Why is the Old Testament Important?
| God,...spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, (Hebrews 1:1)
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Christianity began as a Jewish sect, and the entire New Testament was written by Jewish Christians. The Jewish scriptures (the Old Testament) were very important to these early Christians, because it was the Word of God spoken to the prophets. By the third century Christianity had become a predominantly Gentile (non-Jewish) religion. As a result, the importance of the Old Testament was minimized, and a Greek interpretation of the New Testament became popular at the expense of Jewish Christians.
Words have different meaning in Greek and Hebrew. For example, the word "know", from the verse "ye shall know the truth"(John 8:32) means:
- Greek: to understand mentally.
- Hebrew: to participate physically with irreversible consequences. Often used in reference to a marriage relationship, which would result in children.
Another example is the word "LORD", from the verse "My LORD and my God" (John 20:28), which would have different meaning in Greek and Hebrew:
- Greek: Master, ruler.
- Hebrew: a reference to the unspeakable name of God, (Jehovah).
In order to "know the LORD" (Hosea 2:20), you must begin with a Jewish understanding of the Old Testament: a belief in one God.
How was man was made?
God created man in his own image (Genesis 1:27). God is a spirit. When God created man in the beginning, man was created a spirit. God later formed a body for man to live in to rule his creation. This body was designed as a temple for the spirit of God and the spirit of Man to live and operate. By doing this, God gave man the foundation of knowledge (i.e. experience) with him, because we are made in the image of God:
- Man is called a "living soul"(Genesis 2:7), and God is called a "living God" (Psalms 42:2). This soul is a part of God.
- Jesus said that 'God is a spirit" (John 4:24). To be in the image of God, man must have been made a spirit also.
- The soul is unique from the spirit (Hebrews 4:12).
- When God made man in "our" image (Genesis 1:26), he made man both soul and spirit, existence and expression.
- The body is the temple of God, and is the residence of the "living God" (II Corinthians 6:16) and the "Spirit of God" (I Corinthians 3:16).
From creation, we can see that Man is made of three components: a soul, a spirit, and a body (I Thessalonians 5:23). This "trinity" of existence is the three components that make one earthly man.
| And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. (I Thessalonians 5:23)
For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12)
The burden of the word of the LORD for Israel, saith the LORD, which stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him. (Zechariah 12:1)
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How was the first woman made?
"Woman" means "taken from the man" (Genesis 2:23). Similarly, man is "taken from God" (Acts 17:29) but is spirit from spirit instead of body from body. After man was created, God formed a woman from the rib of man (Genesis 2:22). The woman then had a separate body, spirit and soul, and was capable of making decisions independent from man. Both men and women are also capable of making decisions independent from God.
| For Adam was first formed, then Eve. (I Timothy 2:13)
But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman [is] the man; and the head of Christ [is] God. (I Corinthians 11:3)
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What does it mean to be a son of man?
The human race continues through childbirth, through which every child experiences three distinct changes:
- Water: The child is brought out of the 'water' (amniotic fluid) where it previously lived. In a natural birth, the 'water breaks' as a sign to others that the birth process has begun.
- Blood: Previously dependent on nourishment from the mother's bloodstream, the umbilical cord is severed and some blood is lost or spilt in this process. The child's heart then transforms to become self-sustaining.
- Spirit: The child takes its first breath of air, on which it will be dependent for the rest of its life, and cries.
The New Testament identifies these three components of childbirth (water, blood, and spirit) as necessary ingredients for our redemption (I John 5:6). By being born of a woman, the God of the Old Testament became a begotten son (Hebrews 1:5), and fulfilled all of the requirements to redeem mankind.
| This is he that came by water and blood, [even] Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth. (I John 5:6)
For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son? (Hebrews 1:5)
And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man. (Luke 2:52)
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What does it mean to be a son of God?
