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In this message we shall consider further aspects of Christ’s person in the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies.
Christ is the One who in His reproducing resurrection declared the Father’s name to the brothers and praised Him in the midst of the church. This is prophesied in Psalm 22:22: “I will declare thy name unto my brethren: in the midst of the congregation will I praise thee.” This verse is quoted in Hebrews 2:12, by which we see that it is a prophecy of Christ. The brothers mentioned in Psalm 22:22 are Christ’s many brothers brought forth through His resurrection. Therefore, this verse prophesies that in resurrection Christ would declare the Father’s name, the Father’s person, to the Lord’s brothers. We have seen that in resurrection Christ, the only begotten Son of God, was born to be God’s firstborn Son and that God’s chosen people were born with Him to be the many sons of God, Christ’s many brothers. Therefore, Christ’s resurrection was a corporate birth, the birth of the firstborn Son and His many brothers. According to Hebrews 2:12, the firstborn Son of God declared in the church the Father’s name to His brothers: “I will declare Your name to My brothers; in the midst of the church I will sing hymns of praise unto You.” Because the Father is the source of life and nature, to declare the name of the Father is to show the many brothers the source of life and nature. Although the Jewish people in ancient times knew God, they did not know the Father. They knew God as the Creator but not as the Father who begets. They knew God’s creating power, but they did not know the Father’s begetting life. Before Christ’s resurrection, not even His disciples knew the Father’s life and begetting ability. However, on the day of resurrection the Lord came to them to declare the Father in order to make them know the Father as the source of life.
According to John 20, the Lord Jesus visited His disciples in the evening on the day of His resurrection. But John does not say that He declared the Father to the disciples. This is mentioned prophetically in Psalm 22:22. According to this prophecy, after His resurrection Christ came to His disciples to make the Father known to them. The Father’s life and nature had become theirs, and His very being had been imparted to them. This is what it means to declare the Father’s name to the brothers. This declaration was not simply a matter of mentioning the name; rather, it was an impartation of all that the Father is — His life, nature, and being — into the disciples. It was from such a declaration that Peter came to realize that he was a partaker of the divine nature (2 Pet. 1:4). We, the sons of God, have all become partakers of the divine nature. To us, God is no longer merely the creating God; He is also the begetting Father. He has begotten us. He has imparted His life, His nature, and even His being into our being. This is what it means for the resurrected Christ to declare the Father’s name to His brothers.
Psalm 22:22 prophesies not only that Christ will declare the Father’s name but also that He will praise the Father in the midst of the congregation: “In the midst of the congregation will I praise thee.” In fulfillment of this prophecy, the second part of Hebrews 2:12 says, “In the midst of the church I will sing hymns of praise unto You.” Literally the Greek words rendered “I will sing hymns of praise unto You” mean “I will hymn You.” Here we have the firstborn Son’s praising of the Father from within the Father’s many sons in the church meetings. When we, the many sons of God, meet as the church and praise the Father, the firstborn Son praises the Father in our praises. It is not that He praises the Father apart from us and alone, but rather within us and with us through our praising. He sings hymns of praise to the Father in our singing.
In Psalm 22:22 and Hebrews 2:12 we see that after declaring the Father’s name, the Son sings hymns of praise to Him in the midst of the church. Throughout the centuries the firstborn Son has been singing hymns of praise unto the Father in the church. He does this in all of His brothers. Because He is in us, He sings praises unto the Father in our singing. His singing is in our singing. When we sing, He sings because He is within our singing. When we sing hymns to the Father from our spirit, Christ sings with us in our spirit. The church is one corporate Body with the firstborn Son of God. In the meetings of the church the firstborn Son, who dwells in His many brothers who compose the church, sings praise to the Father from within them. The more we, Christ’s brothers, sing praise to the Father, the more the Lord sings in our singing.
Psalm 110:4 says, “The Lord hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.” Here we have a prophecy of Christ as the Priest ordained by God with an oath according to the order of Melchisedec. The fulfillment of this prophecy is in Hebrews 5:6-10.
