephesians l: 19b-23 (NASB)
(19b) These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might
(20) which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, and seated
Him at His right hand in the heavenly places,
(21) far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is
named, not only in this age, but also in the one to come.
(22) And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all
things to the church,
(23) which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.
This exaltation as "Head" evokes memories of David's inspired prayer of praise to God at
the occasion of the dedication of the Temple.
1 Chronicles 29: 10-13 (NRSV)
(10) "Blessed are you, Ï Lord, the God of our ancestor Israel, forever and ever.
(11) Yours, Ï Lord, are the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty;
for all that is in the heavens and on the earth is yours; yours is the kingdom, Ï Lord, and
you are exalted as head above all.
(12) Riches and honor come from you; and you rule over all. In your hand are power
and might; and it is in your hand to make great and to give strength to all.
(13) And now, our God, we give thanks to you and praise your glorious name. "
David recognized God as "head" over all things in heaven and earth. In Ephesians, Paul
recognizes that God has given Christ to be "Head" over all things to the Church, which is his
"Body. " This presentation of Christ as the Head and the Church as the Body is yet another way
to describe that God has delegated authority to the Son, and further delineates Christ's
authority and dominion. He has been given authority in heaven over the angels ("all rule and
authority and power and dominion"), and he has been given authority on earth over the Church.

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Holding the Head
That Jesus is often clearly described as the Head of his Body in the Church Epistles clearly
reveals how connected he is to us and we to him. Via holy spirit, each Christian is one with
Christ, but it is possible for a Christian to live as if he or she were not connected to the Head. It
is a sad fact that many professing Christians do not feel personally supported and guided by the
Lord, and worse, some are not aware that they can and should be.
Nonetheless, biblical language is designed to communicate that truth. Surely the fact that
Jesus is called the" Head" is to call our attention to the parallel between the workings of the Body
of Christ and our physical bodies. Just as one's physical head communicates with and directs
his body, so too our spiritual head, Jesus Christ, directs us in our walk as Christians. Christ gives
us guidance and direction, and we communicate back to him our experiences and needs, just
as the parts of our physical body communicate back to our head. Nevertheless, as we have just
said, some Christians are not connected with the Head, practically speaking, and this is not new.
It is noteworthy that some Christians in the first century had also "lost connection with the
Head. "
Colossians 2: 18, 19 (NASB)
(18) Let no one keep defrauding you of your prize by delighting in self-abasement and
the worship of the angels, taking his stand on visions he has seen, inflated without cause
by his fleshly mind,
(19) and not holding fast to the Head, from whom the entire body, being supported and
held together by the joints and ligaments, grows with a growth which is from God.
Clearly, it is not enough only to be "held fast" to the Head by the gift of holy spirit. The
believer must recognize the Headship of Christ in his daily life, and in particular must not be
looking to other people for guidance, unless those people are being led by the Lord. 9 As the
members of the physical body must be connected to the head to receive nourishment and grow,
so the members of Christ's spiritual body must be practically and personally connected to him
in order to grow. This is the view presented by Jesus in John 15: l ff using the figure prolepsis that
we studied in Chapter 8. Here, instead of the analogy of the body, the Scripture employs a
botanical analogy to communicate the same truth—the believer must be connected to the Lord
in order to bear fruit:
9. Christians need to take note of the fact that in Colossians the immediate context of losing connection with the Head
is the worship of angels (v. 18). Angel pictures, pins, statues, etc., are very popular in our culture today, but angels work
for the Lord and obey him, and they are not to be worshipped. When in Scripture angels were offered worship, they
refused it (Rev. 19: 10). If an angel pin reminds you that the Lord may send angels to protect you, that is one thing.
However, if you think of a "guardian angel" as apart from the Lord, you are not honoring the angel or the Lord. Demons
are fallen angels and they do desire your love. The Christian must be careful to give all his heart to the Lord. The book
of 1 John closes with the words, "Little children, keep yourselves from idols" (1 John 5: 21), which is good advice for any
era.

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John 15: 1, 4, 5 (NRSV)
(1) "I am the true vine; and My Father is the vine-grower.
(4) Abide in Me, as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it
abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in Me.
(5) I am the vine, you are the branches; those who abide in Me and I in them bear much
fruit, because apart from Me you can do nothing. "
The Colossian passage that we quoted above echoes two verses in Ephesians that describe
how spiritual growth occurs in the Church Age:
Ephesians 4: 15, 16 (NASB)
(15) But speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into him, who is the
Head, even Christ.
(16) From him the whole body, being fitted and held together by that which every joint
supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of
the body for the building up of itself in love.
The growth of the Body comes from Christ, who is the Head, working in conjunction with
us as we each do our individual part. He is able to do this for us because God has delegated the
responsibility and authority to him. He, in turn, has delegated to us the responsibility and
authority to serve and represent him.
Colossians 2: 9, 10 (KJV)
(9) For in him [Christ] dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, 10
(10) and ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power.
In the same way Christ has the fullness of God, we have the fullness of Christ. 11 The
wording of the King James Version helps to communicate the truth of what has happened to us
in Christ: "and ye are complete in him. " The believer is complete in Christ, full in Christ. As the
risen Lord, Christ has given us fullness, and we have all spiritual blessings (Eph. 1: 3). He is our
"all in all, " and we need not look to be completed by delving into spiritualism, getting "answers"
from psychics or trying to fill a void by exploring any other belief systems outside of Christianity.
In the Greek text of Colossians, the phrase "ye are complete in him" is a periphrastic perfect,
and the essence is, "you have been made full, are so now, and continue so. "12
10. For an explanation of this see Appendix A (Colossians 2: 9).
11.  In a different sense, the Body of Christ is also called the "fullness, " as Ephesians 1: 22, 23 shows: "And God placed
all things under his feet and appointed him to be the Head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness
of him who fills everything in every way. "
12.  R. C. H. Lenski, The Interpretation of St. Paul's Epistles to the Colossians, to the Thessalonians, to Timothy, to Titus,
and to Philemon
(Augsburg Pub. House, Minneapolis, MN, 1961), p. 101.

