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I. The seed of woman (Gen. 3:15), signifying:
А. The Son born of a human virgin is called Immanuel — God with us — Isa. 7:14; Matt. 1:23; Gal. 4:4.
B. A child is born to us, a Son is given to us, whose name is Mighty God and Eternal Father — Isa. 9:6; Luke 2:11-12.
C. As the seed of woman, in His humanity, He would bruise the head of the ancient serpent — Satan — Rev. 12:9; Heb. 2:14:
1. Who tempted the man, whom God created for Himself, to sin and rebel against God and imparted himself in his sinful nature into man to be man’s nature, constituting man a sinner, dead in his spirit (Gen. 3:1-6), making himself one with man — Matt. 16:23; John 6:70; 8:44; 1 John 3:8a.
2. Who has the might of death, holding man in slavery through the fear of death — Heb. 2:14-15.
D. As the seed of woman, in His humanity, He would become the sacrifice, shedding His blood (9:22) for the redemption of fallen man, covering him as his righteousness (signified by the coats of skin of the sacrifice — Gen. 3:21; 1 Cor. 1:30a; Phil. 3:9) and making him alive (Rom. 1:17; 5:18b).
E. As the seed of woman, in His humanity, He opened the closed way for sinners to take God as the tree of life — the source of the divine life — Gen. 3:22-24; Heb. 10:19-20.
II. The seed of Abraham — Gen. 22:18; Matt. 1:1b:
А. Signified by Isaac — v. 2.
B. As the seed of Abraham, in His humanity, He blesses all the nations with the gospel of Christ — Gal. 3:8-12, 16.
C. As the seed of Abraham, in His humanity, He bore the curse of the law that the redeemed sinners may be blessed with the consummated Spirit, who is the consummation of the Triune God — vv. 13-14.
III. The seed of David — Matt. 1:1a; Rom. 1:3:
А. Signified by Solomon — 2 Sam. 7:12b-14a; Matt. 1:6.
B. As the seed of David, in His humanity, He builds up the temple of God, the church of God, to be God’s dwelling place on the earth — 2 Sam. 7:13a; Matt. 16:18; Eph. 2:21-22.
C. As the seed of David, in His humanity, He is the King of the kingdom of God for the consummation of God’s eternal economy — 2 Sam. 7:13b; Matt. 16:19; Rev. 11:15.
IV. The branch of Jesse, the father of David — Isa. 11:1-9:
А. A sprout from Jesse’s stump — the last part of a trunk cut close to the roots — v. 1a.
B. The Spirit of Jehovah — the Spirit of wisdom, understanding, counsel, might, knowledge, and the fear of Jehovah — would rest upon Him — v. 2.
C. He would delight in the fear of Jehovah, and as the King of Israel, in His humanity, He was given by God the authority to execute judgment (John 5:27) in righteousness over the earth and make all the creatures of God live in peaceful harmony in the millennium — Isa. 11:3-9.
Many fundamental Christians know that our Savior Jesus Christ is both God and man, but they pay their attention mostly to what Christ has done and is still doing as God. They do not care much for what Christ as a man has done and still is doing. Especially, they do not pay full attention to the prophecy concerning Christ as a man in His humanity in the Old Testament. In these first three chapters I hope that the Lord will go along with us to unveil to us what Christ as a man in His humanity did in the Old Testament.
We want to see the humanity of Christ in the prophecy concerning the eternal economy of God. God has an eternal economy, and Christ carries it out. In what way does Christ carry out God’s economy? He does it in His humanity. There are prophecies concerning this in the Old Testament. In these messages the culture and language are new, so we have to pay our full attention to the wording of the outlines.
In this chapter we want to see four persons signifying Christ as a man in His humanity: the seed of woman, the seed of Abraham, the seed of David, and the branch of Jesse.
Christ as the seed of woman is prophesied in Genesis 3:15. After Satan tempted Adam and Eve and caused them to fall, God came in to say to the serpent that one day He would use this tempted woman to produce a seed to bruise his head.
The Son born of a human virgin is called Immanuel — God with us (Isa. 7:14; Matt. 1:23; Gal. 4:4). El in the name Immanuel means “God.” Christ is a human seed of a woman, yet He is God.
Isaiah 9:6 says that a child is born to us and a Son is given to us whose name is Mighty God and Eternal Father (Luke 2:11-12). This human child is the mighty God. The wise men who came from the east to see that child worshipped Him as God (Matt. 2:11). As the Son given to us, His name is Eternal Father. Is He a son or a father? We have to declare that He is both. We should spend time to get into verses like Isaiah 9:6. We should not skate on the surface of the ice in our study of the holy Word. We must break the ice and dive into the depths of the Word to see the divine revelation. This is the way that the Lord has been leading us to study His Word over the past seventy-four years.