Hebrews 5:6, a quotation from Psalm 110, says, “As also in another place He says, You are a Priest forever according to the order of Melchisedec.” This refers to the ascension and enthronement of Christ (Psa. 110:1-4) which, in addition to His resurrection, are further qualifications for Him to be our High Priest. The order of Melchisedec is higher than the order of Aaron. The order of Aaron was for the priesthood only in humanity, whereas the order of Melchisedec is for the priesthood in both humanity and divinity.
According to Hebrews 5:6, Christ is a Priest forever. Aaron was established in honor to be the high priest only for his lifetime, for he was prevented by death from continuing. But as the Son of God, Christ was ordained in glory to be our High Priest forever. With Him there is no preventing of death. He is glorified forever to be our High Priest.
The book of Hebrews is focused on the heavenly Christ, and the chief point concerning this Christ is that He is a Priest, not according to the order of Aaron but according to the order of Melchisedec. All the other aspects of Christ revealed in Hebrews, such as the Son of God, the Son of Man, the Captain of salvation, the Apostle, and the real Joshua are the necessary qualifications for Him to be such a Priest, who can minister to us whatever we need and save us to the uttermost (Heb. 7:25).
In Hebrews 4:14 we are told that we have “a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God,” and in 4:16 we are told to “come forward with boldness to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and may find grace for timely help.” The High Priest whom we meet at the throne of grace is not a priest typified by the order of Aaron, but a High Priest according to the order of Melchisedec ministering to us the bread and wine as our supply. Christ has been constituted to be our High Priest, not according to the law of a fleshly commandment but according to the power of an indestructible life (Heb. 7:16). Having the qualifications of His divinity and His resurrection life, He is able to minister the processed God to us.
In Isaiah 22:22 there is a prophecy concerning Christ as the One who holds the key of David: “The key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder; so he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open.” This prophecy is fulfilled in Revelation 3:7: “These things says the holy One, the true One, He who has the key of David, He who opens and no one shall shut, and shuts and no one shall open.” Here we see that Christ has the key of David, the key of the kingdom, with authority to open and to shut. According to Genesis 1, when God created man, He gave him dominion over all creatures. This indicates that in God’s intention man is to be the power representing God on earth. Due to the fall, however, man lost this power and has never fully recovered it. The key held by David is the key of God’s dominion. God’s dominion includes the entire universe, especially mankind. This dominion has a key that is possessed by the person who fought the battle for the kingdom and who made preparations for the building of the temple. The name of this person is David. David represented God in establishing God’s kingdom on earth. Hence, he had the key of God’s dominion in the universe. David, however, was just a type, not the reality. The real David is Christ, the greater David. He is the One who built God’s temple, the church, and established God’s kingdom. Therefore, in the church today, which is both a house and a kingdom, we have God’s expression and representation. As the greater David, Christ has built up the house of God, the real temple, and He has set up the kingdom of God, the dominion in which He exercises full authority to represent God. Therefore, he holds the key of David.
The key of David is something representing God to open the whole universe for God. This is the key of David held by Christ. The fact that Christ has the key of David signifies that Christ is the center of God’s economy. He is the One who expresses God and represents Him, the One who holds the key to open everything in God’s dominion.
Revelation 3:7 says that Christ, the One who has the key of David is the One who “opens and no one shall shut, and shuts and no one shall open.” Because the universal key, the key of God’s economy, is in His hand, He opens and shuts.
Isaiah 52:13 prophesies concerning Christ as the One exalted, lifted up, and made very high: “Behold, my servant shall deal prudently, he shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high.” Ephesians 1:20 and 21 is the fulfillment of this prophecy: “Which He wrought in Christ in raising Him from among the dead, and seating Him at His right hand in the heavenlies, far above all rule and authority and power and lordship, and every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in that which is coming.” Here we see that God’s great power that operated in Christ seated Him at God’s right hand in the heavenlies far above all. God’s right hand, where Christ has been seated by the surpassingly great power of God, is the most honorable place, with the supreme authority.