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Although we have fullness in Christ and all spiritual blessings, we will be able to enjoy this
privilege only to the extent that we "hold fast" to him, the Head. If we are men - pleasers or
subjugated to denominational politics or serving Christian tradition instead of having a living
relationship with the Head, we will have a form of godliness, but deny the power thereof (2 Tim.
3: 5). If we live in disobedience, either by committing acts contrary to his wishes or by refusing
to do what he commands because it makes us uncomfortable, then we will likely not experience
the presence of the Lord in our lives. Christ is Head, Lord and Master, but he still allows us to
exercise our freedom of will. It is our choice to walk or not walk in the fullness and blessing he
has given us. If we do, he promises that he will take an active role in our lives.
Christ the Temple Builder
Another aspect of his present ministry was alluded to in the Old Testament. There was an
ancient Jewish prophecy that the Messiah would build a Temple:
Zechariah 6: 12, 13 (NASB)
(12) Tell say to him 'Thus says the Lord of hosts: "Behold a man whose name is Branch,
for He will branch out from where He is, and He will build the temple of the
Lord. "
(13) Yes, it is He who will build the temple of the Lord, and He who will bear the honor
and sit and rule on His throne. Thus He will be a priest on His throne, and the counsel
of peace will be between the two offices.
As we elaborated upon in Chapters 5 and 6, one of the ancient names for the Messiah was
"the Branch" (tsemach), and one of the things that he would do is build a Temple for the Lord.
In the future, Jesus will build a physical temple on the earth, but now he is building a figurative
temple. 13 By analyzing the pattern established by Moses and David for the building of the
physical Tabernacle and Temple, respectively, we can glean important insight into the role that
Jesus Christ plays as he coordinates the building of a spiritual "temple" in the Church Age.
Ephesians makes this very clear:
Ephesians 2: 19-22 (NASB)
(19) So then, you [the Gentile believers] are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are
fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God's household [i. e., the Church],
(20) having been built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ
Jesus himself being the cornerstone.
(21) In him the whole building, being fitted together is growing into a holy temple in
the Lord;
(22) In whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.
13. For more on the physical Temple, see Zechariah 6: 12, 13.

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The Church is spoken of in this passage as a "holy temple" being built together to become
a dwelling place for God. This was precisely the purpose of both the Old Testament Tabernacle
and the Temple. Moses received in immense detail the pattern for the building of the
Tabernacle. He did not do the actual building, however, but delegated it to others who were
equipped with the spirit of God, notably Bezaleel son of Uri (see Ex. 25-31). David, too, received
in detail the pattern for building the Temple, as described in 1 Chronicles 28 and 29, yet neither
was he the one to build it. Solomon, his son, and others did the building, in particular Huram-
Abi (2 Chron. 2: 13), a man of exceptional skill and cunning in craftsmanship. These records
concerning Moses and David set a pattern for us to consider in relationship to the present
ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ. We can infer that Jesus stands in an analogous position to
Moses and David, who are clear types of the Messiah in many ways.
Jesus, then, as the Head of his Body, has received the "blueprint" for the building of a
spiritual "Temple" for the Church Age, which is to be the dwelling place of God. As was the case
with Moses and David, Jesus is not actually building the Temple by himself, but is directing,
overseeing and working in others who are doing much of the actual work. Though we have been
showing from Acts and the Church Epistles that Jesus is a "hands-on" Lord, working among his
brethren to build the Church, he in fact is delegating most of the work.
For instance, in the case of Paul's conversion on the road to Damascus, Jesus himself
confronted him, but sent Ananias to actually do the work of building him up in the faith.
Barnabas then took Paul under his wing and introduced him to the believers who had before
been afraid of him. Phoebe, Aquila and Priscilla and others are mentioned as being important
players in the dramatic conversion of Paul from feared persecutor to beloved apostle. Jesus was
of course intimately involved in Paul's growth process, but delegated most of the work of
grafting him into the Church.
God is the Master Architect, who has designed the Church Age with all of its graces,
privileges and enablements, and has given the plans to His Son to carry out. The Lord Jesus is
like the General Contractor, who has been given the responsibility and authority to see to it that
the project gets done. He in turn empowers and employs workers in whom he can work to get
the job done. Is not an "irrevocable contract" with his "subcontractors" being clearly commu-
nicated in the following verses?
2 Corinthians 5: 18-20a (NASB)
(18) Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ,
and gave us the ministry of reconciliation,
(19) namely, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their
trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation.
(20a) Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were entreating through
us...
What a privilege to be entrusted by God and the Lord Jesus with this ministry of reconcili-
ation and the building up of the Body of Christ. As we stay connected to the Head and heed his
instructions for the building of this dwelling place for God, we are a part of "the purpose of the
ages. " This truth should surely provide ample motivation to continue in faithful service to the
one who has entrusted us with so much.

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Making Christ Lord
The Church Epistles emphasize the fact that Christ is Lord. The word "Lord" appears
more than 200 times in the Church Epistles, and nearly every use refers to Jesus Christ as the
"Lord. "14 We have just seen that it is the responsibility of each and every Christian to "hold the
Head, " which is a way of saying that we are to follow and obey Jesus Christ. " Holding the Head"
and "making Christ Lord" are basically synonymous. Just as a person can be a Christian without
"holding the Head, " so it is possible to be a Christian without really taking the Lordship of Jesus
Christ seriously. The word "Lord, " as it is used of Jesus Christ, means "ruler, boss, master,
owner, one to be obeyed and one to whom allegiance is due. " To become saved, a person must
confess with his or her mouth that Jesus is Lord (Rom. 10: 9), but that is a truth that can be
believed in the mind without being lived out in one's life. That is why the Bible calls some
Christians "carnal, " "worldly" or "unspiritual. "
1 Corinthians 3: 3 (KJV)
For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions,
are ye not carnal, and walk as men? (See also Rom. 8: 7; 1 Cor. 3: 1, 4).
When we get born again, we are sealed with holy spirit (Eph. 1: 13, 14), have Christ in us
(Col. 1: 27), and are each a child of God (1 John 3: 1, 2). 15 However, that does not mean that we
have made him our boss and master with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. When we turn
away from following him, then Christ is not Lord in an active sense in our lives, and we do not
reap the many benefits of fellowship with him.
The Church in Galatia had turned away from the grace of Christ and what he was offering
to them, and started to return to the law, led away by false teachers. Paul wrote that they were
causing him pain by doing that: "My dear children, for whom I am again in the pains of
childbirth until Christ is formed in you... " (Gal. 4: 19). Paul's reference to Christ being "formed"
in the Galatian believers is not a reference to them being saved, but rather to them making Christ
"Lord" of their lives by obedience to him in their thoughts, words and deeds. In 1531, Martin
Luther lectured on the Epistle to the Galatians at the University of Wittenberg, and his lectures
were printed in a commentary in 1535. Luther was accurate when he said that Christ being
formed in the Galatian believers referred to Christ being formed in their hearts and minds:
The Apostles are in the stead of parents, as schoolmasters also are in their place and
calling. For as the parents beget the bodily form, so they beget the form of the mind.
Thus, every godly teacher is a father who engendereth and formeth the shape of a
Christian heart, and that by the ministry of the Word. Moreover, by these words, "I
travail in birth, " he toucheth the false apostles. As though he would say: "I did beget you
14. See Appendix  on the use and usages of "Lord. "
15. The new birth is irrevocable. It cannot be lost. For a more detailed explanation of this, see Saved, Sealed and Secure
in Christ,
an audiotape available from CES.

