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THE SIGNIFICANT ITEMS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT AND THE PROPHECIES OF THE OLD TESTAMENT
Scripture Reading: John 1:14; 6:57a; Eph. 1:22-23; John 3:29; Rev. 21:9-10; Gen. 3:15; 22:18; Isa. 11:1, 10; 7:14; 9:6; 53:2; Micah 5:2; Gen. 2:21-24; Psa. 22:22; Isa. 8:18
The focus of these messages is a general sketch of the New Testament in the light of Christ and the church. Here we cannot deal with many details, but by the grace of the Lord, we will see the main points and the main line of the New Testament.
In order to know the sketch of the New Testament, we must see something concerning the entire Scriptures. First, the entire Scriptures reveal not only the nature and character of God but also His purpose. In fact, the Scriptures may reveal God’s purpose more than His character and nature because the entire Bible is a book showing us God’s plan; it is a book unveiling the purpose of God. What is the purpose of God? In brief, God’s eternal purpose and intention are to have a group of living persons mingled with Himself as one to be His living, corporate expression.
Second, the Old Testament, the first main part of the Scriptures, contains types and prophecies as figures, shadows, and predictions concerning the purpose of God. In the Old Testament are all the figures, shadows, and pictures which describe, portray, or predict God’s eternal purpose.
Third, the New Testament contains the fulfillment of the types and prophecies concerning God’s eternal purpose. By this brief and clear word we can see that the entire Scriptures are a book of God’s purpose: The Old Testament contains the shadows and figures of God’s purpose, and the New Testament contains the fulfillment of His purpose. With this understanding and realization, we can better understand the New Testament.
THE SIGNIFICANT ITEMS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT
Incarnation
To grasp a few significant items is sufficient for us to understand the entire New Testament. The first significant and prominent item mentioned and recorded in the New Testament is that one day God came into man to be mingled with man and to become a man. The almighty Creator of the universe came into one of His creatures, man. This is wonderful! Before incarnation, God was God and man was man; the Creator was the Creator, the creature was the creature, and the two were not one. Incarnation, however, is a real landmark in time, dividing the dispensation of the Old Testament from that of the New Testament. It is a landmark at which something wonderful, magnificent, marvelous, and indescribable happened: The Creator mingled Himself with one of His creatures—man—and He Himself became a man.
A Wonderful Life and Living
Second, the New Testament shows us a wonderful living, a walk as the expression of an inner life. On this earth the Lord Jesus had the living of the divine life through the human life. The wonderful living of the Lord Jesus spoken of and recorded in the four Gospels was the issue of the mingling of the divine life with the human life. In other words, God was lived out through man in a wonderful living. In this living we can see God expressed through man and God and man mingled as one. If we read the four Gospels again with this light and from this point of view, we will have a new understanding of the record of these four books. They show us the wonderful living of God Himself through man and among men.
The Universal Man
The third great matter that the New Testament reveals is a universal man, a man so great as to fill the entire universe (Eph. 1:23). This man, being universally full without limitation, is in the heavens and on the earth at the same time. The Head of this universal man is Christ, and the Body is the church composed of millions of believers as His members (v. 22). The entire New Testament record is a portrait of such a universal man.
The Bridegroom and the Bride
The entire New Testament also reveals a couple composed of Christ as the Bridegroom and the church as the bride. A couple is two persons who have become one. In John 3:29, John the Baptist told us clearly that Christ came as the Bridegroom for the bride. God became a man to be the Bridegroom to marry a bride. This is why there is a wedding at the end of the New Testament. At the close of the New Testament there is a marriage (Rev. 19:7; 22:17), and before the wedding there is a period of time for the preparation of the bride. The Bridegroom has been waiting for the bride to be ready. When the bride makes herself ready, then the wedding day will come. At the end of the New Testament there is the New Jerusalem which is the bride of Christ (21:9-10). The New Jerusalem is the bride, and Christ as the Lamb of God is the Bridegroom. These two are the universal couple.