Christ is far above all rule, authority, power, lordship, and every name. Rule refers to the highest office, authority to every kind of official power, power to the might of authority, and lordship to the preeminence which power establishes. The list in Ephesians 1:21 includes not only angelic, heavenly authorities, good or evil, but also human, earthly ones. The ascended Christ has been seated by the great power of God far above all rules, authorities, powers, and lordships in the entire universe.
In Ephesians 1:21 “every name that is named” refers not only to titles of honor but also to everything that has a name. Christ has been seated far above everything, not only the things in this age but also those in the coming age.
In the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies Christ is the Victor ascending to the height, leading captive those taken captive, and giving gifts to men. The prophecy of this is in Psalm 68:18: “Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led captivity captive: thou hast received gifts for men; yea, for the rebellious also, that the Lord God might dwell among them.” The fulfillment is in Ephesians 4:8: “Wherefore He says, Having ascended to the height, He led captive those taken captive and gave gifts to men.” The word “height” in the quotation of Psalm 68:18 refers to Mount Zion (Psa. 68:15-16), symbolizing the third heaven where God dwells (1 Kings 8:30). Psalm 68 implies that it was in the ark that God ascended to Mount Zion after the ark had led the way to victory.
Verse 1 of Psalm 68 is a quotation of Numbers 10:35: “It came to pass, when the ark set forward, that Moses said, Rise up, Lord, and let thine enemies be scattered; and let them that hate thee flee before thee.” This indicates that the background of Psalm 68 is God’s move in the tabernacle with the ark as its center. The ark was a clear type of Christ. Wherever the ark went, the victory was won. Eventually this ark ascended triumphantly to the top of Mount Zion. This portrays how Christ has won the victory and has ascended triumphantly to the heavens. Therefore, the background of Psalm 68, which is quoted in Ephesians 4:8, is God’s move in and with the tabernacle, which typifies God’s dwelling place, with the ark typifying Christ, as its center. This Psalm begins with the move of God and continues with the victory gained by Christ. When God moves with the tabernacle and the ark, the enemies will always be vanquished.
In Ephesians 4:8 the word “those” refers to the redeemed saints who had been taken captive by Satan before they were saved by Christ’s death and resurrection. In His ascension Christ led them captive; that is, He rescued them from Satan’s captivity and took them to Himself. This indicates that He has conquered and overcome Satan, who had captured them by sin and death.
The Amplified New Testament renders “He led a train of vanquished foes” for “He led captive those taken captive.” “Vanquished foes” may refer to Satan, to his angels, and to us the sinners, also indicating Christ’s victory over Satan, sin, and death. In Christ’s ascension there was a procession of these vanquished foes as captives from a war for a celebration of Christ’s victory.
Psalm 68:18 prophesies of Christ’s ascension. However, if we did not have Ephesians 4:8-11, we would not know the meaning of Psalm 68:18. By this passage from Ephesians we see that verse 18 of Psalm 68 refers to the ascension of Christ. Christ has ascended on high, and the implication of His ascension is that all His enemies have been defeated. Before He ascended, He vanquished every foe. Therefore, He ascended triumphantly, leading a train of vanquished foes.
The issue of Christ’s ascension is that certain of the defeated foes have been given as gifts by the Father to Christ for His Body. In Ephesians 4:8 “gifts” does not refer to the abilities or enablements for varied services; rather, this word refers to the various gifted persons mentioned in Ephesians 4:11 — apostles, prophets, evangelists, and shepherds and teachers. After conquering and rescuing them from Satan and death through His own death and resurrection, Christ in His ascension made the rescued sinners themselves such gifts with His resurrection life and gave them to His Body for its building up.
