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In this message we shall see more concerning Christ’s person in the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies. In particular, we shall consider prophecies related to Christ’s resurrection.
In the Old Testament there is a prophecy regarding the matter of Christ being the One who was begotten the firstborn Son of God and whose Father God became. Psalm 2:7 says, “The Lord hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.” Furthermore, 2 Samuel 7:14 prophesies, “I will be his father, and he shall be my son.” Both verses are quoted in Hebrews 1:5: “For to which of the angels has He ever said, You are My Son; this day I have begotten You? And again, I will be to Him a Father, and He shall be to Me a Son?” “This day” is the day of Christ’s resurrection (Acts 13:33). Through resurrection Christ in His humanity was born to be the firstborn Son of God. The Lord Jesus was born of a virgin to be the Son of Man, yet He still needed to be born of the Father to be the firstborn Son of God. When He was born in this way, His humanity was “sonized” through resurrection. Therefore, God is a Father of Christ in two senses: first, in the sense that God was the Father of Christ in His divinity from eternity; second, in the sense that God is the Father of Christ in His humanity in resurrection through which Christ was begotten to be the firstborn Son of God.
The resurrected Christ is the holy and sure things of David, things that are mercies or blessings to us. The resurrected Christ is the mercies and blessings God gives to us in this age. These are the holy and sure things of David prophesied in Isaiah 55:3 and fulfilled in Acts 13:34.
Acts 13:34 says, “As to His having raised Him up from among the dead, no longer to return to corruption, He spoke in this way, I will give you the holy and faithful things of David.” Verses 33 and 34 are concerned with the resurrected Christ. Verse 33 says, “That God has fully fulfilled this promise to us their children in raising up Jesus, as it is also written in the second psalm, You are My Son; today I have begotten You.” We have seen that Christ’s resurrection was His second birth to bring Him forth as the firstborn Son of God. God promised to give Him to His people, and this resurrected One is the holy and faithful things of David. The phrase “the holy and faithful things of David” indicates that Christ was of David, for it was out of David’s seed that God raised up such a One. To God the resurrected Christ is the firstborn Son, but to us He is the Savior. Moreover, He is a great gift given by God to His chosen people and this gift is entitled “the holy and faithful things.”
Literally, the Greek words rendered “the holy and faithful things” are the holy things (Gk. hosios, plural), the faithful or sure. The same word (hosios) is used for “Holy One” in Acts 13:35, but in the singular. But it is not the regular word for holy, which is hagios. Hosios is a Greek equivalent of the Hebrew word chesed, which is translated mercies in Isaiah 55:3; 2 Chronicles 6:42; and Psalm 89:1, both in the Septuagint and the King James Version. In Psalm 89, chesed in verse 1 for mercies in plural is the same word in verse 19 for Holy One in singular. This Holy One is Christ, the Son of David, in whom God’s mercies are centered and conveyed. Hence, the holy and faithful things of David refer to the resurrected Christ. This is fully proved by the context, especially by “Your Holy One” in Acts 13:35, and by the verse following Isaiah 55:3.
Paul’s thought in Acts 13:33 and 34 is very deep. The resurrected Christ, who is God’s firstborn Son brought forth through His second birth, His resurrection, is the holy and faithful things. In verse 34 the word “faithful” means trustworthy. The resurrected Christ is the holy and trustworthy things God gives to us. Here Paul indicates that the resurrected Christ is not only our Savior and the firstborn Son of God but also the holy and faithful things as a gift given to us by God. Actually, “the holy and faithful things” is a divine title, a title of Christ. In these verses Christ is called the holy and trustworthy things. The Savior God raised up out of the seed of David has become the holy and trustworthy things.
These holy and trustworthy things are all the aspects of what Christ is. How much Christ is to us as the holy and trustworthy things! In the Old Testament these things are regarded as mercies. For this reason Isaiah 55:3 speaks of “the sure mercies of David.”
Isaiah 53:11a says, “He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied.” This is a prophecy concerning Christ in resurrection seeing the fruit of His labor, the fruit of the travail of His death. The fruit is corporate and includes all the believers. No doubt, this corporate fruit is the church, Christ’s Body. In resurrection Christ saw the church as the fruit of His travail.
The prophecy of Isaiah 53:11a is fulfilled in John 20:17 and Hebrews 2:11. In John 20:17 the Lord Jesus speaks of “My brothers.” Prior to His resurrection the most intimate term the Lord used to call His disciples was “friends” (John 15:14,15). But after His resurrection He began to call them brothers, for through His resurrection His disciples were regenerated (1 Pet. 1:3) with the divine life released by His life-imparting death, as indicated in John 12:24. Christ was the one grain of wheat that fell into the ground and died and then grew up to bring forth many grains for the producing of the one loaf which is His Body (1 Cor. 10:17). He was the Father’s only Son, as the Father’s individual expression. Now through His death and resurrection, the Father’s only begotten Son has become “the Firstborn among many brothers” (Rom. 8:29). His many brothers are the many sons of God and the church (Heb. 2:10-12), as the corporate expression of God the Father in the Son. This is God’s ultimate intention. Therefore, the many brothers are the propagation of the Father’s life and the multiplication of the Son in the divine life. Hence, in Christ’s resurrection God’s eternal purpose is fulfilled.