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rightly, through the gospel, but these corrupters have formed a new shape in your heart,
not of Christ, but of Moses, so that now your affiance [trust] is not grounded upon
Christ, but upon the works of the law. This is not the true form of Christ, but another
form altogether devilish. Paul, therefore, goeth about to repair the form of Christ in the
Galatians, which is that they should speak, think, and will as God doeth. They who
believe this are like unto God, as the affection of their heart is: they have the same form
in their mind which is in God, or in Christ. This is to be renewed in the spirit of our mind,
and to put on the new man. 16
Every Christian has an obligation to make Christ his Lord in an active and outward way,
not just "in the mind. " Christians should look to him for guidance and wholeheartedly obey
him. It is because Christ is "Lord" that the Church Epistles introduce us to "the law of Christ"
(Gal. 6: 2; lCor. 9: 21). Before the DayofPentecostinActs2, the only law was from God. However,
as Lord, Christ has a law for the Church. Actually, Jesus had already revealed this to his disciples
on the night that he was betrayed by Judas. He said, "A new command I give you, 'love one
another'" (John 13: 34). Jesus' "command" before his resurrection and exaltation became his
"law" when he sat down at the right hand of God.
Identification with Him
Every Christian is" in Christ, " meaning that we are a part of his Body. 17 As our foot is a part
of us, every member of Christ's Body is identified with him. The Christian is now, therefore, able
to grow up into Christ, and to become like he was in his earthly ministry and do the works that
he did. At the end of the Church Age, Christ will exercise his great authority and power and
transform each of us into his glorious likeness. We will then be like him, as he is presently in his
glorified position at the right hand of God. This tremendous truth is clearly described in
Philippians, another one of the Church Epistles.
Philippians 3: 20, 21 (NRSV)
(20) But our citizenship is in heaven, and it is from there that we are expecting a Savior,
the Lord Jesus Christ,
(21) He will transform the body of our humiliation that it may conform to the body of
his glory, by the power that also enables him to make all things subject to himself.
16. Martin Luther, Commentary on Galatians (Kregel Publishing, Grand Rapids, MI, 1979), p. 276, 277.
17. The phrase "in Christ" also has the overtones of the covenant culture of Israel. When a covenant was made with
someone and his children after him, the children would be beneficiaries of the covenant even though they were not
around when it was made. We all benefit from the covenant God made with Noah, for example. Hebrews notes that
the covenant Abraham made with Melchizedek was valid concerning the tribe of Levi because Levi was "in" Abraham
when it was made. Thus, we get to be included in the experiences and blessings of Christ because we confessed him
as Lord and became God's children.

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Only by studying the Church Epistles will we learn that we are identified with Jesus Christ
because he first became identified with us. He was made like us in every way (Rom. 8: 3; Gal. 4: 4;
Heb. 2: 17) so that we could be made like him in every way. The believer can share with Christ
in his suffering (Phil. 3: 10), his crucifixion (Gal. 2: 20), his death (Rom. 6: 3; Col. 3: 2), his burial
(Rom. 6: 4), his resurrection (Eph 2: 6; Col. 3: 1), his ascension (Eph. 2: 6), his seating at the right
hand of God (Eph. 2: 6) and his glory (Rom. 8: 30). In him we are made righteous (2 Cor. 5: 21),
sanctified (Acts 26: 18; 1 Cor. 6: 11; Eph. 5: 26) and redeemed (2 Cor. 1: 30; Col. 1: 14). He will give
an inheritance to those who deserve it (Col. 3: 23-25). We are irrevocably reconciled to God
through him (Rom. 5: 11) and will have life in the age to come (Rom. 6: 23). And on top of all this,
upon his return to the earth with us, we will receive rewards and crowns for faithful service to
him, sharing in his reign as subjects in his future kingdom (Col. 1: 13).
Christ's Active Role
in the Church Today
The Church Epistles paint a powerful picture of what Jesus Christ is doing for the Church
today. Far from being absent or taking a passive role, the Epistles portray Christ as Head of the
Body, feeding, nourishing, directing, defending and blessing his Church. It would be difficult
indeed to make a comprehensive list of everything he has done and is doing, but a large number
of his current functions are listed below.
 Jesus Christ is Lord (Rom. 14: 9; 1 Cor. 1: 9; 6: 14; 15: 57; 2 Cor. 4: 5; Gal. 6: 14).
 He was declared the "Son of God" by his resurrection from the dead (Rom. 1: 4).
 He is the firstborn from among the dead, and therefore our confidence that God can raise
us up from the dead (1 Cor. 6, 14; 2 Cor. 4: 14; Col. 1: 18).
 God seated Christ at His right hand, far above all principalities and powers, and made him
"Head" of the Church (Eph. 1: 20-22; Phil. 2: 9-11; Col. 3: 1).
 Christ will, in a future administration, be Head of all in heaven and earth (Eph. 1: 10) [at this
time, all things are not yet subject to him—Heb. 2: 8; 1 John 5: 19].
 Christ is now functioning as God's co-ruler, and will, at a future time, after the destruction
of all evil authority, hand over the kingdom to God (1 Cor. 15: 20-28).
 Christ is the image of God (2 Cor. 4: 4; Col. 1: 15).
 Christ is still Israel's deliverer and servant (Rom. 11: 26; 15: 8). 18
 He is our example (Rom. 15: 3, 4; 1 Cor. 11: 1; Eph. 5: 2; 5: 25-29; Phil. 2: 5-8).
 Gives us grace (Rom. 1: 5; 16: 20; 1 Cor. 16: 23; 2 Cor. 8: 9; 13: 14; Gal. 1: 6; 6: 18; Eph. 4: 7; Phil
4: 23; 1 Thess. 5: 8; 2 Thess 1: 12; 3: 18).
18. The way Christ delivers those Israelites who come to him today is by including them in the Church. After the
Rapture, he will again work with national Israel to rescue and deliver it. For more information, see The Book of
Revelation,
audiotape seminar available from CES.

