This content introduces a systematic theology study series, beginning with Christology, emphasizing the critical importance of understanding Jesus Christ's person and work in a secularizing world. The initial session focuses on establishing the pre-existence and eternality of Christ as foundational to Christian doctrine.
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all right well welcome everybody to our
first installment of year three of
summer in the systematics which is going
to be our summerlong study of
christology the doctrine of Jesus Christ
his person his works his purposes I'm
grateful we're all here tonight you're
all able to make it uh take time out of
your busy summer late summer evenings so
we can study uh this important Doctrine
as I mentioned my first uh summer here
at Indian Hills uh two years ago if if
the Lord allows I'd like to teach our
church Systematic Theology on Sunday
evenings in the summer not only over the
next many weeks but Lord willing over
the next many years and what we'll do
over the next many years if the Lord
allows and terries is cover each of the
traditional categories of of systematic
theology that you see up on your screen
there including our topic for the summer
of 2024
christology and why why take a break
from Esther we were having so much fun
with with Esther U why take a break and
study Systematic Theology in the summer
well simply the simply put theology
matters uh here's what Daniel Wallace
said and I've given this quote to you
before a couple of these will be repeats
from the last two years but they they
really set the stage for what we'll be
doing tonight and throughout the summer
uh Daniel Wallace says those in Ministry
must close the gap between the church
and the academy we have to educate
Believers instead of trying to isolate
people from critical scholarship we we
need to insulate them they need to be
ready for the barrage because it is
coming the intentional dumbing down of
the church for the sake of filling more
pews will ultimately lead to defection from
from
Christ he's absolutely right we live in
in a period in a day in which there is a
plague of biblical illiteracy among
Christians men you might remember Dr
Cory Marsh coming for a Men's Conference
and speaking to that very subject this
year uh we live in a time which is
marked by the the abandonment of
biblical principles and and a Biblical
ethic in fact Chuck Coulson many years
ago said this I think somewhat
prophetically we live in a dark excuse
me we live in a new Dark Age having
elevated the individual as the measure
of all things modern men and women are
guided solely by their own dark passions
they have nothing above themselves to
respect or obey no principles to live or
die for personal advancement personal
feeling and personal autonomy are the
only shrines at which they
worship was Coulson not foreshadowing
what we see all around us today uh men
and women being guided solely by their
own dark passions as he put it
worshiping at the the shrines of of
personal advancement and personal
feeling and personal
autonomy friends we are in the month of
June if you noticed which is now called
pride month
a full 30 days in which Godless Lawless
Rebels take the sign of God's promise to
never judge the world again by a flood
the rainbow and they use it as their
their symbol to celebrate their
flagrantly sinful lifestyle all while
dressing up that sin in the language of
what is arguably the most Sinister form
of sin imaginable and really the tooot
of all sin Pride we absolutely do live
in a time and an era in which culturally
we have untied the boat from The Dock of
biblical truth and we've shoved off into
the sea of secularism relativism and
open and flagrant
sin so with that being our context that
being the time those being the times in
which we live today is the solution to
run away from
theology to shy away from theology to
shy away from Systematic Theology and
the various subdisciplines of systematic
theology like christology
absolutely not that there's no better
time than the time we live in now to be
girded up with all forms of biblical
truth to be taught biblical truth in
various means and methods uh
exergetically and expositionally as we
tend to do and typically do on Sunday
mornings and Sunday evenings but also
categorically and systematically as
we'll do in these summertime
studies I've already used a few words
theology Systematic Theology Christ
ology uh which are interconnected but
distinct but they need some some further
definition so let's start our time this
evening by defining those terms up front
and again these are some some of these
are by way of reminder what is theology
what is systematic theology what is
christology well let's start with
theology what is theology well we get
our word theology that it comes from a
root word Theos that's the Greek word
for God and logos that's the Greek word
for word um so the when you look at the
the raw definition of the theology
you're talking about a a word about God
or we could smooth that out and say the
study of God or some of the older
theologians put it the science of God
now in reality there's are as many
definitions of theology out there as
there are theologians so it's kind of
hard to pick a favorite one but I do
have a favorite one it comes from David
Wells who defines theology this way and
I gave this definition to you last