As the seed of woman, in His humanity, He would bruise the head of the ancient serpent — Satan (Rev. 12:9; Heb. 2:14). In order to destroy a serpent, one should not touch its tail. Instead, the serpent’s head must be bruised. Hebrews 2:14 reveals that Christ bruised the head of the ancient serpent on the cross. On the cross He destroyed the devil.
Satan tempted the man, whom God created for Himself, to sin and rebel against God. He also imparted himself in his sinful nature into man to be man’s nature, constituting man a sinner, dead in his spirit (Gen. 3:1-6), making himself one with man (Matt. 16:23; John 6:70; 8:44; 1 John 3:8a). We are not sinners because we sin; we sin because we are sinners. In Adam we have been constituted sinners. From the day that man fell, Satan became one with man.
Satan has the might of death, holding man in slavery through the fear of death (Heb. 2:14-15), but Christ came as a man, as the seed of woman, to destroy Satan and to rescue fallen man.
As the seed of woman, in His humanity, Christ would become the sacrifice, shedding His blood (9:22) for the redemption of fallen man, covering him as his righteousness, signified by the coats of skin of the sacrifice (Gen. 3:21; 1 Cor. 1:30a; Phil. 3:9), and making him alive (Rom. 1:17; 5:18b). Christ was made our righteousness, and we have been made alive in Him.
As the seed of woman, in His humanity, Christ opened the closed way for sinners to take God as the tree of life — the source of the divine life (Gen. 3:22-24; Heb. 10:19-20). After man’s fall the way to the tree of life was closed due to the requirements of God’s glory, righteousness, and holiness. Later, Christ died to fulfill all these requirements, and by this He opened the closed way for man to partake of God as the source of the divine life.
Christ is the seed of Abraham (Gen. 22:18; Matt. 1:1b), signified by Isaac (v. 2). Isaac was a figure of the coming Christ.
As the seed of Abraham, in His humanity, Christ blesses all the nations with the gospel of Christ (Gal. 3:8-12, 16). There is a long bridge from Genesis to Galatians, which reveals Christ as the seed of Abraham. Our labor in the Word through many years has brought us to the end of this bridge.
As the seed of Abraham, in His humanity, He bore the curse of the law. Satan tempted man, and man committed sin to break the law of the righteousness of God. Christ as the seed of Abraham needed to bear the curse of the law so that the redeemed sinners could be blessed. Today we are no longer cursed; we are blessed through Christ as the seed of Abraham in His humanity with the consummated Spirit, who is the consummation of the Triune God (vv. 13-14). Christ’s blessing brought the triune, processed, and consummated God to us for our enjoyment. These are all deep and detailed points that require our study.
Christ is the seed of David (Matt. 1:1a; Rom. 1:3), signified by Solomon, the son of David (2 Sam. 7:12b-14a; Matt. 1:6).
As the seed of David, in His humanity, Christ builds up the temple of God, the church of God, to be God’s dwelling place on the earth (2 Sam. 7:13a; Matt. 16:18; Eph. 2:21-22).
As the seed of David, in His humanity, He is the King of the kingdom of God for the consummation of God’s eternal economy (2 Sam. 7:13b; Matt. 16:19; Rev. 11:15).
Christ in His humanity is the seed of woman, the seed of Abraham, the seed of David, and also the branch of Jesse, the father of David (Isa. 11:1-9).
Christ is a sprout from Jesse’s stump — the last part of a trunk cut close to the roots (v. 1a). The royal family of David had been cut to the bottom. The whole trunk of David’s family had been cut close to the roots, leaving only a sprout from the stump. Christ was born out of the family of David as a sprout that grew into a new branch, the branch of Jesse.
Isaiah prophesied that the Spirit of Jehovah — the Spirit of wisdom, the Spirit of understanding, the Spirit of counsel, the Spirit of might, the Spirit of knowledge, and the Spirit of the fear of Jehovah — would rest upon Christ (v. 2). In the human living of Jesus, the branch of Jesse, people saw the Spirit of God with all these attributes. He was full of the Spirit of wisdom, understanding, counsel, might, knowledge, and the fear of Jehovah. No human being has ever feared God as much as Jesus did.
In His humanity Christ would delight in the fear of Jehovah, and as the King of Israel, in His humanity, He was given by God the authority to execute judgment (John 5:27) in righteousness over the earth and make all the creatures of God live in peaceful harmony in the millennium (Isa. 11:3-9). Isaiah reveals that in the kingdom of one thousand years, the wolf will dwell with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the kid, the nursing child will play by the cobra’s hole, and upon the viper’s den the weaned child will stretch his hand. In the millennium through Christ as the branch of Jesse, all the creatures of God will live in peaceful harmony.
