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In this lesson we will see how the Old Testament prophets prophesied to the people of God concerning the divinity and humanity of Christ before His incarnation. These prophecies show that Christ is God as well as man. He is a God-man, possessing both divinity and humanity.
The New Testament reveals that in the Godhead, Christ is God. John 1:1 says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” This verse not only speaks of Christ possessing divinity; it also indicates that His deity is eternal and absolute. From eternity past to eternity future He is God. Hebrews 1:3 says that He is the effulgence of God’s glory and the impress of God’s substance. Colossians 2:9 says, “In Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.” Romans 9:5 is clearer, saying, “Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever.” All these Scriptures sufficiently prove that Crist in the Godhead is God, possessing divinity. While the New Testament clearly reveals Christ’s divinity, the Old Testament clearly prophesies that Christ is God.
Psalm 102:25-27 says, “Of old You laid the foundation of the earth, / And the heavens are the work of Your hands. / They will perish, but You endure; / Indeed all of them will wear out like a garment; / Like clothing You will change them, / And they will be changed. / But You are the same, / And Your years are without end.” These verses prophesy that the Creator is the coming Christ in His divinity. This portion of the Scriptures also prophesies concerning the eternal nature of Christ: He is the eternally unchanging One, and His years are without end. He exists from eternity to eternity as the everlasting One who will never change. The fulfillment of this prophecy concerning Christ is spoken of in Hebrews 1:10-12. Based on this prophecy, we see that Christ is the Creator, who existed even before creation. The entire old creation will be terminated, but Christ will be the same, and His years will be without end. He remains forever and ever, from eternity past to eternity future. This is clear proof of His divinity, proving that Christ is God.
Micah 5:2 says, “You, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, / So little to be among the thousands of Judah, / From you there will come forth to Me / He who is to be Ruler in Israel; / And His goings forth are from ancient times, / From the days of eternity.” According to the record in Matthew, the One from Bethlehem who is the Ruler of Israel is Christ (2:1, 6). However, Micah reveals that He is actually “from the days of eternity.” This means that Christ existed in eternity, before the creation of all things, and that He was preparing to come forth out of eternity into time. Hence, this verse refers to Christ’s eternal nature, and it prophesies concerning Christ’s deity.
Psalm 45:6 prophesies that Christ is God. In this verse the psalmist proclaims, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; / The scepter of uprightness is the scepter of Your kingdom.” In the New Testament this word was fulfilled in Christ the Son. Hebrews 1:8 says, “Of the Son, ‘Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, and the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of Your kingdom.’” This reveals that Christ the Son is God Himself. Furthermore, Christ has the eternal throne in His divinity, and the scepter of His kingdom is upright. Many authorities of earthly governments today are not upright, but Christ’s authority is altogether upright. The main aspect of Christ revealed in Hebrews is of Christ as the Son of God, that is, God Himself. Because of what He is and all the riches in His divinity, Christ has become “so great a salvation” to the believers (2:3).
Isaiah 9:6 prophesies, “A child is born to us, / A Son is given to us;... / And His name will be called... / Mighty God, / Eternal Father.” This prophecy adequately and clearly reveals Christ’s divinity. Isaiah was written about seven hundred years before Christ’s incarnation, but it clearly prophesied that a child would be born to us and a Son would be given to us and that His name would be called Mighty God and Eternal Father. In this verse Mighty God is paired with child, and Eternal Father is paired with Son.
Luke 2:11-12 and John 3:16 speak of the fulfillment of this prophecy. Luke 2:11-12 says, “Today a Savior has been born to you in David’s city, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.” Christ was incarnated and born as a baby, but the baby born in a manger in Bethlehem was the Mighty God. John 3:16 says, “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that everyone who believes into Him would not perish, but would have eternal life.” This verse is based on Isaiah 9:6. The Christ who was born as a baby is the Son given to us by God. Moreover, Christ the Son is the Eternal Father. As the child and the Mighty God are one person, so the Son and the Eternal Father are also one person. The baby born in the manger in Bethlehem was the gift given by God to us, and this gift is His Son, who is the Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God, the Eternal Father, and the Prince of Peace. When we receive this Christ, we receive God and enjoy all His riches.