summer and the summer before he says
theology is the sustained effort to know
the character will and actions of the
Triune God as he has disclosed and
interpreted these for his people in
scripture in order that we might know
him learn to think our thoughts after
him live our lives in his world on his
terms and by thought and Action Project
his truth into our own time and
culture that I think is a clear and
concise yet comprehensive definition of
what is truly a massive undertaking with
theology the study of God so breaking
this down a bit wells's definition tells
us that theology requires effort
theology is the sustained effort uh it
has a Target to know the character will
and actions of God uh theology is
trinitarian it's the study of the Triune
God and it has a source the scripture
the 66 God breathed books of the Bible
that's what we studied Last Summer and
it has a purpose that we might know him
learn to think our thoughts after him
live our lives in his world on his terms
and by thought and Action Project his
truth into our own time and culture so
that's our definition of theology what
about Systematic Theology what is
systematic theology again you can find
countless possible definitions of this
term I'm going to go with one from John
frame where he simply defines Systematic
Theology as that field of study which
asks what the whole Bible teaches about any
any
subject now there are 10 traditional
categories of of systematic theology and
different men may teach these in
different order ACC or according to a
different outline but by way of reminder
these are the categories traditionally
of systematic theology theology proper
the doctrine of the existence and being
of God we looked at that two summers ago
uh bibliology we looked at this last
summer the doctrine of the inspiration
and ereny Authority and canonicity of
the Bible christology that's what we're
doing this summer the doctrine of the
person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ
patology next summer the doctrine of the
person and work of the Holy Spirit
anthropology the doctrine of man
hamartiology the doctrine of sin
soteriology the doctrine of salvation
angelology the doctrine of angels holy
and fallen and Satan ecclesiology the
doctrine of the church Universal and
local and then last
eschatology the doctrine of last things
or end times and again two summers ago
we looked at theology proper the
doctrine of God last summer was
bibliology the doctrine of the Bible
this summer is christology the study of
Christ the person the work the purposes
of Christ all right we've knocked out
two definitions Theology and the study
of God we've knocked out this definition
of systematic theology that field of
study which asks what the whole Bible
teaches about any subject
now what is
christology christology very simply is
the doctrine of Jesus Christ his person
his works and his purposes and in the
realm of christology there are various
uh subdisciplines or or subjects of
study and interest which we'll be T
touching upon over the next uh 10 weeks
uh these would include the pre-existence
of Christ that's tonight the deity of
Christ the natures of Christ the
incarnation of Christ the humanity of
Christ the life and Obedience of Christ
the crucifixion and death of Christ the
resurrection of Christ the Ascension of
Christ and of course the return of
Christ we have our work cut out for us
this summer cancel all summer vacation
plans forth
with I kid well this this subject
christology it really is a vitally
important one and that's uh because as
Charles Spurgeon once noted you got to
get a spurge quote in in each one of
these lectures Christ is the Great
Central fact in the world's history to
him everything looks forward or backward
all the lines of History converge upon
him I might quibble a little bit with
that based on what I've said about
reading scripture forward not backward
over and over and over again but you get
the point he is the the focus of who we
are in Christ we are in Christ and
studying him is of essential importance
but even the secular French philosopher
ear EST ran noted that all history is
incomprehensible without Christ we can
simply look at the calendar and and how
the world functions and we can
understand what he's saying uh and
that's why Daniel aen says can say this
rightly christology the study of the
person and work of Jesus Christ is the
central doctrine of
Christianity now no matter where one
sits on the theological spectrum of
Christianity there is common agreement
that that christology as the very
definition of the term implies centers
around Christ his person his works his
purposes and what'll happen is
oftentimes as you read on this subject
and read works on christology you'll see
that that the whole subject usually in
the introduction of various Works to
christology teed up with the words of
Jesus here in Matthew
16:13 and where Matthew here records
Jesus coming into the District of
cesaria Philippi he's asking his
disciples and he asks them this question
who do people say that the son of man is
and then verse 14 records and they said
this is his disciples speaking back to
him some say John the Baptist and others
Elijah but still others Jeremiah or one
of the prophets and then Jesus responds
in verse 15 but who do you say that I am
and that's where in the study of
christology the floodgates open as
