Lesson for February 15, 2022
The Doctrine of Christology
Lesson 2
Prophecies of Christ
There are over three hundred prophecies about the coming of Jesus Christ as the Messiah in the Old Testament, spanning a period of about 4000 years, Genesis 3:15 being the first. The Hebrew word for Messiah is “mashiyach,” which means anointed one. It was often used of kings, priests, and prophets. The Greek word for Messiah is “messias,” which also means anointed one, as does the Greek word “christos” for Christ. Jesus Christ as God’s Anointed One is Prophet, Priest, and King and the promised Messiah of Israel in the Old Testament. Jesus Christ fulfilled all Old Testament prophecies regarding the coming Messiah. (Revelation 12:17; Romans 16:20; Matthew 21:11; Luke 7:16; Hebrew 4:14-16, 7:2; Revelation 19:15-16; Mark 1:14-15)
In order to fulfill prophecy and legally claim the throne of King David, Jesus Christ had to come into this world by way of David’s royal line. (Jeremiah 23:5-6, 33:14-15; Isaiah 4:2, 11:1) According to Psalms 2:7, the virgin birth of Christ was planned in eternity past. It was prophesied in Isaiah 7:14 (700 BC) and it was fulfilled, as recorded in Luke 1:34-35, 2:8-14.
The Messiah had to be born in a specific place, which was Bethlehem, according to Micah 5:2 and this was fulfilled, according to Matthew 2:1-2. That Christ would be called Emmanuel (God with us) was prophesied in Isaiah 7:14 and fulfilled, according to Matthew 1:18-23. The Davidic Covenant stated that David would have “a son” Who would reign forever (a reference to Jesus). (II Samuel 7, Psalms 89, II Chronicles 21) The lineage of Mary can be traced to David. (Luke 3:23-38) The lineage of Joseph can be traced to David, as well. (Matthew 1:1-17) Christ has both a birthright and a legal right to the throne of David which will be set up during the Millennium, upon which Christ will sit and rule the world. (Matthew 1:18-25; Isaiah 7:14)
Jesus Christ is coequal and coeternal with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit. He voluntarily subordinated Himself to the Father’s plan of salvation. This means He also deprived Himself of the exercise of His divine attributes. At no time did Christ “empty Himself” of His deity. He was never less than God. He simply restricted the use of His divine attributes voluntarily. (Colossians 2:9) The Holy Spirit empowered, taught, and sustained Jesus throughout His life on earth. Christ suffered in the same ways that we suffer, but much greater, of course.
The life of Christ was foretold hundreds of years before He became a human being. Having demonstrated that it is possible to live in the devil’s world and still fulfill God’s plan, Christ became our role model for living. Just as God the Father had a plan for His Son, He also has a plan for each one of us. Since Jesus Christ is our role model, it only makes good sense to have His attitude toward life, to have His virtues and values, and to share His great happiness and capacity for life. (Hebrews 12:1-3)
There are numerous prophecies regarding the life and death of Christ in the Old Testament. Isaiah 53 outlines several of them. Here are a few examples for comparison between the prophecy and its fulfillment: 1) Jesus was pierced for our sins – Isaiah 53:5, Psalm 22:16 with John 19:31-34. 2) Jesus was silent before His accusers – Isaiah 53:7 with Matthew 27:11-14. 3) Jesus was crucified with criminals – Isaiah 53:9 with Matthew 27:35. 4) Not a bone of Christ’s body was broken – Psalm 34:20 with John 19:31-37. 5) Jesus became sin for us as our substitute on the Cross – Isaiah 53:5-6, 12 with II Corinthians 5:21. The sacrificial system of the Mosaic Law was a prophesy regarding Jesus Christ. The Passover ceremony, the offerings, the Day of Atonement, and the sacrifice of animals demonstrated Jesus Christ’s substitutionary, sacrificial death on the Cross.