The Old Testament contains prophecies not only concerning the divinity of Christ but also concerning the humanity of Christ. The Old Testament prophecies concerning Christ’s humanity mainly speak of His humanity in relation to four persons: the seed of the woman, the seed of Abraham, the seed of David, and the branch of Jesse.
The first prophecy in the Old Testament, which is also the first prophecy in the entire Bible, speaks of Christ as the seed of the woman in His humanity. Jehovah God spoke to the serpent in Genesis 3:15: “I will put enmity / Between you and the woman / And between your seed and her seed; / He will bruise you on the head, / But you will bruise him on the heel.” This promise regarding the seed of the woman is the first prophecy in the Bible. In Isaiah 7:14 the prophet Isaiah prophesied, “The Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin will conceive and will bear a son, and she will call his name Immanuel.” The birth of Jesus Christ of the virgin Mary fulfilled the prophecy of Christ being the seed of the woman in His humanity (Matt. 1:22-23). Paul also testified solemnly that Christ was “born of a woman” (Gal. 4:4). As the seed of the woman in His humanity, Christ is Emmanuel—God with us, and He has bruised the head of the ancient serpent, Satan.
Christ in His humanity was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of a virgin; hence, man called His name Emmanuel—God with us (Isa. 7:14; Matt. 1:23). The el in Emmanuel means “God” in the original language. This means that He is God; He is the incarnated God living among us (John 1:14). Furthermore, He is not only God but also God with us. Christ in His humanity as the very Emmanuel not only was with the disciples when He was on earth (14:9) but also is with us, since His ascension, whenever we are gathered into His name. Moreover, He will be with us all the days until the consummation of the age (Matt. 28:20).
Genesis 3:15 prophesies that Christ as the seed of the woman would bruise the head of the old serpent, Satan, and the serpent would bruise the heel of the seed of the woman. The fulfillment of the first half of this prophecy is referred to in Hebrews 2:14 and in 1 John 3:8, which reveal that through death Christ destroyed the devil, who has the might of death. This prophecy will be further fulfilled when the ancient serpent is cast down out of heaven by the man-child (Rev. 12:9). The last half of the prophecy—the serpent bruising the heel of the seed of the woman—was fulfilled when Christ’s feet were nailed to the cross. By having the Lord Jesus’ feet nailed to the cross, Satan bruised His heel (Psa. 22:16).
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 dwell in man’s flesh (Rom. 7:17) and 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). In addition, man is held in slavery all his life by Satan through the fear of death (Heb. 2:15). As the seed of the woman, Christ in His humanity partook of blood and flesh, having the likeness of the flesh of sin and being involved with fallen man’s flesh indwelt by Satan (v. 14; John 1:14; Rom. 8:3). Thus, through the death on the cross, Christ judged Satan, the enemy of God (John 12:31; 16:11), destroyed the works of the devil (1 John 3:8b), and destroyed the devil, who dwells in fallen man (Heb. 2:14), so as to free man. Eventually, the overcoming believers will execute God’s judgment on the ancient serpent, Satan, and cast him down to the earth (Rev. 12:9-12). Before the millennium begins, Christ will send an angel to bind Satan and cast him into the abyss where he will be shut up for one thousand years (20:1-3). At the end of the millennium, Satan will be released from the abyss. He will then deceive the nations into following him to surround the camp of the saints and the beloved city. This will be the last struggle of fallen man to rebel against God. Then fire will come down out of heaven and devour them (vv. 7-9). The devil, who deceived them, will be cast into the lake of fire, where he will be tormented day and night forever and ever (v. 10). This is the last step of the executing of Christ’s judgment on Satan, and it is also the final purging of the poison of rebellion against God that was injected into man by Satan.
