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In His eternal plan, God planned to create all things and to have man to fulfill His eternal purpose. Furthermore, according to His foreknowledge and foresight, that is, according to His foreknowledge of man’s fall, He planned to redeem man after the fall. God’s redemption was neither an addition to His original plan, nor an afterthought to remedy the problem, but was planned and prepared from the beginning. In God’s eternal plan, He foreordained that after man’s fall, Christ would accomplish redemption. Therefore in God’s view, Christ was slain from the foundation of the world (Rev. 13:8).
Redemption was planned beforehand and foreordained by God. Hence, before redemption came, in the Old Testament God promised it many times, clearly foretelling the different aspects of His redemption.
After man sinned and fell, God came in immediately to promise man that the seed of the woman would come. When He would come, He would bruise Satan’s head (Gen. 3:15). To bruise his head is to cause his death.
The seed of the woman is the Lord Jesus. Among the entire human race, only He was come of a woman (Gal. 4:4). He came to earth to undo the works of the Devil (1 John 3:8), that through death He might destroy the Devil (Heb. 2:14).
Therefore, at the time of man’s fall, God promised that Christ would come of a woman to destroy Satan, the one who deceived and damaged man.
Christ is not only the seed of the woman, but also the seed of Abraham (Gen. 13:15; 17:8; Gal. 3:16), as typified by Isaac. First, He brings blessings to the nations. Whether Jews or Gentiles, all will be blessed in Him (Gen. 22:18a). The blessing is the Spirit. Through faith in Christ, we have received the Spirit (Gal. 3:14). Second, He was offered to God, put to death, and resurrected (cf. Gen. 22:1-12; Heb. 11:17, 19). Third, He will gain the bride (cf. Gen. 24:67). This portrays Christ, as the One promised by God, bringing blessings to the nations, being offered even unto death, and being resurrected. After resurrection, He gains those whom He redeemed to be His bride (John 3:29; Rev. 19:7).
In Genesis 49:8 and 9, God promised that the coming Christ would be the victorious lion. “Judah is a young lion: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up” (Heb.). This is a picture portraying Christ (Rev. 5:5). When Christ was crucified on the cross, He was a young lion seizing the prey. The prey He seized on the cross includes the entire world, all the sinners, and even Satan. After taking His prey, He went up to the mountain, that is, He ascended to the third heaven. Ephesians 4:8 says, “Having ascended to the height, He led captive those taken captive.”
“He couches, He lies down as a lion” (Gen. 49:9b, Heb.). This indicates that Christ is also a couching lion who, after enjoying his prey, is satisfied and lies down. This portrays Christ in the heavens, enjoying what He has accomplished. The same verse also likens Christ to a lioness. He has brought us forth as His many cubs.
Second Samuel 7:12 and 13 say, “I will set up thy [David’s] seed after thee....He shall build a house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever.” The promise includes three points. First, Christ as the seed of David (Rom. 1:3) will inherit the kingdom, and reign forever and ever (Rev. 11:15). Second, Christ is the greater Solomon who speaks the word of wisdom (Matt. 12:42); no one else can speak as wisely as Christ. Third, Solomon, the son of David, built the temple of God; Christ, as the seed of David, builds the temple of God—the church.
In Isaiah 7:14, God more clearly reveals the promise of His redemption. On the one hand, it tells us that the coming Christ, as promised in Genesis 3, was not to be born of a married woman but of a virgin. On the other hand, it also tells us that this Christ who was to be born of a virgin to be our Savior is God. He is “God with us,” “Emmanuel.” When He comes into the midst of men, God comes into the midst of men. When He comes to be man’s Savior, God comes to be man’s Savior; God Himself comes of a virgin to be man’s Savior.