The New Jerusalem
Lastly, the New Testament shows us the New Jerusalem as the ultimate consummation of God’s work in the universe. The New Jerusalem is the ultimate consummation of the church and of all God’s work through all the generations. It is also the consummation of the whole universe. Without the New Jerusalem as the ultimate sign of God’s consummated work, we could never understand the real purpose of His work through the generations. Because this ultimate consummation is recorded and revealed in the New Testament, we know the purpose of God’s work, and we have a full description and definition of the purpose and meaning of the entire universe.
THE PROPHECIES OF THE OLD TESTAMENT
The Central Thought of All Prophecies Being Christ and the Church
In order to understand the New Testament we must also examine the prophecies of the Old Testament. In my early years I studied many books on prophecy, including several by G. H. Pember: The Great Prophecies of the Centuries concerning Israel and the Gentiles; The Great Prophecies concerning the Gentiles, the Jews, and the Church of God; and The Great Prophecies of the Centuries concerning the Church. Mr. Pember gave people much help in understanding the prophecy of the Scriptures. All Bible students agree that Mr. Pember was a real scholar. However, Pember’s interpretations of prophecy reveal much about events but not much concerning the central thought of God. The central thought of prophecy is not the events mentioned in the prophecies; rather, it is Christ and the church. Mr. Pember’s interpretation of prophecy mainly tells us what will happen to the nation of Israel, to the church, and to the Gentile world. However, the two central matters of the prophecies of the Old Testament are Christ and the church. At this time we cannot go into the details of all the prophecies in the Old Testament. We will point out only a few of the main items.
Old Testament Prophecies concerning Christ
The Seed of the Woman
The first prophecy concerning Christ in the Old Testament is the seed of the woman, which is found in Genesis 3:15. Neither Adam nor any of his direct descendants were this seed of woman. Christ is the unique seed of the woman. He is the only one among the entire human race that was born only of a woman. Apparently, we are all born of our mother, but in actuality we are born of our father. Someone may say that Cain, for example, was the son of Adam and of Eve, but the Scriptures do not say this. Rather, Cain and Abel were both the sons of Adam. All human beings are the sons of Adam, the descendants of a man. Among the entire human race, there is only one person of human blood and flesh whose birth had nothing to do with a man.
The fulfillment of this prophecy in the New Testament is found in Galatians 4:4 which says, “When the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under law.” Similarly, Matthew 1:23 says, “Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a son.”
The Seed of Abraham
Genesis 22:18 records the second main prophecy concerning Christ. In this verse Christ is prophesied as the seed of Abraham. This prophecy was repeated to Isaac in Genesis 26:4 and again to Jacob in Genesis 28:14. These three verses are not three prophecies but one prophecy of Christ as the seed of Abraham. The fulfillment of this prophetic word is in Galatians 3:16; it is also in Matthew 1:1, which says that Christ is the Son of Abraham.
The Seed of David
The third prophecy concerns Christ as the seed of David. Christ as the seed of David is predicted in 2 Samuel 7:12-14 and Isaiah 11:1-5 and 10. Isaiah 11:1 says, “Then a sprout will come forth from the stump of Jesse, / And a branch from his roots will bear fruit.” By reading verses 1 through 5, we can realize that this branch is Christ, who comes out of Jesse as the root.
The first verse in the New Testament, Matthew 1:1, is very meaningful, telling us that Christ is the son not only of Abraham but also of David. Jesse was the father of David, and David was the forefather of Christ. Therefore, Jesse also is the forefather of Christ. From this point of view, Christ is the branch coming out of the root, the descendant coming out of the forefather. Isaiah 11:10, however, speaks of Christ as the root of Jesse. In this verse Christ is no longer the descendant of Jesse but his root. Revelation 5:5 refers to Christ as “the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David.” As the Root of David, Christ is David’s forefather, but as the branch, Christ is David’s descendant.