Scholars and theologians of all stripes
and Persuasions and backgrounds whether
amateur or professional look at the
study of christology as being
subjective as in who is Jesus to me uh
what do I think Christ came to do Jesus
asked here in Matthew 16:15 who do you
say that I am so by golly I'm going to
tell him and everyone else who I say he
is and how he needs to resemble me and
relate to me and while he's at it fix
the culture and make the world a better
place it's been this type of thinking
which led the the French philosopher
Jean jacqu rouso whose thoughts were
integral to the French Revolution to
declare that Jesus was a social
revolutionary who whose primary purpose
was to free the Jews from Rome's
tyrannical rule this is why the
playright George Bernard Shaw claimed
that Jesus was a rallying Center for
revolutionary influence in his times and
this is why more modern liberation
theologians will appropriate Jesus for
their cause whatever that cause may
be like Albert CLE who wrote a book
titled the black messiah in which he
says that Jesus was a revolutionary
black leader a zealot seeking to lead a
black nation to
Freedom this is why Miguel deore who
wrote a book called the politics of
Jesus a Hispanic political theology
would say this that that that to follow
Jesus is an in ation to pick up one's
own cross and follow note the accent
mark there Jesus in his call to serve
and be in solidarity with the
marginalized uh this is why tion an Wong
would write this in an Asian-American
Theology of Liberation he says
solidarity with other communities of
color in their struggles is an exercise
in demonstrating our faith through Works
a little James 2 language there for
asian-americans repentance requires the
conviction of our own complicity before
we can even begin working toward the
Freedom First of all of indigenous
peoples then of black people and finally
the rest of
us you catching all that did you realize
that there was such a kaleidoscopic
range of of options that we get to pick
from in terms of how we view Jesus and
his works and his person and his
purposes I'm being a tad
factious here's how Bruce demerest
summarizes the range of views that are
out there about Jesus
and his person and his
Works he's right he says the theories
have no end Albert Schweitzer saw in
Jesus a deluded apocalyptic Visionary
Hitler found an Aryan who proved the
superiority of Gentiles of European
stock Picasso pictured a dashing bull
fighter spiritism presents Jesus as a
pantheistic God and the bahai faith
portrays him as one of nine human
Messengers The Modern portraits of Jesus
appear to be without number it's
it's
ludicrous and much of this can be traced
back to what is perceived to be this
open-ended question from Jesus in
Matthew 16:15 when he says but who do
you say that I
am the theory and the thought is that he
here is inviting endless subjective
musings and ramblings such as the one
ones I've just quoted when he asked this
question but who do you say that I
am well was that an open invitation from
Jesus for all generations to come to to
subjectively Muse and ramble about who
he is to to make him who we want him to
be to mold him into our image to make
him this little Idol that we tuck away
into our pocket and take to
work absolutely not because we know from
the context of this passage that right
after Jesus asked this question Simon
Peter always quick to reply answered and
in doing so he closed off the range of
of potential options of who Christ is in
verse 16
Peter said you are the Christ the son of
a living God
God
Amen Jesus the one born in Bethlehem to
Joseph and Mary the one who lived that
perfect and sinless life the one who
died that undeserved but divinely
appointed death the one who Rose from
the grave and then appeared to the
masses for before ascending to the
father is the Christ the son of the
Living God and all summer long we'll be
working through what those words and
other words like them mean and
entail and as we do so and this connects
back to what we studied last summer
bibliology in developing a robust and
detailed and faithful christology we're
going to be doing so from the
scriptures so hold me to that there
won't be from up here any I feel or I
just think kind of statements about who
Christ is as we work through this study
of the doctrine of Christ now we'll be
submitting each of our thoughts about
who Christ is who do you say that I am
to what he has already been revealed to
us perfectly and timelessly in the word of
of
God I appreciate what Robert Lightner
says on this topic of finding Christ in
the scripture he says Jesus Christ and
his work on the cross are absolutely
Central and essential to Christianity
one's view of Christ will determine en
large part his views of other Cardinal
doctrines of the Christian faith it is
generally true for example that one's
view of of Christ The Living Word will
correspond with his view of the Bible
the written word the reverse is also
true one's view of the written word in
large measure Reveals His view of the living
living word
word
amen what we know of the Living Word
Jesus Christ comes from the written word
scripture and yes I'll be quoting
theologians like I always do as we go
through this study but even then I'll be
quoting them to the extent they are
quoting scripture as we get down to the
weeds of about who Christ
is all right with that let's get into it