Hebrews 2:11 says, “Both He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of one, for which cause He is not ashamed to call them brothers.” He who sanctifies is Christ as the firstborn Son of God, and those who are being sanctified are the believers of Christ as the many sons of God. Both the first Son and the many sons of God are born of the same Father God in resurrection (Acts 13:33; 1 Pet. 1:3). Both the firstborn Son and the many sons are the same in the divine life and nature. Hence, He is not ashamed to call them brothers.
As the many sons of God, we are the many brothers of Christ, who is the firstborn Son of God. He was born to be the firstborn Son through His resurrection, and we were produced to be His many brothers in His resurrection. As we have pointed out, this is the reason after His resurrection He called His disciples His brothers. Because we have the life and nature of God, we are God’s many sons. Because we share the same life and nature as the Firstborn, we are His brothers. To God, we are His many sons; to the firstborn Son of God, we are His many brothers.
Isaiah 53:11b says, “By his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many.” This prophecy indicates that Christ is the resurrected, righteous Servant of Jehovah through whom many are justified. It is through the resurrected Christ that the believers are justified by God.
Isaiah 53:11b is fulfilled in Acts 13:39 and Romans 4:25. Acts 13:39 says, “From all things from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses, in this One everyone who believes is justified.” Who is “this One”? This is the One who has been resurrected to be God’s firstborn Son, our Savior, and the many holy and trustworthy things (Acts 13:33-34). Through the One who is the holy and trustworthy things as God’s mercies to us we are justified from all the things from which we could not be justified by the law of Moses. Furthermore, the One through whom we are justified is Himself our justification. Justification is a mercy from God to us, and this mercy is an aspect of the resurrected Christ. Today Christ in resurrection is our justification.
The resurrection of Christ is a proof of our justification by God. Romans 4:25 says that Christ “was delivered because of our offenses and was raised because of our justification.” The death of Christ fully satisfied God’s righteous requirements so that we may be justified by God through Christ’s death (Rom. 3:24). His resurrection is a proof that God is satisfied with His death for us and that we are justified by God because of His death. In Him, the resurrected One, we are accepted by God. Furthermore, as the resurrected One He is also in us to live for us a life that can be justified by God and is always acceptable to God. Therefore, Romans 4:25 says that Christ was raised because of our justification.
Suppose Christ died for us and our sins and was buried in the tomb, but was not resurrected by God. If this were the situation, we could not believe that His death was accepted by God and that it satisfied God’s requirements and fulfilled His desires. However, Christ is not in the tomb. God raised Him up from the dead, and He came back in resurrection. This is a strong proof that God has accepted His death for us, that His death satisfied God’s requirements and fulfilled whatever God wanted Him to do for us. Therefore, the resurrection of Christ is the proof of our justification by God. In Him, the resurrected One, we are justified.
Genesis 49:10 says, “The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.” This is a prophecy concerning Christ as the Pacificator. As the Pacificator Christ is not only the Peacemaker; He is also the One who rectifies the situation between us and God and between us and one another. Christ has made propitiation for us so that there may now be peace between God and us. This was prophesied in Genesis 49:10 and fulfilled in Ephesians 2:14-16.
Ephesians 2:14 says, “He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of partition, the enmity.” Here “our” refers to both Jewish and Gentile believers. Christ, who has accomplished full redemption for both Jewish and Gentile believers, is Himself our peace, our harmony, making both one. Due to the fall of mankind and the call of the chosen race, there was a separation between Israel and the Gentiles. Through Christ’s redemption this separation has been removed. Now in the redeeming Christ, who is the bond of oneness, both are one.
Ephesians 2:15 goes on to say, “Having abolished in His flesh the law of the commandments in ordinances, that He might create the two in Himself into one new man, making peace.” Here “the two” refers to the Jewish and Gentile believers. By Christ’s abolishing in His flesh the separating ordinances and creating the Jewish and Gentile believers into one new man peace was made between all believers.
Ephesians 2:16 continues, “And might reconcile both in one Body to God through the cross, slaying the enmity by it.” The word “both” refers to the Jews and the Gentiles. Not only the uncircumcised Gentiles but also the circumcised Jews needed reconciliation to God through the redemption of Christ accomplished on His cross. The cross of Christ, on the one hand, has slain the enmity caused by the ordinances which were given because of the flesh, and, on the other hand, has redeemed us with the blood of Christ shed upon it. It was through this cross that both Jews and Gentiles were reconciled in one Body to God. Therefore, in these verses we have the fulfillment of the prophecy concerning Christ as Shiloh, the Pacificator.