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 Gives us peace (2 Thess. 3: 16).
 Gives us access to God (Eph. 2: 14, 18).
 Gives us mercy (1 Cor. 7: 25).
 Blesses us (Rom. 10: 12; 15: 29).
 Loves us (Rom. 8: 39; Eph. 5: 25-30; Phil. 2: 1; 2 Thess. 2: 13).
 Accepted us (Rom. 15: 7).
 Sanctified us (1 Cor. 6: 11; Eph. 5: 26).
 Has paid for the Church with his life, so we belong to him (Rom. 14: 8; 1 Cor. 7: 22, 23; Gal.
3: 29; 5: 24).
 Is faithful (2 Thess. 3: 3).
 We fellowship with him (1 Cor. 1: 9).
 Created the things necessary for his Body, the Church, to function, whether in heaven or
on the earth (Col. 1: 16). 19
 Created a "new man, " the Church, out of Jews and Gentiles (Eph. 2: 15).
 As "Head" of his "Body, " the Church, he directs the growth of his Body (Eph. 4: 16; Col.
1: 17, 18).
 Nurtures and cares for the Church, holds it together and causes it to grow (Eph. 5: 29; Phil
1: 19; Col. 1: 17; 2: 19).
 Directs us (1 Cor. 16: 7; 2 Thess. 3: 5).
 Has work for us to do (1 Cor. 15: 58; 16: 10; Col. 4: 17).
 Lives his life through us (Gal. 2: 20).
 Works with us to be transformed into his image (2 Cor. 3: 17, 18).
 "Writes on our hearts" so that we are literally "letters from Christ" (2 Cor. 3: 3).
 Is present with us (2 Cor. 13: 5; Col. 1: 27; 2 Thess. 3: 16).
 Lives in our hearts (Eph. 3: 17).
 Listens to and answers us in our requests (2 Cor. 12: 8).
 Occasionally shows himself to people (1 Cor. 9: 1).
 Is present via the power he sends (1 Cor. 5: 4; 2 Cor 12: 9).
 Is interceding for us (Rom. 8: 35).
 Protects us from the evil one (2 Thess. 3: 3).
 Comforts us (2 Cor. 1: 5).
 Forgives us (Col. 3: 13).
 Redeemed us (Gal. 3: 13).
 Set us free from the Levitical Law (Rom. 10: 4; Gal. 5: 1).
 Energizes our love (1 Thess. 3: 12).
 Is the "head" of the Christian marriage (1 Cor 11: 3).
 Calls people into their ministries and sends forth his workers (Rom. 1: 5; 1 Cor 1: 17;
2 Cor 1: 1; 10: 8; Gal. 1: 1; Eph. 1: 1; 4: 8, 11; Col. 1: 1; 1 Thess. 2: 6).
19. See Appendix A.

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 Gives us revelation (2 Cor. 12: 1; Gal 1: 12).
 Gives authority to his ministers (2 Cor. 10: 8; 13: 10; 1 Thess. 4: 2).
 Works in and through us (Rom 15: 18; 2 Cor 13: 3; Phil 1: 11; 3: 12; Col. 1: 29).
 Has made us his ambassadors (2 Cor. 5: 20).
 Clears paths for us (1 Thess. 3: 11).
 Opens doors for us (2 Cor. 2: 12).
 Encourages and strengthens us (1 Thess. 3: 13; 2 Thess. 2: 17; 3: 3).
 Will come again in person (1 Cor. 1: 7; 4: 5; 15: 23; 16: 22; Phil. 3: 20; Col. 3: 4; 1 Thess. 1: 10;
2: 19; 3: 13; 2 Thess. 1: 7; 2: 1, 8).
 Will appear and call us up into the air to be with him (1 Thess. 4: 15-18).
 Will transform our bodies at his appearing (Phil 3: 21).
 Will rescue us from our dead bodies (Rom. 7: 25).
 Will be glorified and marveled at when he returns (2 Thess. 1: 10).
 Will judge all men on behalf of God (Rom. 2: 16; 1 Cor. 4: 4; 2 Cor. 5: 10).
 Will reward or punish people, according to what they deserve (2 Cor. 5: 10; Eph. 6: 8; Col.
3: 23-25; 1 Thess. 4: 6; 2 Thess 1: 8).
 Will commend those who deserve it, now and in the future (2 Cor. 10: 18).
The Believer's Role
Just as the Church Epistles reveal many things that Christ is doing, so they also reveal many
things that the Christian is supposed to do in order to enter into an intimate relationship with
the Lord and serve him. It is imperative that the believer reciprocate by acting in conjunction
with the Lord. Christ was very clear in his teaching in John 14 that whoever really loves him will
obey him, and that he would then manifest himself to all those who do so. The Church Epistles
have many commandments, but the list that follows is specifically related to our responsibilities
in relationship with Christ. We are to:
 Confess him as Lord (Rom. 10: 9).
 Get to know him (Phil. 3: 8).
 Love him (1 Cor. 16: 22).
 Understand his will for us (Eph. 5: 17).
 "Minister to" (serve) Christ (Rom. 14: 18; 15: 16; 1 Cor 4: 1; Gal. 1: 10; Col. 1: 7; 4: 12).
 Please Christ (2 Cor. 5: 9; Eph. 5: 10; Col. 1: 10).
 Live unto the Lord (Rom. 14: 8).
 Be strong in the Lord (Eph. 6: 10).
 Clothe ourselves with the Lord (Rom. 13: 14).
 Follow the Lord (Rom. 15: 5).
 Obey Christ (1 Cor. 7: 22; Eph. 6: 5).