our first subject of study for the
summer in our study of christology is the
the
pre-existence of
Christ now when we embark on the study
of the doctrine of Christ our our minds
as temporal finite creatures as as we
are it might be to go immediately to
Jesus's birth to to the Christmas story
which is in entally what we're about to
embark on next Sunday morning in our our
morning Series in the Gospel of Luke but
when you study the scriptures and
specifically those scriptures bearing on
Christ and his person you note very
quickly that the Bible takes us all the
way back to Eternity past as it reports
on Christ's
pre-existence so while the study of
christology can be organized in a number
of different ways the one that's going
to make the most sense is to in studying
it him Christ I almost said
christologically we're going to study
Christ christologically yes of course we
are uh
chronologically is to study Christ first
in his pre-existent State and then work
our way up to his Incarnation his life
his death his resurrection his return
and so on so tonight though our focuses
on the
pre-existence of Christ and and here's
the the basic outline or road map that
we'll be on these correspond by the way
to the three Blanks on your worksheets
there uh heading number one will be New
Testament evidences for the
pre-existence of
Christ number two will be Old Testament
evidences for the pre-existence of
Christ yes going out of order and then
third will be other theological grounds
for the pre-existence of Christ so New
Testament evidences would be the first
heading Old Testament evidences the
second heading and then other
theological grounds will be the third
heading let's start with New Testament
evidences for the pre-exist of Christ do
the 27 books of the New Testament
testify to the fact that Jesus
pre-existed not only his own birth and
life and Ministry but did he pre-exist
the very creation of the world and the
universe due the new the New Testament
books give us that proof yes they do and
in many different places and from many
different sources uh we think of these
words to get us started from John the
Baptist John 1:15 records it this way
John bore witness about him and cried
out saying this was he of whom I said he
who comes after me has been ahead of me
for he existed before
me John the Baptist would say something
very similar just down that page in John
1:29 and3 it says on the next day he saw
Jesus coming to him this is John the
Baptist seeing Jesus coming and said
Behold the Lamb of God who takes away
the sin of the world this is he of whom
I said after me comes a man who is ahead
of me for he existed before me think
about that John the Baptist here on on
two different occasions says that that
he meaning Jesus existed before him John
the Baptist and the verb that he uses
there for existed it's it's the
imperfect form of a me so the Greek verb
for existence I am is am me this is an
imperfect form and all that means is it
can be translated he was existing uh as
in he was existing before me well as we
read the gospel accounts even looking at
what we're in in Luke in the mornings
who was conceived first John or
Jesus the answer of course is John so
how could John say that Jesus existed
before me how could he say that if je
how could this be said if Jesus existed
prior to his birth and into and prior to his
his
Incarnation is this referred ing to rank
is this referring to to dignity is this
John saying in the John 3:30 sense like
he must increase I must decrease is he
saying when he existed before me or is
is he referring to the fact that Jesus
is of Greater rank or priority or or
Worth or
value no he's speaking temporally this
is referring to a Time
relationship though though John was
older in age than Christ having been
conceived first Christ was before him
Christ existed before him in point of
time Christ preceded
John so there's one biblical witness to
Christ's pre-existence John the Baptist
next we need to consider the the
testimony of the Apostles and other
human authors of scripture now the
Apostle John began his gospel by noting
this familiar passage in the beginning
was the word and the Word was with God
and the Word was God he was in the
beginning with God now note the language
of just those first few words in the
beginning was the word in the beginning
meaning in eternity past was again
that's another imperfect form of a me
which is pointing to a a a prior
continual existence and then this in the
beginning was the word that's a
reference to Christ we know that just by
looking down the page at John 1:14 and
the word became flesh and dwelt Among Us
that's clearly referring to the second
person of the Trinity the Lord Jesus
Christ and we also know that that's
referring to Jesus from a passage like
Revelation 19 and then I saw heaven
opened and behold a white horse and he
who sits on it is called faithful and
true and in righteousness he judges and
wages War his eyes are a flame of fire
and on his head are many diadems having
a name written on him which no one knows
except himself and being clothed with a
garment dipped in blood here we go his name
name
is also called the word of
God what John 1 1 and2 is telling us
then is that Jesus was not only with God
he was God he is
God and piecing all that together what
John is testifying to here when he says
in the beginning was the word is that
Christ the word eternally was he