Actually, Psalm 68:18, the prophecy, says that the ascended Christ received gifts. But Ephesians 4:8, the fulfillment, tells us that the ascended Christ gave gifts. In Paul’s quotation and application of the word in Psalm 68:18, he changed the thought from receiving to giving. On the one hand, when Christ ascended on high, He received gifts; on the other hand, the ascended Christ gave gifts. As we have pointed out, these gifts are the gifted persons in Ephesians 4:11. The fact that verses 9 and 10 of Ephesians 4 are in parentheses is further proof that the apostles, prophets, evangelists, and shepherds and teachers in verse 11 are the gifts given to men in verse 8. All the gifted persons were received by Christ when He ascended to the height, and then He gave them to the church.
In Psalm 110:1 we have a prophecy regarding the resurrected Christ seated at the right hand of Jehovah: “The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.” Here the title “The Lord” is Jehovah in Hebrew. This verse is quoted frequently in the New Testament — more than ten times as a direct quotation and another ten times indirectly. Altogether, there are more than ten instances in the New Testament where the resurrected Christ is referred to as sitting at the right hand of God. Of course, it was from the time of His ascension that God made Him to sit at His right hand. This is proved by Hebrews 1:3: “Having made purification of sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high.”
As the fulfillment of Psalm 110:1, Acts 2:33-35 says, “Therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God, and having received the promise of the Holy Spirit from the Father, He poured out this which you both see and hear. For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says, The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at My right hand, until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.” Here the first “Lord” refers to God, and the second, to Christ, whom David called “my Lord” (Matt. 22:44-45).
Acts 2:34 speaks of the Lord Jesus sitting at God’s right hand. Here “right hand” denotes the position of glory, honor, and power (Exo. 15:6; 1 Kings 2:19; Mark 14:62).
Christ is the Man, inferior to the angels, crowned with glory and honor, and set over the works of God’s hands. This is prophesied in Psalm 8:4-6 and fulfilled in Hebrews 2:6-9. The first man Adam, created by God in Genesis 1, failed God in His purpose with man. Then Psalm 8 alludes in the way of prophecy to another man who will replace the first man to fulfill God’s purpose. Hebrews 2 reveals that this other Man, the second Man, who is Jesus, has come and accomplished so much for the fulfilling of God’s desire in man as revealed in Genesis 1:26 and 28 and alluded to in Psalm 8:4-6. Hence, in whatever Adam as the first man failed, Christ as the second Man succeeded by replacing the first man.
Hebrews 2:9 says, “But we see Jesus, who was made a little inferior to the angels because of the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor.” Glory is the splendor related to Jesus’ person; honor is the preciousness related to Jesus’ worth, value (1 Pet. 2:7, “preciousness” in Greek is the same word as “honor” here), and dignity which is related to His position (2 Pet. 1:17; cf. 1 Pet. 2:17; Rom. 13:7).
After Christ was crowned with glory and honor in His ascension, God gave Him the dominion over all things in His exaltation: “You have made Him a little inferior to the angels; You have crowned Him with glory and honor, and have set Him over the works of Your hands” (Heb. 2:7). This is similar to what God did with Adam. Adam lost the dominion that God gave to him, but according to the prophecy of Psalm 8, Christ has recovered what Adam lost. Now the same dominion has been given to Him as the second Man. Christ, the second Man, has been glorified, crowned with glory and honor, and entrusted with the divine dominion that was lost by the first man. As a man in the flesh, He was inferior to the angels, yet He was crowned with glory and honor in His ascension. Furthermore, God has set Him over the entire universe.
Christ is also the One under whose feet God has put all things (Psa. 8:6-7; Eph. 1:22). Psalm 8:6b says, “Thou hast put all things under his feet.” Here the word “feet” implies the Body, since the feet are parts of the body. God has subjected all things under Christ’s feet. On the one hand, the ascended Christ is far above all; on the other hand, all things have been subjected under His feet. The former is Christ’s transcendency; the latter is the subjection of all things to Him. This is a matter of subduing power, the power to subdue all things.