Although this Christ who came to be our Savior was “a child,” He was called “the mighty God.” Although He was “a son,” He was called “the eternal Father” (Isa. 9:6). God’s promise tells us clearly that the coming Christ is both man and God, both the Son and the Father. He became a man; nevertheless, He is God. He is the Son, yet He is also the Father. Although He came to the earth to be a newborn child, He is still the mighty God who is in the heavens. Although He was manifested to be the Son in time, He is also the self-existing and ever-existing Father in eternity.
Although He was born in Bethlehem of Judah, His origin is from eternity (Micah 5:2). He is the eternal Father, yet He came to be a man in time. He certainly is God, and He surely is a man.
The earthly human living of this Redeemer promised by God was clearly foretold to us in every aspect in detail. He was born lowly as a tender plant. He came from a poor family, as a root out of a dry ground, without a rich supply and without a comfortable living. Thus, He had no form nor comeliness; His visage was so marred more than any man, and His form more than the sons of men; and when we shall see Him, there is no beauty that we should desire Him (Isa. 53:2; 52:14; cf. 2 Cor. 8:9b; Matt. 13:55-57). Men would have expected that when the Redeemer came, His countenance would surely be desirable to them, just as Moses and David both were handsome in appearance (Acts 7:20; 1 Sam. 16:12). And yet He had no comeliness, but appeared worn and old. He was a man of thirty, but people took Him for a man of fifty (John 8:57). In reality, He was altogether lovely and entirely handsome; but this is invisible to our natural eyes and can only be seen through our spiritual eyes.
He became a man of sorrows, despised and rejected of men. We hid as it were our faces from Him, and the people of God esteemed Him not (Isa. 53:3; Psa. 22:6-7; Luke 23:11). He was destined to be despised and rejected, to endure suffering and hardship, and to grieve daily for the sinner’s soul. With sacrificing love, He came to seek His people. However, they rejected Him, and would not even set their eyes upon Him.
Even so, God’s anointed One still did not give up man. He preached the gospel to the poor and proclaimed the year of jubilee of the Lord (Isa. 61:1-2; Luke 4:18-19). He was the great light shining upon those who sat in darkness and in the shadow of death (Isa. 9:2; Matt. 4:15-16). Moreover, He would be a light to the Gentiles, that God’s salvation might be carried out to the ends of the earth (Isa. 49:6). He would not strive nor cry out. A bruised reed He would not break, and the smoking flax He would not quench (Isa. 42:1-3; Matt. 12:17-21). Not only would He not cry out in the streets, but He also would not break the bruised reed nor quench the smoking flax. In the Old Testament time, Jewish children used to make flutes of reeds. When a reed was bruised and could not give the proper note, they broke it. The Jews also made torches with flax to burn the oil to give a shining light at night. However, when the oil ran out, the flax smoked and could not shine forth light. Then people would quench it and throw it away. The Jews who were against Christ were like a bruised reed and smoking flax. However, Christ was full of compassion toward them. He did not break them, and He did not quench them. He still opened the door of grace to them.
He had done no violence, neither was any deceit in His mouth (Isa. 53:9). He had no transgressions, and He had never committed any sin. Nevertheless, men oppressed Him, persecuted Him, and even cut Him off. “He was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth” (Isa. 53:7; Matt. 27:12-14). When He was judged, He had just and good cause to muzzle the mouth of the false accusers, but He remained silent, like a sheep brought to the slaughter; for He was determined not to save Himself, in order that we might be saved.
When He died, He was numbered with the transgressors, yet He made intercession for them (Isa. 53:12; Luke 23:32-34). Man’s evil intention was that He make His grave with the wicked, but God’s arrangement was that He be buried with the rich (Isa. 53:9; Matt. 27:57-60). The year in which He died was the seventh year of the sixty-ninth week after the order was given to rebuild Jerusalem. This fulfilled the prophecy in the book of Daniel concerning the cutting off of the Messiah (Dan. 9:25-26).