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 Not sin against Christ (1 Cor. 8: 12).
 Sing and make music in our hearts to him (Eph. 5: 19).
 Honor Christ (2 Cor. 8: 19).
 Let the word of Christ dwell in us (Col. 3: 16).
 Glory in Christ (Rom. 15: 17; Phil. 3: 3).
 Be devoted to him (2 Cor. 11: 3).
 Show reverence to Christ by our godly actions (Eph. 5: 21; Col. 3: 22).
 Rejoice in the Lord (Phil. 4: 4).
 Christian children are to please the Lord (Col. 3: 20).
It is quite easy to see from the above list that our relationship with our Lord and Head is
not to be a one-way relationship. Christ does a lot for us, and we are to give ourselves to him in
response.
The Relationship Between
God and Christ
Christ has been raised to the right hand of God, been made" Lord, " and has been given "all
authority. " In many ways, he is functionally equal to God, actually carrying out the work of God.
The Church Epistles set forth this functional equality. However, they also show that God, the
Father, is still the great power behind Christ, and is the only true God. As he did when he was
on earth, Christ is still doing the will of his Father, and tapping into his knowledge and power.
It was God who raised Christ from the dead, seated him at His own right hand, exalted him
above everything else and appointed him over the Church. The Epistles make it clear that there
is "one God and Father" (1 Cor. 8: 6; Eph. 4: 6) and He is carefully held in the highest esteem. It
would be a great dishonor to God and to Christ (who in everything he did elevated God) if Christ
were to be elevated and in such a way that God was set to the side. In fact, God is mentioned
more than 400 times in the Epistles. God is clearly declared to be the "Head" of Christ (1 Cor.
11: 3), and Jesus gave himself as a sacrifice to God (Eph. 5: 2). As Christians we were born into a
family of which God is the great "patriarch. "
Ephesians 3: 14, 15
(14) For this reason I kneel before the Father
(15) From whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name.
We are called "sons" of God, and we call God, "Abba" (Father) while Jesus Christ is our
brother (Rom. 8: 29).
Many scriptures show the relationship between God and Christ today. The two of them
are working in tandem, as God is working in and through Christ. Christ never does anything

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apart from God's will, so he always has God's strength and support. The openings of each of the
Church Epistles show the two working together. Consider Romans, for example: "Grace and
peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ" (Rom. 1: 1). Other verses
reveal the same thing: "Peace to the brothers, and love with faith from God the Father and the
Lord Jesus Christ" (Eph. 6: 23). As well as verses that show God and Christ working together,
there are many that show God working through Christ. God reconciled us to Himself through
Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 5: 18) and adopted us into His family through Christ (Eph. 1: 5). God will
judge the world through Christ (Rom. 2: 16), Paul said his apostolic grace came from God
through Jesus Christ (Rom. 1: 1, 5) and glory and thanks go to God through Jesus Christ (Rom.
7: 25; 16: 27; Col. 3: 17).
Once it is understood that God is still working out His will in the world with and through
His Christ, then it becomes clear why there are so many things in the Church Epistles (indeed,
in the New Testament) that both God and Jesus Christ are said to be doing. The following chart
highlights some of the things that God and Christ are each doing for us.
Activity
God
Christ
Gives us grace
Rom. 5: 17; 15: 15
Rom. 16: 20; Gal. 6: 18
Gives us mercy
Rom. 12: 1; 2 Cor. 4: 1
1 Cor. 7: 25
Gives us peace
Rom. 15: 13, 33
2 Thess. 3: 16
Loves us
Rom. 5: 5
Eph. 5: 25-30; Phil. 2: 1
Blesses us
Eph. 1: 3
Rom. 10: 12; 15: 29
Is faithful to us
1 Cor. 1: 9; 2 Cor. 1: 18
2 Thess 3: 3
Is our example
Eph. 5: 1
2 Cor. 11: 1
Empowers us
2 Cor. 13: 4; Eph. 1: 19
1 Cor. 5: 4; 2 Cor. 12: 9
Encourages us
Rom. 15: 5; 2 Thess. 2: 17
2 Thess. 2: 17
Strengthens us
Rom. 15: 5; Eph. 3: 16
2 Thess. 2: 17
Comforts us
2 Cor. 1: 3, 4
2 Cor. 1: 5
Forgives us
Eph. 4: 32
Col. 3: 13
Is with us
Rom. 15: 33
2 Thess 3: 16
Places us in the Body
1 Cor. 12: 18, 24, 28
Eph. 4: 8-12
Calls us to the ministry
1 Cor. 1: 1
Eph. 4: 8-12
Has work for us to do
2 Cor. 10: 13
1 Cor. 16: 10; Col. 4: 17
Gives us revelation
1 Cor. 2: 10
2 Cor. 12: 1; Gal. 1: 12
Directs our hearts
2 Cor. 8: 16
2 Thess. 3: 5
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Activity
God
Christ
Works in and through us
Gal. 2: 8; Phil. 2: 13
Rom. 15: 18; 2 Cor. 3: 13
Will judge us
Rom. 2: 5; 14: 10
Rom. 2: 16; 2 Cor. 5: 10
Will reward or chastise us
Rom. 2: 6
2 Cor. 5: 10; Col. 3: 23-25
Will reign over us
Gal. 5: 21; Eph. 5: 5
Col. 1: 13; Eph. 5: 5
Both our Father and our Lord share what we have to give them in response:
We serve
Rom. 1: 9; 15: 17
Rom. 14: 18; 1 Cor. 4: 1
We live for
Rom. 12: 1; Gal. 2: 19
Rom. 14: 8
We are slaves to
Rom. 6: 22
1 Cor. 7: 22
We give honor to
1 Cor. 6: 20
2 Cor. 8: 19
We rejoice in
Rom. 5: 11
Phil. 4: 4
There is much more that could be said, and further study will reveal more depth in regard
to what has been already uncovered, i. e., that Jesus has been given functional equality with God
in many things. Nevertheless, Jesus does not have "essential equality" with God, that is, Christ
is not "one in essence" with the Father. Jesus Christ is God's Messiah, not God Himself or one
part of a "Triune God. " God deserves our love, devotion and praise because He is the one true
God who planned all things and supplied the power to make them happen. In our hearts, we
must keep him in the highest place and give Him all He deserves. Christ is our risen Lord, who
also deserves our praise, love and obedience. In a very real sense, we owe our lives to both of
them, and it behooves us, if we are to love them both, that we recognize each of them for their
uniqueness and individuality. It does not honor either God or Christ to confuse them or call
them something they are not. We give them the highest honor by recognizing them for who they
are, the one true God and Father, and His Messiah and Wonderful Son, the one Lord Jesus
Christ. The Church Epistles reveal the individuality of each, and their unity of purpose as a
"Dynamic Duo" flanking each believer on the path of life.
Jesus Christ, the
"Creator" of the Church
In this section, we want to take another look at Colossians 1: 15-18, in light of what we have
seen in previous chapters about Christ's post-resurrection supremacy over the angels. Under-