eternally was and therefore pre-existed
all that is in this world in which we
live and that lines up perfectly by the
way with passages like John 175 and
Jesus's prayer to the father he says now
father glorify me together with yourself
with the glory which I had with you
before the world
was so those are some of the references
that we see in John's gospel what about
in some of the other New Testament
writings well let's consider Paul who
infamously said this in Philippians 2
5-7 he said have this way of thinking in
yourselves which was also in Christ
Jesus who although existing in the form
of God did not regard equality with God
a thing to be grasped but emptied
himself by taking the form of a slave by
being made in the likeness of
men now we'll get into the words
equality with God next week when we
study the deity of Christ we'll get into
the words emptied himself the infamous
kosis passage when we study the
Incarnation of Christ but for tonight's
purposes as we study the pre-existence
of Christ we're going to zero in on the
words existing in the form of God Christ
Jesus who although existing in the form
of God reading those words
contextually and
chronologically what they are telling us
is that before Christ's Incarnation
before he came to Earth before he put on
flesh before he was born as a baby and a
Manger in Bethlehem he was already
existing in the form of God that is
prior to his his own birth he existed in
the form of God and by the way that word
form there is
Moray it it refers to those qualities
which make something exactly what it
is what makes make up its
Essence I
appreciate how Homer Kent defines that
term Moray what we see for form in
Philippians 2 he says that that word Mor
refers to the intrinsic form it need not
be physical that belongs to God and by
which he manifests
himself in other words in in his
pre-existent State uh both before his
own birth and and going back even
further before the universe was formed by
by
him Jesus possessed these real and
essential though invisible
characteristics which expressed his true
identity as God and and until his
Incarnation when he took on the form of
man as we'll see later in Philippians 2
when he put on flesh he existed as as
Spirit just as the other two persons the
father and the spirit of the
godhead well Paul not only spoke of
Christ's pre-existence in Philippians he
also did in
Colossians here consider these words in
Colossians 1:17 he is before all things
he is Christ and this is describing not
only Christ's preeminence over all
creation a major theme of of Colossians
1 but is pre-existence of all of it as
well or also in that first chapter of
Colossians Paul refers to Christ as as
the firstborn of all
creation and we saw this in our
exhaustive series through Colossians
over the last year what we saw what this
does not mean what this does not mean as
the various cult groups have taught over
the centuries is that Christ was the
first one
created what this does mean is that
Christ existing as he did before
creation from eternity past as the
pre-existent one exercise the privilege
of of Supremacy and lordship over his entire
entire
creation or think of these words from Colossians
Colossians
1:16 all things have been created
through him and for him those words
testify not only to Christ being the
Creator and Christ being God both of
which are true statements but Christ as
God and as Creator pre-existing all
things to be the Creator he must have
already been there when creation
began and it was for him as it was it
was for him and as well as through him
that the whole work of creation was
accomplished all things have been
created through him and for for him that
lines up very directly by the way with
with John 1:3 all things came into being
through him and apart from him nothing
came into being that has come into being
it sounds a lot also like Hebrews 1 1
and 2 God having spoken long ago to the
fathers and the prophets in many
portions and in many ways in these last
days spoke to us in his son whom he
appointed heir of all things through
whom also he made the
worlds and then first Corinthians 8:6
says there is one God the father from
whom all things and we exist for him and
one Lord Jesus Christ by whom are all
things and we exist through him each of
these testifies to Christ being the pre-existent
pre-existent
Creator so we've considered a little bit
about what John the Baptist said about
Christ pre-existence we've looked now at
what John the author of The Gospel of
John and Paul indicated about Christ's
pre-existence the author of Hebrews what
he said there's obviously one voice
recorded on the pages of scripture who
we have yet to consult about Jesus's
pre-existence which is Jesus
himself now we can't be totally
exhaustive here given our time
limitations tonight but we can survey
the landscape of what our Lord revealed
about his own
preexistence um here are some of the the
biblical evidences of what Jesus himself
said about his own
pre-existence here's John
3:17 for God did not send the son into
the world to judge the world but that
the world might be saved through him now
we often look at this verse and we think
automatically about how it connects to
the good news message back in John
3:16 but note the additional theological
Point that's being made here that can be
lost if we're not careful which is that
God sent his son into the