The reason He was afflicted and put to death was because God wanted Him to bear our sin. The Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all (Isa. 53:6). “It pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin” (Isa. 53:10). Therefore, He was cut off and stricken because He bore our sins (Isa. 53:8). He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities, so that by His chastisement we might have peace, and with His stripes we might be healed (Isa. 53:5). He was chastised on our behalf, that we might be reconciled to God. The righteous God cannot lay again a claim on us. He was bruised on our behalf that our spirit might be healed and enlivened.
The scene and pain of His suffering of death are thoroughly described in one of the psalms of David (Psa. 22:1, 7-8, 12-18). Here, the Spirit of Christ, in Christ’s own words, describes both the terrifying scene around Him and His painful feelings inwardly and outwardly. He says that fierce evil men, like strong bulls, compassed Him and beset Him around. They gaped upon Him with their mouths, as a ravening and a roaring lion. All they who saw Him laughed Him to scorn; they shot out the lip and shook the head, saying, He trusted on the Lord that He would deliver Him: let Him deliver Him, seeing He delighted in Him (cf. Matt. 27:39-40, 43). At that moment, because He bore our sins, God forsook Him; He then cried out, saying, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (Matt. 27:46). As He gave up His life, He was poured out like water. He hung on the cross for several hours, so that even His bones were out of joint and He could tell all His bones. Because He suffered the judgment of God for us and was consumed by the wrath of God, His heart was like wax melted in the midst of His bowels, and His strength was dried up like a potsherd. His pain was so severe that even His tongue cleaved to His jaws. Finally, He said that God had brought Him into the dust of death. The wicked, like dogs, compassed Him; they pierced His hands and His feet and looked and stared upon Him. They also parted His garments among them and cast lots for His vesture (Matt. 27:35).
After Christ was buried, God raised Him from the dead on the third day (Hosea 6:2; 1 Cor. 15:4). Because He is the Holy One of Jehovah, God would not leave His soul in hell, neither suffer Him to see corruption (Psa. 16:8-11; Acts 2:24-31). In resurrection, “He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities” (Isa. 53:11). Christ is the resurrected righteous Servant of Jehovah. Many believe in Him and are thus justified. He shall see of the travail of His soul and shall be satisfied. His travailing will produce a corporate Body which is the church, including all the redeemed believers.
“He shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand” (Isa. 53:10). The phrase “he shall prolong his days” means that He shall be resurrected and live forever. Furthermore, He will impart His life to men, and make them His seed, that through them He can fulfill the pleasure of the Lord.
In His resurrection, Christ was begotten as the firstborn Son of God (Psa. 2:7; Acts 13:33; Heb. 1:5-6; Rom. 8:29). In His divinity Christ was the only begotten Son of God from eternity to eternity; but in His humanity He became the firstborn Son of God through resurrection. Psalm 22:22 says, “I will declare thy name unto my brethren: in the midst of the congregation will I praise thee.” This means that in His resurrection not only was He begotten to be the firstborn Son of God, but we were also begotten to become the many sons of God, having God’s life and becoming His brothers. Thus, He can declare God’s name to us and also praise God in our midst. Through resurrection He gains men to be His brothers and become His church. Thus He can reveal God and praise God in the church.
In the promise of God’s redemption, Christ not only died for us and was resurrected for us, but He also ascended for us. Through His death He solves all of our problems; through His resurrection He imparts God’s life into us; and in His ascension He brings us into a heavenly position.
Christ shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high (Isa. 52:13; Eph. 1:20-21). The ascended Christ is far above all rule, authority, power, lordship, and dominion in the universe. He has ascended to the highest place in the universe, the third heaven, where God dwells.
Having ascended to the height, He led captive those taken captive and gave gifts to men (Eph. 4:8; Psa. 68:18). “Those” refers to the redeemed saints, who, before they were saved through the death and resurrection of Christ, were captured by Satan. In His ascension Christ captured them; in other words, the Lord delivered them from the captivity of Satan unto Himself. Then in His ascension and through His resurrection life, He turned these rescued sinners into gifts. These gifts are the gifted ones mentioned in Ephesians 4:11—the apostles, prophets, evangelists, and shepherds and teachers. He then gave them to His Body for the building up of the Body.