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standing the broader context of his post-resurrection glory helps us to interpret these verses
accurately, and in accordance with other verses on the same subject, that is, Christ's present
supremacy in heaven. These Colossian verses are frequently quoted to support the intrinsic
deity of Christ as God and his supposed creation of the heavens and earth in Genesis 1. A closer
look at this passage argues powerfully for interpreting them as descriptive of Christ's post-
resurrection
supremacy in heaven. This supremacy was the result of restructured authority
between Christ and the angels after his ascension. It also shows that the domain of Christ's reign
at present is both in heaven and over the Church, and that with respect to the Christian Church,
he is even called its "creator. "
Before we consider this very important section of Scripture regarding the relationship
between God and Jesus Christ, it is necessary to briefly discuss the relationship among the
epistles of Ephesians, Philippians and Colossians, which parallels that of Romans, Corinthians
and Galatians. Ephesians sets forth doctrine, Philippians corrects the practical failure of people
to adhere to that doctrine and Colossians addresses the doctrinal deviations away from the
revelation of Ephesians that led to the practical errors. Just as in Galatians you can read many
of the same truths stated in Romans, so in Colossians can you read many of the truths recorded
in Ephesians. In fact, many of the Greek constructions are exactly the same. Colossians
reiterates the basic truth of Ephesians about the Headship of Jesus Christ in his relation to his
Body. 20 If one keeps these truths in mind, especially recalling what he read in Ephesians 2: 15,
he will be able to "correctly handle" (2 Tim. 2: 15) the following section of Scripture, one that has
been for many Christians most difficult.
Colossians 1: 15-18 (NASB)
(15) And He is the image of the invisible God, the first-born of all creation [via his
resurrection].
(16) For by [en, "in"] Him all things [in context, primarily a new order or hierarchy in
heaven] were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether
[angelic] thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all [these new] things have
been created by [dia] Him and for Him [he is the ranking functional authority in
heaven—God having delegated it to him],
(17) He is before all things [in priority], and in Him all things hold together,
(18) He is also the head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the first-born
from
the dead; so that He Himself might come to have first place in everything.
The language in this passage of Colossians must be carefully compared to the similar
language in Ephesians 1, which sets the doctrinal stage for the Colossian correction of their
wrong teaching and thinking regarding Christ. Both passages describe his post-resurrection
glorification and empowerment, and contain similar language with respect to his supremacy of
his authority over "rulers, " "authorities, " etc.
Ephesians l: 19b-23 (NASB)
(19) These are in accordance with the working of the strength of his might
20. For more information, see Appendix J.

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(20) which he brought about in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated
Him at His right hand in the heavenly places,
(21) far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is
named, not only in this age, but also in the one to come.
(22) And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church,
(23) which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.
By putting side-by- side the corresponding concepts from these two epistles, we can easily
see the precise correlation of the subject matter.
Ephesians 1: 17-23; 2: 14 (NASB)
Colossians 1: 12-19; 2: 10 (NASB)
The God of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the Father of glory [1: 17]
Giving thanks to the Father (v. 12); God
was pleased (v. 19)
When He raised Him from the dead
The first-born of all [the new] creation (v. 15);
the first-born from the dead
Make [create] the two [Jew and Gentile]
into one new man (2: 15)
By [en w/dative] Him all things were created
by [dia] Him and for [e; s=unto] Him (v. 16)
Seated Him at His right hand
in the heavenly places far above all
He is before all things [in priority]; in all
things He might come to have first place
rule [arches]
authority [exousias]
dominion [kuriotetos]
power [dunameos]
rulers [archai]
authority [exousia]
dominions [kuriotetes]
thrones [thronoi]
He fills all in all
In Him all things hold together
His body, the fulness of Him
all the fulness to dwell in Him (v. 19)
all the fulness of deity dwells (2: 10)
When such a precise doctrinal correlation exists, we do not need to stretch the Colossians
passage beyond its intention, particularly in regard to verse 16, which is often cited as proof that
Jesus Christ created the heavens and the earth. Clearly the context of these verses is his post-
resurrection glorification and not an eternal state as a pre-existent Son, part of a Triune
"godhead. " Some special note should be given to verse 16, though, because it amplifies the
truth of 1 Corinthians 8: 6, which we already looked at in depth in Chapter 3. The reader may
recall that the Greek preposition dia occurs in that verse twice with a similar meaning. Let us
look at it again:

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1 Corinthians 8: 6 (NRSV)
Yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist,
and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through [dia] whom are all things and through [dia] whom
we exist.
The Church Epistles show Christ's relation to the Church, his Body, of which he is the
Head. As the Church Epistles are the apex of revelation from God to mankind, the Book of
Ephesians is the apex of the revelation of the Church Epistles. In the last half of Ephesians 2, God
sets forth how, through Christ, both Jews and Gentiles have entree into the Body of Christ, and
how, in Christ, they have been made "one new man. "
Ephesians 2: 10-15
(10) For we are God's workmanship created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God
prepared in advance for us to do.
(11) Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called
"uncircumcised" by those who call themselves "the circumcision" (that done in the
body by the hands of men)—
(12) remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizen-
ship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and
without God in the world.
(13) But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near
through the blood of Christ.
(14) For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the
barrier, the dividing wall of hostility,
(15) by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His
purpose was to create [ktizo] in himself one new man out of the two, thus making
peace.
The way Christ is "creating" one new man is by filling each member of his Body with all
that God has given him. This "creation" is twofold. First, the Lord Jesus "creates" the gift of holy
spirit in a person at the moment of his new birth. Second, as the believer obeys God's Word, he
becomes a "new creation, " being transformed from the inside out by the inherent power of this
divine nature within him. Several passages in the Church Episties speak of this new creation:
2 Corinthians 5: 17, 18a
(17) Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has
come!
(18a) all this is from God...
Ephesians 4: 23, 24 (NRSV)
(23) To be renewed in the spirit of your minds;

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(24) and to clothe yourselves with the new self, created according to the likeness God
in true righteousness and holiness.
Colossians 3: 10, 11 (NRSV)
(10) And have clothed yourselves with the new self, which is being renewed in knowl-
edge according to the image of its creator [Christ]
(11) In that renewal there is no longer Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised,
barbarian, Scythian, slave and free, but Christ is all, and is in all!
At the very least, we can conclude from these verses that Christ is "co-creator" with God
of this new creation, which is manifest within each believer and in the collective Body of Christ.
We know that Colossians 1: 15 and 16 cannot be saying that Christ is the creator of the
original heavens and earth because verse 15 says he is "the firstborn of every creature [or "all
creation"]. If he is "the firstborn of all creation, " then he is a created being. 21 The things that
are spoken of in the above passage as being "created" are not rocks, trees, birds, animals, etc.,
because those things were created by God. These things—"thrones, powers, rulers and
authorities"—are the powers and positions that were needed by Christ to reign over heaven and
his Church, and were created by him for that purpose.
In Ephesians 2: 15, the NIV uses the word "create, " and accurately so, according to the
Greek word from which it comes (ktizo). What we see in this verse is that Jesus Christ has created
something and, in fact, is still in the process of creating it. 22 What is this "creation" of Jesus
Christ? Certainly, in context, it is not the" creation" of Genesis 1: 1. The Bible says that what Jesus
did was to "create in himself one new man. " That "new man" is the Church, the Body of Christ
(Eph. 1: 22, 23) that was figuratively "born" on Pentecost, the called out of both Jew and Gentile
(Eph. 2: 15), "God's household" (Eph. 2: 19), the "holy temple" (Eph. 2: 21), the "dwelling place
of God" (Eph. 2: 22). This is the "Secret" upon which Paul elaborates in Ephesians 3.
21. The Mistranslates this phrase "firstborn overall creation, " because this supports their presupposition that Christ
is the creator of the heavens and earth. Were they to admit the standard use of the genitive here, they would be forced
to conclude that the verse is saying that Christ is the firstborn of a different creation, and not the creator himself. They
also translate en as "by" in verse 16, with the intention of attributing creation to Jesus Christ beyond what is warranted
textually. Consider the translation of this verse in the Amplified Version:
"For it was in Him that all things were created, in heaven and on earth, things seen and things unseen,
whether thrones, dominions, rulers or authorities; all things were created and exist through Him (by His service,
intervention) and in and for Him. "
22. Whether Christ is creating something in this verse or not depends upon how the Greek word en is translated. When
it occurs with the dative case, it can carry the meaning of "by, " as in active causation (as in the NIV). But otherwise it
would be translated "in, " which changes the meaning of the verse considerably. In that case, Jesus is not creating
anything, but is the domain in which the creation occurs. In other words, he is the one through (dia) whom and in (en)
whom God laid out His plans and purposes for the Church Age. In our exegesis of this verse, we are granting the
translation of en as indicating active agency in light of the parallel Ephesian usage of "create" in the context of the
Church (2: 14). We disagree, however, that the passage can be handled accurately and honestly by attributing the
creation of the heavens and earth to Jesus Christ, in part because to do so completely obliterates the intended
parallelism with Ephesians.

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Colossians 1: 13, 14 (NASB)
(13) For He [God] delivered us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the
kingdom of His beloved Son,
(14) in whom [or "by" or "through" whom] we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
In the above verses, we see once again that it is through Christ that God has made
redemption available to us.
Colossians 1: 15 (NASB)
And He is the image of the invisible God, the first-born of all creation.
If God is invisible, and if Jesus is the image of God, then obviously Jesus is not God Himself.
That Jesus is the" image of the invisible God" is the same truth communicated in Philippians 2: 6,
when it says that he was "in the form of God. " This is not difficult to understand, but many
people have been confused by the last half of verse 15: "the firstborn of all creation. " Most
Christians have been taught that this refers to the "creation" of Genesis 1: 1, but verse 16
specifically defines what sphere of creation it is talking about: "thrones or powers or rulers or
authorities. " This fits with the context of Colossians, as it relates to Ephesians.
The "creation" of Colossians 1: 15 is the same "creation" of Ephesians 2: 15—the Church!
As we continue reading Colossians 1, we will see more about this creation.
Colossians 1: 16, 17 (NASB)
(16) For by [the text reads "in"] Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on
earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all
things
have been created by Him and for Him.
(17) And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.
The figure of speech, epanadiplosis ["encircling"] helps us to identify the proper context
of "all things, " that it refers to the "things" needed to administer in heaven and the Church. Note
in the above verse that the phrase "all things" occurs before and after the things that were
"created, " and thus defines them. The "all things" here are the "things" for the Church, not the
"things" of the original creation. The word "all" is used in its limited sense, not in a universal
sense. 23 The phrase appears a number of other places in the Church Epistles. Let us consider
this phrase as it is used three times in the following verses:
Ephesians 1: 22, 23 (NASB)
(22) And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all
things for the church,
(23) which is His body, the fulness of Him who fills all [things] in all [things].
23. See Appendix A (Col. 1: 15-20).