Romans 5:8, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” It is the substitutionary spiritual death of Christ that completely satisfied the righteousness of God and provides eternal life for all when they believe in Him for salvation. (II Corinthians 5:21; John 3:16) Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross was complete and eternal. It was complete in that it never had to be repeated. Christ died once for the sin of all mankind. (I John 2:2; Romans 3:25; Hebrews 9:28)
Christ was a willing substitute. He was not forced by God the Father to become humanity and die in our place. Jesus willingly and joyfully fulfilled a plan that God designed in eternity past. (Hebrews 12:1-2) We are all born spiritually dead because of Adam’s original sin which separates us from God. The moment we believe in Christ as Savior, sin is forgiven. (Romans 3:23-25, 6:23)
The substitutionary spiritual death of Christ satisfied God’s righteous judgment and made a way for God to offer us eternal life as a free gift. Therefore, every person is given the opportunity to accept God’s free offer of eternal life by faith alone in Christ alone. (Ephesians 2:8-9)
God’s plan called for Jesus Christ to become a human being, live a sinless life, die on the Cross to pay the penalty for the sins of the world, and be raised from the dead after three days – all in fulfillment of prophecy. (Job 19:25-26 [1520 B.C.]; Psalms 16:9-10 [1000 B.C]; John 2:19-22 [26 A.D.]. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is definitive proof that He is the Son of God, and that both spiritual death and physical death have been conquered.
Christ became a human being at the Virgin Birth, without a human father and without a sin nature. Jesus is the only member of the Godhead Who is revealed to mankind in bodily form. Jesus had a soul, according to Matthew 26:38, a human spirit, according to John 13:21, and a body, according to John 19:38-40.
In His deity, Christ could not sin and in His humanity, though He was tempted to sin, He was able not to sin. (Hebrews 4:15; I Peter 1:19) Therefore, Christ remained free from all three categories of sin: the sin nature, Adam’s original sin, and personal sins. The virgin birth of Christ assured that He would have no sin nature. Without a sin nature, Adam’s original sin could not be imputed to Christ. Christ was able not to commit personal sin under the filling and power of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus Christ is the only Person in history to be both fully God and fully human. The term for this unique union is the Hypostatic Union, from the Greek word “hupostatis,” meaning essence. (Hebrews 1:1-3) Christ is superior to man because He is God and He is a sinless man. However, His two natures retain their separate identities. The attributes of one do not belong to the other. Because of this unique union, Christ is the perfect mediator between God and man. (I Timothy 2:5)
II Corinthians 8:9 tells us that even though Christ was rich, for our sakes He became poor (a human). We must remember that Jesus Christ is coequal and coeternal with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit. He voluntarily subordinated Himself to the Father’s plan of salvation.
The Doctrine of Kenosis is taken from the Greek word “kenoo,” meaning “of no effect.” This doctrine explains how Christ willingly set aside the use of any of His rightful divine attributes while on earth that would violate the plan of God. At no time did Christ “empty Himself” of His deity. He was never less than God. He simply restricted the use of His divine attributes voluntarily. (Philippians 2:7; Colossians 2:9; John 10:18)
Christ glorified the Father by executing the Father’s plan, not by glorifying Himself. The limitation of kenosis glorified Christ because He was able to execute God’s plan as a human being. As a testimony to the fact that God the Father was completely satisfied with the fulfillment of His plan, Christ is now seated at the Father’s right hand. Christ’s impeccable life demonstrated the fact that we too can execute God’s plan with the same power options He had – the filling of the Holy Spirit and Bible doctrine. (John 19:30; Philippians 2:5-8)
Jesus had to learn the Scriptures the same way that we do, under the filling of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit was the One Who empowered Him and sustained Him throughout His life on earth. As a man, Christ suffered in the same ways that we suffer. The ultimate humiliation was suffering the divine judgment from God for our sins. (Matthew 24:36; John 8:56, 16:14; Philippians 2:8)
Christ lived an impeccable (sinless) life. The virgin birth of Christ assured that He would have no sin nature. (I Corinthians 15:22) Without a sin nature, Adam’s original sin could not be imputed to Christ. Therefore, Christ was born physically and spiritually alive, whereas we are born physically alive but spiritually dead (separated from God). (Romans 6:12) However, Christ had to face the avoidance of personal sin. The humanity of Christ was tempted to sin, not in His deity. God cannot be tempted to sin, but Jesus, as a man, could be tempted to sin. How could Christ accomplish the amazing task of a sinless life? The only way He succeeded in not sinning was by residing in and relying upon the power of God the Holy Spirit. We are to follow His example! (James 1:13; Hebrews 4:15; I John 3:5; Matthew 4:1-4)
The filling of God the Holy Spirit is much more powerful than Satan, all his demons and this world system. Christ tested and proved the spiritual life under the power of the Holy Spirit. We cannot be sinless, but we can use the same power system that He used. God has also given us the Rebound recovery system (something that Christ did not need), in order for us to utilize this power to our maximum advantage. Therefore, we have no excuse for failing to live in the same power system in which Christ lived, the Divine Dynasphere. (Ephesians 5:18; Galatians 5:18; I John 1:9)