In Matthew 22:41-46 Christ questioned the Pharisees in His wisdom. These verses say, “Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus questioned them, saying, What do you think concerning the Christ? Whose son is He? They said to Him, David’s. He said to them, How then does David in spirit call Him Lord, saying, ‘The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at My right hand until I put Your enemies underneath Your feet’? If then David calls Him Lord, how is He his son? And no one was able to answer Him a word, nor did anyone from that day dare to question Him anymore.” On the one hand, Christ is the son of David who came out of David, and on the other hand, He is the Lord of David, the Root of David out of whom David came. Christ is the wonderful One who is everything: He is the root, the branch, and the sprout. He is the son, yet He is the source.
The central thought of all of these prophecies is that God wants to mingle Himself with man. Therefore, on the one hand, Christ is man, but on the other hand, He is God. As a man, He is the sprout, the branch, and as God, He is the root, the source. The central message of the prophecies of the Old Testament is that God Himself mingles with man to be a man. Because Christ is both God and man, He is both the branch and the root. As man, He is the expression; as God, He is the source. Such a Christ is the wonderful One. If we do not know this One, our mouth will be shut like the mouths of the Pharisees (v. 46), and we will not be able to understand the Scriptures.
Immanuel
The fourth great prophecy concerns Christ as Immanuel (Isa. 7:14). The name Immanuel means “God with us.” This prophecy is all-inclusive because a son born of a virgin includes the thought of the seed of woman, the seed of Abraham, and the seed of David. The seed of woman, who is also the seed of Abraham and the seed of David, is Immanuel. The central thought of the prophecy concerning Immanuel is that God is with man. Even in the very name of Immanuel there is both God and man. In Hebrew the last two letters of Immanuel—el—mean “God,” and “with us” indicates man. Therefore, in this one name there is the mingling of God with man.
The New Testament fulfillment of this prophecy is found in Matthew 1. Chapter 1 of Matthew is profound. In this chapter the above four prophecies are fulfilled: the seed of woman as the son born of a virgin (v. 23), the seed (son) of Abraham (v. 1b), the seed (son) of David (v. 1a), and Emmanuel (v. 23). Such a One is God mingled with man.
The Child as the Mighty God and the Son as the Eternal Father
Isaiah 9:6 records the fifth main prophecy concerning Christ. This verse says, “A child is born to us, / A son is given to us; / And the government / Is upon His shoulder; / And His name will be called / Wonderful Counselor, / Mighty God, / Eternal Father, / Prince of Peace.” The little child born in a manger in Bethlehem is called Mighty God, and the son who is given to us is called Eternal Father. Again, this prophecy shows us the mingling of God with man and the oneness of the expression with the source. Man is the expression, and God is the source; the Son is the expression, and the Father is the source. However, these two are not separate but are mingled as one. The expression is one hundred percent in oneness with the source, as indicated by the fact that the Son is called the Father. The central thought of God, that He mingles Himself with man, is clearly seen in Isaiah 9:6 in that the expression is one with the source.
A Root out of Dry Ground
Another major prophecy concerns Christ as a root out of dry ground (Isa. 53:2). Here Christ is prophesied not as the eternal root mentioned in Isaiah 11 but as a root in time. Christ as the eternal root is God Himself as the Lord and Creator, yet here He is another root, a root in time, grown out of dry ground. The root out of dry ground refers to the human life and living of the Lord Jesus. As the root in time, He grew up in a poor family, in a poor home, and in a small city (John 1:45-46). He was truly out of dry ground; there was nothing rich in His living.
The great thought hidden within this prophecy concerning Christ, as well as in all the above prophecies, is that this wonderful One is the mingling of God with man. Christ is the eternal root because He is the very Creator, the eternal God, and He is also the root out of dry ground because He became a man to grow up on this earth in a poor situation and poor environment. Christ is God and He is man.
The Eternal One
Christ is also prophesied as the eternal One in Micah 5:2. This verse says, “You, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, / So little to be among the thousands of Judah, / From you there will come forth to Me / He who is to be Ruler in Israel; / And His goings forth are from ancient times, / From the days of eternity.” On the one hand, this short verse tells us that this Ruler in Israel came out of Judah, that is, out of the human source, but on the other hand, it tells us that He came out of eternity. The fact that He came first out of eternity and then out of Judah means that He is God becoming a man. If we lack the vision, we will acknowledge Him as only a Jew. However, He is more than a Jew; He came not only out of the Jewish race but also out of eternity. Hence, He is God becoming a man as the mingling of God with man.