The New Testament reveals that Christ in His humanity is the seed of Abraham (Matt. 1:1). This was prophesied in such places as Genesis 17:8 and 22:18. In Galatians 3:16 Paul emphasizes that Christ is the fulfillment of the prophecies in Genesis concerning the seed of Abraham: “To Abraham were the promises spoken and to his seed. He does not say, And to the seeds, as concerning many, but as concerning one: ‘And to your seed,’ who is Christ.” Here Paul indicates that in God’s eyes Abraham has only one seed, that is, Christ. As the seed of Abraham, Christ is typified by Isaac, who came out of Abraham and received the inheritance. Furthermore, Christ in His humanity blesses the nations so that the nations may receive the gospel of Christ, which is to receive the Spirit promised by God (v. 14).
Christ as the seed of Abraham in His humanity is typified by Isaac (Matt. 1:2). Jehovah God promised to give the land of Canaan to Abraham and to his seed as an eternal possession (Gen. 17:8), and He said that the nations on the earth would be blessed because of Abraham’s seed (22:18). Nevertheless, the seed that God referred to was not many people, but one person. Paul pointed out in Galatians that this one is Christ, not Isaac. As far as Abraham was concerned the “seed” was Isaac. According to Galatians 3:16, in the eyes of God the “seed” who would receive the inheritance and bless the nations is Christ. Isaac is a figure of the coming Christ, and the reality is Christ. Christ in His humanity is the unique seed of Abraham; He is the seed that inherits the promise. In order to inherit the promised blessing, we must be one with Christ. Outside of Him we absolutely cannot inherit the God-promised blessing. We must be in Christ through faith in order to partake of all the promises God that gave to Abraham (vv. 7-9).
In Galatians 3:14 Paul says, “In order that the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.” This indicates that Christ in His humanity is the seed of Abraham so that the nations can receive the gospel of Christ, which is the blessing God gave to Abraham (Gen. 22:18; Gal. 3:8-12). Christ is not only the unique seed who inherits the promise as typified by Isaac; He is also the promise of blessing to be received by man. When Jehovah God appeared to Abraham, He promised to give him two things—the good land and the seed, both of which typify Christ. This means that in type, God was giving Christ to Abraham as the good land and the seed. According to Paul’s interpretation in Galatians 3, both the good land and the seed are the Spirit. The blessing of the gospel is the promised Spirit. The physical aspect of this blessing that God promised to Abraham is the good land (Gen. 12:7; 13:15; 17:8; 26:3-4), which is a type of the all-inclusive Christ (cf. Col. 1:12). Since Christ in His humanity is eventually realized as the all-inclusive life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45b; 2 Cor. 3:17) by the New Testament believers, this allinclusive life-giving Spirit is the blessing promised to Abraham.
Matthew reveals that Christ as a man in His humanity is the seed of David (1:1; 22:42-45). This fulfilled the prophecy spoken by the prophet Nathan to David in 2 Samuel 7:12-14a: “When your days are fulfilled and you sleep with your fathers, I will raise up your seed after you, which will come forth from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. It is he who will build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his Father, and he will be My son.” In this prophecy we see that God would raise up a seed for David and would also establish His kingdom forever. The fulfillment of this is referred to in Revelation 11:15, which says that Christ “will reign forever and ever.”
This prophecy in 2 Samuel 7 says that the seed of David would become the Son of God, and God would be His Father. In other words, a human seed would become the divine Son. In Romans 1:3-4 this prophecy is explained fully: “Concerning His Son, who came out of the seed of David according to the flesh, who was designated the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness out of the resurrection of the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord.” This indicates that Christ in His humanity is the seed of David and that in resurrection His humanity was sanctified, uplifted, transformed, and designated the Son of God.