world and importantly God sent his son
as son into the world Jesus didn't
become God's son at his birth or at his
Incarnation he is God's Eternal son he
is eternally the Son of God he existed
in eternity past along with God the
father and with God the spirit and in
doing so pre-existed his own birth at
Bethlehem and pre-existed the the
creation of the world which he himself
we've seen Hebrews 1 Colossians 1 John 1
here's another
one John 6:35 Jesus here is saying to
the crowds I am the bread of life he who
comes to me will never hunger and he who
believes in me will never
thirst in other words his goal was not
simply to to fill the bellies of of
hungry people but to to Proclaim himself
as the bread of life the source of
strength and life for all things and all
men and then he says this in in verse 51
in keeping with with this bread of life
idea he says I am the living bread that
came down from heaven heaven being the
Eternal Dwelling Place of God so here in
John 6:51 when he's saying that that the
he is the living bread that came down
from heaven the idea is clear that there
was a time in eternity P when when being
God he was in heaven but then in his
Incarnation and through his birth he
came down from
heaven this same idea aidea of of Jesus
coming down or descending from heaven or
being sent from God is recorded
elsewhere like here in John 3:13 he says
and no one has ascended into heaven but
he who descended from Heaven the son of
man or John 8:42 he says I proceeded
forth and have come from God for I have
not even come of myself but he sent
me or John
16:28 I came forth from the father and
have come into to the world and we've
already seen this one John 17:5 he says
now father glorify me together with
yourself with the glory which I had with
you before the world was again each of
these testifies to the fact that Jesus
pre-existed his own birth there was a
time before he was born in Bethlehem
before the God the Father sent him into
the world that if I can put it so simply
Christ simply
was well there's
no place in the New Testament where we
see a stronger and a clearer statement
pertaining to Jesus's pre-existence of
course then in John chapter 8 uh there's
so much to this account and again for
time sake we're just going to pick it up
Midway where Jesus is recorded as saying
in John 8:56 to the the Jewish religious
leaders of the day he he says he's right
in their face and says your father
Abraham rejoiced to see my day and he
saw it and was glad
and they knew what he was saying what he
was talking about and so they retort
right away with these words in verse 57
so the Jews said to him you are not yet
50 years old and you have seen and have
you seen Abraham Abraham pre-exist
existed Christ by something like close
to 2,000 years and you've seen
Abraham and then here is the infamous
passage Jesus said to them truly truly I
say to you before Abraham was I am
he he lived multiple Millennia nearly
before Jesus Abraham did and now Jesus
is saying to this group of Pharisees
descendants of Abraham that that Abraham
rejoiced to see my day and that he
pre-existed Abraham before Abraham was I
am there there wasn't a stronger way for
Jesus to say not only that he
pre-existed Abraham in time but that
unlike Abraham he is
God I am of course was his deliberate
way of identifying himself with God who
himself ident was himself identified to
Moses at the burning bush Nexus 3:14
where it says and God said to Moses I am
who I am and he said thus shall you say
to the sons of Israel I am has sent me to
to
you in other words in John
8:58 Jesus was declaring to the
religious leaders of Israel in his day
that he was God and for our purposes
this evening one aspect of being God is
being Eternal and pre-existing all
things which is exactly what Jesus was
communicating to these leaders in John
8:58 and then they got it they fully
understood what he was driving at and
what he was saying and what he was
claiming which is why the very next
thing they did in John 8:59 you see it
here is they picked up stones to throw at
at
him if if what Jesus was saying was not
true and these Pharisees did not believe
it was true they they thought the
blasphemy okay well we have marched our
way through some of the key New
Testament evidences for the
pre-existence of Christ what about the
Old Testament does the Old Testament
give us any additional biblical data
about the pre-existence of Christ the
answer is yes and that brings us to to
our heading here Number Two Old
Testament evidences for the
pre-existence of Christ now one of the
way the key ways that the Old Testament
testifies to the pre-existence of Christ
are with its many references to the
angel of the Lord or the angel of Yahweh
and we'll get into this in much more
depth when we study angelology I think
that's going to be in the year
2029 I like to plan
ahead um but and we're going to see some
of these categories kind of bleed into
each other and blend with each other
categories of systematics but let's
start with this broad sweeping statement
on the front end when we come across an
Old Testament reference to the angel of
the Lord the angel of Yahweh not not a a
mention of the Angel like Gabriel like
we studied this morning or the Angel
Michael if we see the angel of the Lord
or the angel of Yahweh what we are
seeing is a reference to God the son the pre-existent
pre-existent