In His ascension, He sits on the right hand of God (Psa. 110:1; Acts 2:33-35). This Jesus, the Son of Man who was made a little inferior to the angels, was crowned with glory and honor, and was set over the works of God’s hands (Psa. 8:4-6; Heb. 2:6-9). In His humanity, He was crowned with glory and honor. He was a man who ascended to the height, and He was also a man who was crowned.
God further promised that the ascended Christ would pour out the Holy Spirit. Joel 2:28-29 says, “And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh;...and also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my Spirit.” This promise of the pouring out of the Holy Spirit has already been fulfilled partially in the disciples on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:33), and it will be fulfilled completely in all the repentant Israelites (Zech. 12:10).
In the promise of God’s redemption Christ’s second coming is clearly mentioned: “one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven” (Dan. 7:13; Matt. 24:30; 26:64; Rev. 14:14). This refers to the open aspect of Christ’s second coming. In His first coming, Christ manifested His power in healing the sick and in casting out demons, proving that He is the heavenly King. However, in His second coming He will come with full authority and power to execute God’s judgment, to destroy Antichrist and his army, and to bind Satan, thus building up His kingdom on earth.
“And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east” (Zech. 14:4; Acts 1:10-12). Before the Lord’s coming, all the surrounding nations will gather their armies together to the valley of Jehoshaphat for a battle (Joel 3:9-13), which is also called the battle of Armageddon (Rev. 16:12-16). At that time all the nations will gather together against Jerusalem to battle (Zech. 14:1-2). At the pressing moment, Christ will come with myriads of His saints (Jude 14; Zech. 14:5), and His feet will stand upon the Mount of Olives. Then the Mount of Olives will be split in two, the north and the south, due to a great earthquake. All the persecuted chosen ones will flee from the valley, and they will look up and see their Savior, the Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth, the One “whom they have pierced” (Zech. 12:10). They will ask Him: “What are these wounds in thine hands?” Then He will answer, “Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends” (Zech. 13:6). Then the whole house of Israel will repent, crying and mourning for the sin of forsaking their Messiah. God will open a fountain of grace for them for sin and for uncleanness (Zech. 13:1). Christ will also fight for His people. He is the stone to smite the nations, and the nations will be scattered like chaff from the threshing floor (Dan. 2:34-35; Rev. 19:11-21). This stone will become a huge mountain, that is, the kingdom of God, filling the whole earth. Christ will be the King to build up His kingdom on the earth (Zech. 14:9-11; Rev. 11:15), just as Genesis 49:10 says, “Until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.” The meaning of the word Shiloh is “a peace-giver,” denoting the coming Christ. When Christ comes again He will be the King of peace, the Peace-giver. The whole earth will be full of peace in that age. Isaiah 2:1-3 and 11:10 also show that at Christ’s second coming, at the beginning of the millennium, all the nations will become obedient to Christ. They will come to worship Him and to receive His instruction.
Thus, in the Old Testament, God has made clear beforehand every aspect of His redemption: that He would become a man, that He would live a human life on earth, that He would bear man’s sins and suffer death on the cross, that He would be raised from among the dead that man may receive His life and become His brothers, and that He will come again to execute God’s judgment against Satan, terminate the age, and bring in His kingdom. All of these have been clearly spoken and promised to us in the Old Testament.
After man’s fall, God immediately came in and promised redemption to fallen sinners. First, He promised that Christ would come as the seed of woman to destroy Satan who had poisoned man; later, He promised that Christ would come as the seed of Abraham, that all the nations on earth would be blessed; again, He promised that Christ would come as the Lion of the tribe of Judah to defeat God’s enemy; He also promised that Christ would come as the seed of David to establish God’s kingdom. The clear promise concerning Christ’s birth, human living, death, resurrection, ascension, and second coming was also given by God in the Old Testament to the people He intended to redeem.