Chapter 11: The Church Epistles: The Head of His "Body"
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The "all things" of Colossians 1: 16 and 17 are the same "all things" of Ephesians 1: 22 and
23. 24 As the exalted Lord and Head of the Church, Jesus Christ has now been given all authority
over all spiritual powers. The "all things" of Colossians 1: 16 refers to "thrones, dominions,
rulers or authorities" in the spiritual, or angelic realm as well as in the physical, namely the
Church.
The latter is corroborated in Ephesians 1: 22 where it says that Jesus is Head over
everything for the Church.
Inverse 17, we see that Jesus Christ is "before" all things. This word "before" (pro), can be
used in regard to place, time or superiority. 25 Here in this context, it is clearly referring to his
superior rank and position. Jesus Christ is now the pre-eminent one. It is he who is the one in
whom God's ultimate purposes for mankind are held together. This leads us to conclude that
the whole point of the section is to show that Christ is "before, " i. e., "superior to" all things, just
as the verse says. If someone were to insist that time is involved, we would point out that in the
very next verse Christ is the "firstborn" from the dead, and thus "before" his Church, in time as
well as in position.
Colossians 1: 18 (NASB)
He is also head of the body, the church; and he is the beginning [arche], the first-born
from the dead; so that he himself might come to have first place in everything.
Here the NASB well translates the Greek word arche as "the beginning. " Jesus Christ is the
beginning of the Church, over which he has supremacy. He has the prototypical body that all
members of his spiritual Body will be given one day, and he was the first "member" of the church
to be established—that is, the Head).
Let us now consider the word "firstborn, " which we saw in verse 15 also. So far we have
seen that Jesus is the "firstborn" of all creation and the "firstborn" from among the dead. 26 Let
us look at another verse containing this word.
Romans 8: 29 (NASB)
For whom He foreknew He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His
Son, that He might be the first-born among many brethren.
Here we see that Jesus Christ is the "first born among many brethren. " Since the other uses
of "firstborn" refer to Christ's resurrection, do you think there is any possibility that part of the
"all creation" of Colossians 1: 15 is those "many brothers" who will be raised "from among the
dead?" Bingo! Remember John 5: 26, where we read that God gave Jesus life in himself? Jesus
Christ is the Promised Seed, and as the resurrected Lord at the right hand of God, he gives life
to whomever believes in him as Lord. On the Day of Pentecost, he first poured out that life and
began the Church of his Body. On that day, he first poured out holy spirit, which is the "deposit
24. "All things" appears also in 1 Corinthians 8: 6, another key verse that establishes Christ's identity as God's agent:
"Yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord,
Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live. "
25. Bullinger, op. Cit, Lexicon, p. 89.

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One God & One Lord
guaranteeing" the everlasting life he will one day give to all who believe on him. It was on
Pentecost that Jesus Christ began the Church (Acts 2: lff).
The phrases, "the firstborn of all creation" and "the firstborn from the dead, " encircle the
domain of Christ's resurrection authority and dominion. The "creation" being referred to here
is the new creation of which Jesus Christ is the prototype. He is not only the first person to have
been raised from the dead, he is the first one to have been born from death into everlasting life
with a body perfectly suited to live eternally in heaven or on earth. This places Jesus Christ
in a unique and advanced position, supreme above all of God's creations. Indeed, in his
resurrected body he has been given the privilege of sharing in all that God is, including his
creativity.
Colossians 1: 19, 20 (NASB)
(19) For it was the Father's good pleasure for all the fullness [of God) to dwell in Him,
(20) and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the
blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven.
Praise God for the magnificent gift of His only begotten Son. Praise the Lord Jesus for his
faithfulness to be obedient unto death, even the death of the Cross. Praise God for raising him
from the dead and exalting him as Lord to His right hand on high. Praise the Lord Jesus for his
constant care for us as members of his Body. What a mighty God and what a magnificent Lord
we have!

esus of Nazareth posed this question to his followers nearly two thousand years ago, but the question
hangs in the air, requesting an answer from every person. Indeed, the question of the identity of
Jesus Christ is the most important theological issue of all human history, because he claimed to be the
human Son of the one true God. In One God e_-> One Lard, the authors carefully re-examine the biblical
evidence in light of modern textual research and a thorough survey of scholarly opinion. They argue
that the biblically accurate answer to the question of his identity is provided by Peter, John, Mary,
Paul and other first-century believers who unanimously proclaimed him to be "the Christ, the Son of
the living God. "
Building an impressive and compelling case for the unity of the biblical testimony concerning the true
humanity of Jesus, "the Last Adam, " the authors reveal the profound significance of the two aspects of his
coming: suffering and glory. They seek a view of Christ that allows for a total appreciation of his steadfast
obedience to God in the face of temptation, suffering and even a humiliating death. Vindicated by his
resurrection, he entered into glory and now sits in a position of functional equality with God, analogous to the
relationship of Joseph and Pharaoh in the Book of Genesis. One God One Lord' shows how the traditional
view of Jesus Christ actually demeans both his accomplishments and his heroism by attributing to him
"intrinsic deity" that essentially eliminates the possibility of either authentic temptation or failure.
Because the Gospel of John is often isolated and magnified to establish and fortify orthodox Christology,
the authors explore in depth the unique depiction of Christ in "the Fourth Gospel. " They succeed in placing
John's testimony harmoniously and understandably within the margins of the prophetic portrait of the Messiah.
This portrait had already been drawn out in detail in the Hebrew scriptures and was then fleshed out in the
Synoptic Gospels. Nowhere in this portrait is it clear that Messiah was "God incarnate, " "God the Son, " or a
pre-existent divine visitor.
Appealing primarily to scriptural authority and logical reasoning, One God One Lord also thoroughly
examines the historical process by which traditional Christian orthodoxy came to be established. A combination
of misguided Christian piety and pagan speculation are shown to be responsible for the intrusion of unbiblical
concepts into basic Christian thought and doctrine.
One God One Lord is challenging, but profoundly encourages both Christian devotion and a deep
appreciation for the integrity of the Bible. It will reward the careful
attention of the critic of Christianity, the new Christian, students of the
Bible, pastors, teachers and scholars.
Mark Graeser, John A. Lynn and John Schoenheit are the
founders of Christian Educational Services, Inc., an Indiana-based
ministry with associates around the world. They have jointly authored
other challenging and compelling books—Don't Blame God!, Is There
Death After Life?, The Gift of Holy Spirit: Every Christian's Divine Deposit
and
Speaking the Truth in Love: The Purposes of Christian Educational Services.