Scripture Reading: Jer. 23:5; Matt. 1:1; Rev. 22:16; Matt. 22:42-45; Rom. 1:3
In the New Testament there are a great many aspects of the experience and enjoyment of Christ. The more we study these aspects, the more we are brought into the excellency of the knowledge of Christ (Phil. 3:8). Through this excellency of the knowledge of Christ, we enter into the rich experience and enjoyment of Christ. In this message we will consider the experience and enjoyment of Christ as the son of David and the son of Abraham.
The New Testament opens with the words, "The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham" (Matt. 1:1). In this verse there are two titles of Christ: son of David and son of Abraham. It is surely significant that the very first verse of the New Testament mentions these two titles.
If we know the New Testament as a whole, we will realize that the entire New Testament is wrapped up with these titles. In Revelation 22:16 the Lord Jesus refers to Himself as "the Root and the Offspring of David." In His divinity, Christ is the "Root of David," his source; in His humanity, He is the "Offspring of David," his issue. Hence, Christ is the Lord of David as the Root, and He is also the seed, the branch, of David as the Offspring (Matt. 22:42-45; Rom. 1:3; Jer. 23:5).
Some may think that Matthew 1:1 is simply a revelation telling us how Christ came into mankind through being the son of Abraham and the son of David. However, the titles son of David and son of Abraham are not simply for us to know the revelation concerning Christ's person. These titles are for us to experience Christ and enjoy Him.
The Gospel of Matthew emphasizes the fact that Christ is the son of David (9:27; 15:22; 20:30-31; 21:9). Solomon, the son of David, was a type of Christ in three main aspects. First, he was a type of Christ inheriting the kingdom (2 Sam. 7:12b, 13; Jer. 23:5; Luke 1:32-33). Second, Solomon had wisdom and spoke the word of wisdom. In Matthew 12:42 Christ, the greater Solomon, also had wisdom and spoke the word of wisdom. Third, Solomon built the temple of God (2 Sam. 7:13). As the son of David, Christ builds up God's temple, the church.
The title son of David signifies the kingdom. Christ, the son of David, is the King, the Ruler. As the son of David, Christ brings us into the kingdom of the heavens (Matt. 5:3).
Christ's being the son of David is also for us to participate in the divine authority. According to the Gospel of Matthew, the Lord Jesus has given us the authority to bind and to loose. "I will give to you the keys of the kingdom of the heavens, and whatever you bind on the earth shall have been bound in the heavens, and whatever you loose on the earth shall have been loosed in the heavens" (16:19). The Gospel of Matthew is concerned with the kingdom of the heavens, which is a matter of authority. The church revealed in this book represents the kingdom to reign. Hence, the authority to bind and to loose is given not only to Peter, the apostle for the church in 16:19, but also to the church itself (18:17-18).
Matthew 28:18-19 is another portion of the Word which reveals that we participate in the divine authority. "Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and disciple all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." Because all authority has been given to the Lord Jesus, the son of David as the heavenly King, He has sent His disciples to go and disciple all the nations. They go with His authority.
Christ is also the son of Abraham. In the Old Testament there was a clear prophecy that Christ would be the son of Abraham.
Isaac, the son of Abraham, was a type of Christ in three main aspects. First, Isaac brought the blessing to all nations, both Jews and Gentiles (Gen. 22:18; 14, Gal. 3:16). Second, Isaac was offered to God unto death and was resurrected (Gen. 22:1-12; Heb. 11:17, 19). Third, Isaac received the bride (Gen. 24:67). This is a type of Christ as the promised One who brought the blessing to all nations, who was offered to God unto death, who was resurrected, and who will receive His bride (John 3:29; Rev. 19:7).
As the son of Abraham, Christ brings us the divine blessing. Concerning this, Galatians 3:14 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." The blessing here is the blessing promised by God to Abraham (Gen. 12:3). This promise has been fulfilled, and this blessing has come to the Gentiles, the nations, in Christ through His redemption by the cross.
Christ, the son of Abraham, brings us the divine blessing for us to inherit God. Galatians 3:29 says, "If you are of Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, heirs according to promise." Abraham's seed is only one, Christ (Gal. 3:16). Hence, for us to be Abraham's seed we must be of Christ, that is, a part of Christ. Because we are one with Christ, we are Abraham's seed, heirs according to promise, inheriting God's promised blessing, which is the all-inclusive Spirit as the ultimate consummation of the processed Triune God to be our portion.
Acts 26:18 refers to the believers' divine inheritance. This inheritance is the Triune God Himself with all that He has, all that He has done, and all that He will do for His redeemed people. This Triune God is embodied in the all-inclusive Christ (Col. 2:9), who is the portion allotted to the saints as their inheritance (Col. 1:12).
Ephesians 1:13 and 14 reveal that the Spirit is "the pledge of our inheritance." Since God is our inheritance, the Holy Spirit is the pledge of this inheritance to us.
In the Old Testament God made a covenant with Abraham (Gen. 12:2-3; 15:4-18; 17:1-2; 22:17-18) and also with David (2 Sam. 7:8-16). In order to understand how we may experience and enjoy Christ as the son of David and the son of Abraham, we need to consider these two covenants.
The covenant God made with Abraham concerned God's coming to be the blessing to His chosen people. This covenant is related to God's purpose in creating man. God made mankind to be His vessels to contain Him. God made man in His own image and after His likeness so that man could contain God, taking God as his life and life supply. For man to take God as his life and life supply is the greatest blessing in the universe. This is the enjoyment of the Triune God. However, due to the fall, this great blessing was lost by man.