Psalm 118:22 and 23 say, “The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner. This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes.” Here we have a prophecy concerning Christ as the stone rejected by the Jewish builders who became in resurrection the cornerstone. The Lord Jesus quoted this prophecy in Matthew 21:42: “Have you never read in the Scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, this has become the corner-stone; this was from the Lord, and it is marvelous in our eyes?” The stone here is Christ for God’s building (Isa. 28:16; Zech. 3:9; 1 Pet. 2:4), and the builders are the Jewish leaders, who were supposed to work on God’s building. In this verse the Lord said that the stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone (lit. the head of the corner). Christ is not only the foundation stone (Isa. 28:16) and the topstone (Zech. 4:7), but also the cornerstone. The Lord’s word here unveiled the Jewish leaders’ rejection of Him and God’s honoring of Him for the building of His habitation among His people on earth.
In his preaching Peter also refers to the prophecy concerning Christ as the stone: “This is the stone which was despised by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone” (Acts 4:11). The Greek word translated “despised” also means rejected. The stone despised, rejected, by the builders has become the cornerstone. Peter had come to know Christ as the precious stone held in honor by God, as he expounded concerning Him in his first Epistle (1 Pet. 2:4-7). Peter’s quoting of Psalm 118:22 indicates that he preached Christ not only as the Savior for the salvation of sinners but also as the stone for God’s building. It is such a Christ who is the unique salvation to sinners and in whose unique name under heaven, a name despised and rejected by the Jewish leaders but honored and exalted by God (Phil. 2:9-10), sinners must be saved (Acts 4:12). Therefore, the stone in Acts 4:11 is the Savior in verse 12. The stone despised by the builders has become the cornerstone, and there is no salvation in any other name. We can be saved only in the name of Jesus, and Jesus is the stone. He is the Stone-Savior. In the four Gospels we have the King-Savior in Matthew, the Slave-Savior in Mark, the Man-Savior in Luke, and the God-Savior in John. According to Acts 4:11-12, we also have the Stone-Savior, Christ as the stone for God’s building.
First Peter 2:4 also speaks of Christ as a stone: “To whom coming, a living stone, having been rejected by men, but with God chosen, held in honor.” This living stone is Christ for God’s building. Although He has been rejected by men, with God He is chosen, held in honor. The Greek word translated “held in honor” also means precious. This word indicates preciousness as recognized and held in honor. As we experience Christ as the stone living in us, He makes us living stones, transformed with His stone nature, so that we may be built with others a spiritual house upon Him as the foundation and cornerstone.
Christ is also a stone of stumbling, a rock of offense, at which Israel stumbled. This is prophesied in Isaiah 8:14 and 15: “He shall be…for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offense to both the houses of Israel, for a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And many among them shall stumble, and fall, and be broken, and be snared, and be taken.” Because Israel rejected Him, He became to Israel a stone of stumbling, a rock of offense. This word is fulfilled in Romans 9:32-33a; Luke 2:34 and 1 Peter 2:8. Christ was appointed by God to be a test to the children of Israel so that many of them would be stumbled by Him and many raised up by Him.
Regarding Christ as a stone of stumbling, 1 Peter 2:8 says, “A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense; who stumble at the word, being disobedient, to which also they were appointed.” This verse reveals that the reliable Christ (1 Pet. 2:6), being rejected, became a stumbling stone, at which the rejecting Judaizers stumbled (Matt. 21:44). The relative pronoun “which” refers to the Jews’ disobedience with the result of stumbling.
Christ is not only the building stone but also the stumbling stone. According to the Lord’s word in Matthew 21:44a, “He who falls on this stone shall be broken to pieces.” In Romans 9:32 Paul says that the Jews “stumbled at the Stone of stumbling.” The Jews who have rejected the Lord Jesus have fallen upon this stone and have been broken to pieces.
In the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies Christ is also a stone of foundation on whom the believers believed. Concerning this, Isaiah 28:16 says, “Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation; he that believeth shall not make haste.” This prophecy is fulfilled in 1 Corinthians 3:11; Romans 9:33b; and 1 Peter 2:4, 6-7a. In 1 Corinthians 3:11 Paul says, “Other foundation no one is able to lay besides that which is being laid, which is Jesus Christ.” As the Christ and the Son of the Living God, the Lord Jesus Christ is the unique foundation laid by God for the building of the church (Matt. 16:16-18). No one can lay any other foundation. In Romans 9:33b Paul says, “He who believes on Him shall not be put to shame.” The same thought is in 1 Peter 2:6-7a: “Because it is contained in Scripture: Behold, I lay in Zion a chosen stone, a cornerstone held in honor, and he who believes on Him shall by no means be put to shame. To you therefore who believe is the preciousness.” The Greek word for “preciousness” here is a kindred word to honor in 1 Peter 2:4 and 6. The very Christ chosen by God as a stone held in honor is the preciousness to His believers.