Because God is a Spirit (John 4:24), someone who is a child of God must be so in spirit. The scriptures say "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God" (Romans 8:14), and "Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God:" (I John 5:1a). Someone who is born of God is in the image of the creator (Colossians 3:10), and is identified by his or her obedience to the Word of God (I John 3:24).
According to the scriptures, we "become the sons of God" (John 1:12) and, to those that believe, "now we are the sons of God" (I John 3:2). A child of God is therefore begotten by the Word of God, and the evidence of this birth is faith and obedience in the Word of God.
When the Spirit of God's Son (Galatians 4:6) was separated from his body at the crucifixion, Jesus was made a "quickening spirit" (I Corinthians 15:45). "Quickening" means the ability to give life. When Jesus told his disciples "I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you", he was letting them know that he would come in the form of God (a spirit) rather than in the form of man (a body) to fulfill his promise of eternal life.
| Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. (I John 3:2)
And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him: (Colossians 3:10)
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What about life in Heaven?
Death does not end our existence. The scriptures say that "There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body." (I Corinthians 15:44). Like a natural body, a spiritual body is a temple for the spirit but is not the spirit itself. For example, Angels have spiritual bodies but are not formless beings (Daniel 8:15).
After God raised Jesus Christ from the dead, Jesus' earthly body then ascended to God (John 20:17), and could then appear and disappear at will (Luke 24:31). Earlier, when Jesus was transfigured before Peter, James and John, his face shone like the sun (Matthew 17:2). Later, when Jesus appeared before Paul, he came as a great shining light (Acts 22:6). This spiritual body is not an earthly body, but is a body not subject to the laws of the universe (or even existence within the universe), but is only subject to the direction of God.
Every Christian is also promised a spiritual, glorified body in which to spend eternity.
| For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. (II Corinthians 5:1)
But they which shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage: Neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the angels; and are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection. (Luke 20:35-36)
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Is the temple the only Old Testament comparison to man?
No. The prophet Ezekiel saw a visions of angels descending from heaven with the likeness of man (Ezekiel 1:5). Beside each of these angels was a wheel in a wheel, (Ezekiel 1:16) and the spirit of the angels was found in the wheels (Ezekiel 1:20). This vision may sound cryptic, but the angel had the likeness of a man: Body (angel), spirit (wheel), and soul (wheel in a wheel).
The purpose of the body is to perform the will of the spirit (James 2:26). The purpose of the spirit is expression (I Corinthians 14:14, Isaiah 11:2). The gate to the soul is faith, which is the ability to believe (Hebrews 10:39, Habakkuk 2:4). Faith is what ties us to God or separates us from God. No other creature on earth has this ability.
Is there such a thing as eternal sonship?
Every son has a beginning. Jesus could not be a son without being born, just as he could not be a saviour without dying. A son has no knowledge of his father's experiences, and Jesus had no understanding of God at his birth, but "increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man." (Luke 2:52)
Why did Jesus say "before Abraham was, I am", if he was not the eternal son?
God made Jesus "both Lord and Christ" (Acts 2:36). "Lord" refers to the word "Jehovah", which is the self-existent one. Jesus was Jehovah in flesh, born of a woman. "Christ" is the Greek word for Messiah, which means "anointed" Messiah by God. There are examples in the Bible of when God had entered flesh before, but never as the son of God. Here are two examples:
- When King Nebuchadnezzar threw three Hebrews into a furnace, he saw four "men" walking around, and declared that the fourth man was "like the Son of God" (Daniel 3:25). This man was "like" the Son of God as he was God in the flesh, but he was not the Son of God as he was not born of a woman.
- Melchizedek ate bread and drank wine with Abraham, just like Jesus had communion with his disciples (Genesis 14:18). The Bible says that Melchizedek was made "like unto the Son of God" and was without beginning or end (Hebrews 7:3). Melchizedek was also God in flesh, but he was not the Son of God as he was not born of a woman.