Although man fell, God could not give up His eternal purpose. Satan's doings cannot annul God's purpose. The created race had fallen, but God continued working to fulfill His purpose by coming to a chosen race. The created race, the race of Adam, was a failure, so God came to another race, the chosen race, the race of Abraham. Whereas Adam was the head of the created race, Abraham was the head of the chosen race.
God made a covenant with Abraham, and this covenant concerns God's being the enjoyment and everything to His chosen people. Galatians 3:14 indicates that the New Testament is the fulfillment of the covenant God made with Abraham. In this fulfillment, the processed Triune God consummated as the all-inclusive Spirit is the blessing to God's chosen people. In the gospel, we have received the all-inclusive Spirit as God's consummation to be the life, life supply, and everything for our enjoyment. As a result of the covenant God made with Abraham, the processed Triune God as the consummated Spirit has become our enjoyment.
Galatians 3:29 tells us that because we are of Christ, we are Abraham's seed, heirs according to promise. What will we inherit? We will inherit the processed Triune God consummated as the all-inclusive Spirit. If we realize this, we will understand why Christ had to be the son of Abraham. Christ had to be the son of Abraham to fulfill God's covenant with Abraham so that God, after being processed, could be our blessing. Now for us to enjoy Christ as the son of Abraham means that we enjoy the Triune God promised to Abraham. This is a matter of blessing.
If we study the history in the Old Testament, we will see that after God made the covenant with Abraham, His people had failure after failure and defeat after defeat. The blessing could not come, because the earth was full of rebellion against God. Therefore, God came to a man after His heart (1 Sam. 13:14), David, the son of Jesse, and made a covenant with him. Whereas the covenant with Abraham concerned the blessing, the covenant with David concerned the kingdom. God must have a kingdom, a realm, a sphere, on earth with His chosen race to exercise His administration under His full, divine authority. Without such a kingdom, God does not have a realm in which to accomplish His purpose. In order to be the blessing to His chosen people, God needs a kingdom, a realm, filled with His authority. Then in this administration He can come in to exercise whatever is on His heart to be the blessing promised to His chosen people.
It would be helpful at this point to consider the way the gospel is presented to us in the New Testament. It is presented first with these words: "Repent, for the kingdom of the heavens has drawn near" (Matt. 4:17). This indicates that the gospel is presented first not in the way of life, as in John, but in the way of the kingdom, as in Matthew. The reason for this is that there is the need of a kingdom, a realm, a sphere, for God to exercise Himself to give us His all-inclusive being. Even in John, the gospel of life, we are told that if we are not regenerated, we cannot enter into the kingdom of God (John 3:3, 5). There is the need of a kingdom so that God can exercise Himself to dispense Himself into us as our life blessing. Therefore, in the gospel, we receive Jesus Christ first not as life but as the King.
In Matthew we have the King-Savior; in Mark, the Slave-Savior; in Luke, the Man-Savior; and in John, the God-Savior. If we do not repent and receive the Lord as the King-Savior, we cannot have Him as the Slave-Savior, the Man-Savior, and the God-Savior.
We need to repent not only because we are sinful but because we are rebellious. We are even enemies of God. We need to repent of our rebellion. We sin because we are rebellious. If we did not rebel, we could not sin. Because we are rebels, we need to repent to receive Christ as our authority, as our Sovereign and King, that He may rule in us and over us in God's kingdom. This is the reason that in Matthew 1:1 Christ is presented first not as the son of Abraham for the blessing but as the son of David for the kingdom.
Once there is the kingdom, the kingdom becomes the realm, the sphere, for God to exercise Himself to bless us. We all like to receive the blessing, but we may not realize that the blessing requires a sphere of God's authority, a sphere under God's administration. Without such a sphere, there is no way for God to come in to bless us. If we are not under God's administration, receiving Him as our Sovereign, there is no way for Him to bless us. Therefore, in our experience as believers, our Savior, Jesus Christ, must first be the son of David for the kingdom and then the son of Abraham for the blessing.
We need to be deeply impressed with the fact that we must receive Christ first as the son of David and then as the son of Abraham. To receive Christ as the son of David is to recognize His kingly status and to realize that we should be under His kingship and sovereignty. He comes to us not merely as the Savior but as the King-Savior. If He is not the King to us, He cannot be our Savior. If we are not under His authority, His administration, we cannot be saved. Salvation comes to us under His administration, under His kingship. If we say, "O Lord Jesus, I take You as my King," we will be saved to the uttermost.
If we have Christ as the son of David, the greater Solomon, we will also have Him as the son of Abraham, the real Isaac. This means that if we have the kingdom, we will also have the blessing. This is the blessing of life, the blessing of the processed Triune God consummated as the all-inclusive Spirit. Many of us can testify that by receiving Christ as our King we enjoy the processed Triune God as our blessing. The more we are under the Lord's ruling, the more we enjoy the Triune God as our blessing.
Matthew 28:19 speaks of the believers' being baptized into the Triune God — into the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. This is the enjoyment of the Triune God. As the son of David and as the son of Abraham, Christ brings us into the Triune God. As long as we have the son of David and the son of Abraham, we have the Triune God, and we are in the Triune God. This is the divine blessing in the divine kingdom.