Moreover, Psalm 102:26-27 tells us that Christ is eternal not only in the past but also in the future. According to Micah 5:2, Christ is eternal in the past, and according to Psalm 102, He is eternal in the future. Therefore, He is eternally without beginning and without end. Hebrews 7:3 is the fulfillment of this prophecy. This verse says, “Being without father, without mother, without genealogy; having neither beginning of days nor end of life.” This wonderful One has no beginning and no end.
In conclusion, the seven main points above are all prophecies concerning this wonderful Christ. Christ is the seed of the woman, the seed of Abraham, and the seed of David, who is called Immanuel. This Immanuel is a child who is called Mighty God, and He is a son called Eternal Father. He is also a root out of dry ground. He has no beginning from eternity past, and He has no end unto eternity future. This wonderful One is the mingling of God with man.
I have read many books about the prophecies in the Old Testament, but almost none present them according to their central thought. The central thought of the prophecies is that God became a man; He was born of a virgin to be a little child and to grow up out of dry ground, yet He is the very God. He is the branch, and He is the root. He is a man of God and God in man. He is everything! This is the wonderful One who was God coming into man, becoming a man, to mingle Himself with man as everything. Christ is a child, yet this child is called Mighty God. He is also a Son, yet this Son is called Eternal Father. He came out of the Jewish race, yet He is from eternity. He is the son of David, yet He is the Lord of David. He is the branch, yet He is the root.
The entire Old Testament is centered around the mingling of God and man. If we grasp the central thought of all the prophecies, they will be clear to us. If, however, we miss the central thought, we can never understand the Scriptures. The Scriptures reveal the thought that man is mingled with God. God Himself is the very life, the very content, and man is the expression. Man expresses God’s life within him as his content.
Old Testament Types of the Church
The central thought of all the prophecies is realized first in Christ and then in the church. In Christ we see God mingled with man, and in the church we also see God mingled with man.
Eve Coming out of Adam
The first prophecy of the church is in the form of a type, which is the record of Eve in Genesis 2:21-24. As the wife of Adam, Eve is a type of the church. Eve came out of Adam to be the counterpart of Adam, to match Adam. This is a type of the church, showing us how the church comes into existence and what the function of the church is. This type is fulfilled in Ephesians 5:31-32.
The Many Brothers of the Firstborn
A second great prophecy of the church is in Psalm 22:22. This verse, speaking of the resurrection of Christ, says, “I will declare Your name to my brothers; / In the midst of the assembly I will praise You.” The fulfillment of this type is in John 20 and Hebrews 2. John 20:17 says that after His resurrection, the Lord Jesus called His disciples “My brothers,” and Hebrews 2:12 tells us that these brothers are the church. The church is a composition, the assembly, of the many brothers of Christ the firstborn Son.
The Children of the Father
A third major Old Testament prophecy of the church is that of the children of the Father. This is found in Isaiah 8:18, which says, “See, I and the children whom Jehovah has given me.” In this verse the “I” signifies Christ, and “the children” signify the members of the church. This prophecy is fulfilled in Hebrews 2:13.
The above are the main prophecies of the church found in the Old Testament. In summary, the church is the same to Christ as Eve was to Adam; that is, the church comes out of Christ to match Christ and be one with Christ. The church is also the many brothers of the Firstborn having the same life and nature as Christ. Christ is the Firstborn, and the church is composed of His many brothers. Third, the church comprises the children whom the Father gave to Christ. The church issues from Christ as life because all of the members of the church are born of Christ, who is the very source of the church.
The above prophecies emphasize that Christ is the mingling of God with man, and the church is the counterpart of Christ, the many brothers with Christ the Firstborn, and the children given to Christ. These three prophecies clearly show us that the church is a part of Christ, born of Christ to match Him, and one with Christ. This is the central thought of the prophecies in the Old Testament concerning Christ and the church and their fulfillment in the New Testament.