When Jesus said "before Abraham was, I am" (John 8:58) and referred to the glory he had with the Father "before the world was" (John 17:5), he was revealing that he was the possessor of the soul and spirit of God. Jesus' body was the temple of God (John 2:19) made of a woman, but inside he was the invisible God, Jehovah, of the Old Testament. His body was irrelevant to his existence, but relevant to the process of our redemption. Those who believe are also called the temple of the living God (II Corinthians 6:16). Just as the Woman was from the flesh of Man, those who believe are from the Spirit of God, and are eternal.
| Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever. (Hebrews 13:8)
I and my Father are one. (John 10:30)
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How could God speak from heaven, if he was not another "person"?
Jesus, born of a woman, was subject to gravity, death, and time. God is not subject to any of these things. If the Spirit of God can continue to work outside of your frame of existence, and you are a son of God, then there is no reason why the Spirit of God would be restricted from working outside of Jesus' body while Jesus was on earth.
If the Son had a beginning, does he also have an end?
The body of Jesus was formed in Mary's womb, and the body of Jesus died on a cross and was placed in a tomb. The Son of man was born, and the Son of Man died. The Spirit of Jesus, however, is the eternal Holy Spirit, also known as the Word, which was with God and was God in the beginning (John 1:1).
When Jesus rose from the dead he proved that God's life in the Spirit of his Son is eternal, and is not subject to death. Jesus then ascended into heaven, was glorified, and returned to the earth to minister to his disciples (John 20:16-17, John 20:27). When Jesus returned he was no longer confined to the laws of nature, but was able to appear and disappear at will as the Son of God. All of the functions of his natural body - memory, sight, taste, mass, etc... - existed and restricted only on command.
Jesus prophesied that he had come from the Father and would go back to the Father (John 16:28). Paul writes that "when all things shall be subdued unto him," (including death) "then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him , that God may be all in all." (I Corinthians 15:28). Jesus became the Saviour by submitting his spirit into the hands of the Father (Luke 23:46) - and Paul's writing prophecies of another submission which will produce an even greater result.
What does "adoption" mean in the Bible?
In Western society, adoption is the process of legally claiming an orphan or another person's child as your own child. In Eastern society, adoption also means the process whereby a son comes to power with his father over his inheritance (Galatians 4:1-2). If a son did not prove himself to be of sound judgment, his inheritance was instead given to a faithful servant (Proverbs 17:2).
| Now I say, That the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all; But is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father. (Galatians 4:1-2)
A wise servant shall have rule over a son that causeth shame, and shall have part of the inheritance among the brethren. (Proverbs 17:2)
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Even though he was the Son of God bodily, Jesus could not fulfill the scriptures until he had been adopted as a son, being given authority over his inheritance, by the Father. This adoption was made at Jesus' baptism, when the Spirit of God descended in the form of a dove, and a voice spoke from heaven saying "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased" (Matthew 3:17). This adoption was later confirmed when Jesus was transfigured, and spoke with Moses and Elijah. Again a voice from the midst of a cloud saying "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him" (Matthew 17:5)
Because Jesus was the adopted Son of God, he also gave us the right to be adopted into the inheritance of God through our obedience to his Word.
| Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him; (Hebrews 5:8-9)
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Conclusion
In spite of this explanation, the mystery of the Godhead will only be "known" to those who are elected and predestined by God. You may not like the fact that God has control over your eternal destination, but Jesus said "neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him." (Matthew 11:27)
However, God gave instruction for those wanting to know him and have not received the Holy Ghost, for the scriptures say that "no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost." (I Corinthians 12:3) The instructions God gave to receive the Holy Spirit are:
- "Thou shalt have no other gods before me." (Exodus 20:3)
- "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost" (Acts 2:38)
For more on receiving the Holy Spirit, click here
For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. (Jeremiah 29:11-13)
I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me. (Proverbs 8:17)
Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: (Matthew 7:7)
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Further Studies
Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: (Deuteronomy 6:4)
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