Solomon typifies the resurrected Christ. Just as Solomon built and completed the temple of God, Christ in resurrection also builds His church to be the dwelling place of God on earth (2 Sam. 7:13a; Matt. 16:18; Eph. 2:21-22). Solomon means “peaceful.” Solomon is the king of peace. He built the temple of God in a peaceful situation. This typifies Christ building up the dwelling place of God in peace. Ephesians 2:15-22 reveals that Christ in His flesh abolished the law of commandments in ordinances, so making peace, and that in peace He is building the Body of Christ. Hence, the word regarding the seed of David in 2 Samuel 7 clearly prophesies that the resurrected Christ in His humanity is the seed of David for building up of the church.
In 2 Samuel 7 Nathan not only prophesied that the resurrected Christ will build the church, God’s temple, but he also prophesied that Christ in His humanity as the seed of David will be the Son of God, and God will be His Father. This is what is said in Romans 1; in His humanity Christ was designated the Son of God through resurrection (vv. 3-4). We must see that the person of Christ has two aspects. This God-man, Christ, possesses both divinity and humanity; He is God, and He is also man. Divinity is divine, and humanity is human. According to His divinity, Christ was already the Son of God. But as the seed of David, Christ in His humanity was still human, because He had put on flesh (John 1:14). According to the flesh, in His humanity Christ was “in the likeness of the flesh of sin” (Rom. 8:3). Thus, when He was still in the flesh, even though His humanity was sinless and perfect, it was not yet the Son of God. This part needed to pass through death and resurrection to be designated the Son of God by the mighty power of resurrection. This is the process of being “sonized”; the perfectly sinless humanity of Christ was uplifted to the level of divinity through resurrection. Thus, this Christ who is the seed of David in His humanity became the Son of God, even in His humanity, through resurrection, to be the firstborn Son of God, possessing both divinity and humanity (v. 29).
The prophecy in 2 Samuel 7:14 is extremely important in the eternal economy of God. The prophetic word of Nathan, which says, “I will be his Father, and he will be My son,” was not merely fulfilled in Christ. It further unveils a more important matter, which is that a seed of man—a son of man—can become the Son of God. This implies that God’s intention is to make Himself man in order to make man God in life and in nature but not in the Godhead. This is the ultimate goal that Christ has accomplished and attained as the seed of David in His humanity.
Other prophets in the Old Testament, such as Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Zechariah, also prophesied concerning the humanity of Christ. Isaiah 11:1-2 says, “Then a sprout will come forth from the stump of Jesse, / And a branch from his roots will bear fruit. / And the Spirit of Jehovah will rest upon Him, / The Spirit of wisdom and understanding, / The Spirit of counsel and might, / The Spirit of knowledge and the fear of Jehovah.” Jeremiah 23:5-6 and 33:15 both say that Jehovah would raise up for the house of David “a righteous Shoot,” who would reign as King and act prudently and execute justice and righteousness in the land. His name would be called “Jehovah our righteousness” (v. 16). The prophet Zechariah also mentioned that Jehovah promised He would bring forth David’s shoot (Zech. 3:8). These prophecies indicate that Christ in His humanity is a branch of Jesse, the Shoot of David.
Isaiah prophesied that Christ in His humanity would be a sprout that came forth from the stump of Jesse—the last part of a cut trunk close to the roots (Isa. 11:1a). 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.
Jeremiah and Zechariah prophesied that Christ in His humanity is the Shoot of David. A shoot is the sprout of a tree, especially a sprout of a tree that has been cut down. The royal house of David was like a great and flourishing tree, but because of the degradation of Solomon and the apostasy of his descendants, the tree was cut down, mainly by Nebuchadnezzar, leaving only a stump in the earth. Nevertheless, Christ in His humanity is the sprout growing out from that stump (Isa. 53:2), to become the Shoot of David. Hence, the birth of Christ is the Shoot of David—the fresh sprout—growing from the stump of the tree.
Isaiah prophesied that the Spirit of Jehovah—the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of Jehovah—would rest upon Christ (11:2). Christ in His human living, as the branch of Jesse in His humanity, had all these attributes. He was full of the Spirit of wisdom, understanding, counsel, might, knowledge, and the fear of Jehovah. When He returns, in His humanity He will be given the authority to execute judgment in righteousness over the earth and make all the creatures of God live in peaceful harmony (vv. 3-9).
In his prophecy the prophet Jeremiah said that Christ, the Shoot of David, is called “Jehovah our righteousness” (Jer. 23:6). This indicates that Christ in His humanity, as the Shoot of David, is not merely a man; He is Jehovah becoming our righteousness. At Jeremiah’s time there was no righteousness among the Israelites. But Jeremiah prophesied that Christ would come as a Shoot who is Jehovah Himself to be the righteousness of God’s chosen people. Paul refers to the fulfillment of this in 1 Corinthians 1:30 where he says, “Christ Jesus, who became wisdom to us from God: both righteousness and sanctification and redemption.” The people of God do not have righteousness in themselves (Psa. 14:1-3; 53:1-3 Rom 3:10); “our righteousnesses are like a soiled garment” (Isa. 64:6). But we have this Christ, the Shoot of David, who is called Jehovah our righteousness. He is God Himself who died on the cross as a man to accomplish redemption for us by shedding His blood. Based on this redemption, we can receive God’s forgiveness; God makes Christ our righteousness and clothes us with the robe of righteousness (61:10) so that we may be justified before God.
The New Testament reveals and testifies that Christ in His Godhead is God, and in His humanity He is man. There are also prophecies concerning these two aspects in the Old Testament. The prophecies concerning the divinity of Christ in the Old Testament mainly say that Christ is the eternal Creator, that His goings forth are from ancient times, that He is God, even the Mighty God, and that He is the eternal Father. The prophecies concerning the humanity of Christ are typified mainly in relation to four persons: the seed of the woman, the seed of Abraham, the seed of David, and a branch of Jesse, the Shoot of David.
In the aspect of divinity, the Old Testament prophesies that Christ is the Creator who is eternally unchanging and whose years are without end. Christ is the Creator who existed even before creation. He remains forever and ever, from eternity past to eternity future. The prophet Micah prophesied that Christ is from the ancient time and from the days of eternity. This means that Christ existed in eternity, before the creation of all things. This is also a prophecy related to Christ’s deity. The Psalms prophesy that Christ is God Himself, that in His divinity He has the eternal throne, and that the scepter of His kingdom is upright. This Christ who is God with all the riches of His divinity has become “so great a salvation” to the believers. Isaiah prophesied that He is the Mighty God and the Eternal Father. The Christ who was born as a baby is the Son given to us by God, and this Christ the Son is the eternal Father. The baby born in the manger in Bethlehem was the gift given by God to us, and this gift is His Son, who is the Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God, the Eternal Father, and the Prince of Peace. When we receive this Christ, we receive God and enjoy all His riches.
Concerning the aspect of His humanity, the Old Testament first prophesied that Christ is the seed of the woman; this is the first prophecy in the entire Bible. Jesus Christ was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary, thus fulfilling the prophecy of Christ being the seed of the woman in His humanity. As the seed of the woman, Christ in His humanity is God with us. By His death on the cross, He bruised the head of the ancient serpent, Satan. Christ in His humanity is also the seed of Abraham as typified by Isaac, who came out of Abraham and received the inheritance. Christ in His humanity blesses the nations so that the nations may receive the gospel of Christ, which is to receive the Spirit promised by God. He is also the seed of David, who builds the temple of God in His resurrected humanity and whose humanity in resurrection was designated the Son of God as the firstborn Son of God. This implies that God’s intention is to make Himself man in order to make man God in life and nature but not in the Godhead. This is the ultimate goal that Christ has accomplished and attained as the seed of David in His humanity. The Old Testament further prophesied that Christ is a branch of Jesse, the Shoot of David. The Spirit of Jehovah rested upon Him, and He was full of the Spirit of wisdom, understanding, counsel, might, knowledge, and the fear of Jehovah. His name is called Jehovah our righteousness. The people of God do not have righteousness, but Christ is Jehovah our righteousness that we may be justified before God.