Christ and how do we arrive at that
conclusion well there are multiple
prongs to this okay one is the Angel of
the Lord in the Old Testament when he
when that that configuration of words is
used the angel of the Lord the angel of
Yahweh is a reference to
deity in fact three of the names given
by in the Old Testament for God Yahweh L
and Elohim are used interchangeably with
the words the angel of the Lord in
multiple different Old Testament
accounts uh for instance there's this
scene in Genesis 16 where where Hagar is
fleeing from Sarah and in verse 7 Moses
here says that the angel of Yahweh found
her by a spring of water in the
wilderness by the spring on the way to
shore but then just a few vers later in verse
verse
13 Moses still referring to that angel
says of Hagar here that she called on
the name or called the name of Yahweh
who spoke to her well the one who had
spoken to her was the angel of Yahweh
and now she's calling this Angel
Yahweh and then Hagar herself in this
same verse Genesis 16:13 while still
addressing this Angel says to this angel
you are a God who
sees so the concurrence of those words
God or or Yahweh and the angel of God or
the angel of Yahweh implies this this
identity between the two they are each
God there's a similar development in
Genesis 22 which records Abraham's near
sacrifice of his his son Isaac and there
as Abraham is raising the knife to kill
Isaac the following is recorded in verse 11
11
says but the angel of Yahweh called to
him from heaven and said Abraham
Abraham and then look at what comes next
in verse 12 do not stretch out your hand
against the boy and do nothing to him
for now I know that you fear God Elohim
since you have not withheld your son
your only one from me me being the angel
and then we see this recorded in verses
15-1 17 of chapter 22 then the angel of
Yahweh called to abraam a second time
from heaven and said by myself I have
sworn declares Yahweh because you have
done this thing and have not spared your
son your only one indeed I will greatly
bless you note the linkage here the
angel of the Lord is himself saying by
myself I have sworn declares Yahweh
which is his way of communicating what
that that he is God God
himself then there's a account of
Jacob's wrestling with the angel the
angel of God at penel in Genesis
32 and we see this encounter it says so
he the angel said to him what is your
name and he said Jacob then he said your
name shall no longer be Jacob but Israel
for you have striven with God and with
men men and have prevailed now with
those words you have striven with God
the the angel is identified with God and
Jacob understands that this linkage is
being made which is why we see in verse
30 Jacob naming the place Pano for he
said I have seen God face to face yet my
life has been
delivered then there's this often
overlooked incident in Genesis 48 where
Jacob uh now aged prays this prayer of
of blessing over Ephraim and Manasseh
and he also blesses Joseph and we pick
up in verses 15 and 16 here it says and
he blessed Joseph and said May the god
Elohim before whom my fathers Abraham
and Isaac walked the God who has been my
shepherd throughout my life to this day
the angel who has redeemed me from all
evil bless these
boys he's not talking about a a separate
being there when he says the angel who
has redeemed me from all evil rather he
is drawing a parallel between the angel
of God and God
himself moving on from Genesis we go to
Exodus and the same pattern continues
here's the familiar burning bush episode
of Exodus chapter 3 verses 1 and two now
Moses was pasturing the flock of Jethro
his father-in-law the priest of Midian
and he led the flock to the west side of
the Wilderness and came to Horeb the
Mountain of God and the angel of Yahweh
appeared to him in a blazing fire from
the midst of the Bush and he looked and
behold the Bush was burning with fire
yet the Bush was not consumed now in
verse three we're told that Curiosity
got the best of Moses it says Moses said
I must turn aside now and see what this
marvelous see this marvelous sight why
is the bush not burned up and now note
this in verse four and Yahweh saw that
he turned aside to look so God Called to
him from the midst of the Bush and said Moses
Moses
Moses did you catch that in verse two it
said the angel of Yahweh appeared to him
in a blazing fire meaning meaning in the
bush and in verse four though it's now
God himself calling out to Moses from
the midst of that same
Bush This ju position of terms is
telling us that the angel of the Lord is God
God
himself we see more scriptural evidence
for this truth in verses 6 and 7 as we
keep reading through this account this
is still the angel of Yahweh speaking
and note what he says he said also I am
the god of your father the god of
Abraham the god of Isaac and the god of
Jacob then Moses hid his face for he was
afraid to look at God and Yahweh said I
have surely seen the Affliction of my
people who are in Egypt and I've heard
their cry because of their taskmasters
because I know their suffering
sufferings in short the angel at the
burning bush is also called Yahweh and
Elohim meaning he is not just an angel
he is the angel of God he is
God now when we move out of the penud
into the books of Joshua and judges
there are more instances of the Angel of
the Lord being associated with God for
instance in Joshua Joshua chapter 5 this
is that scene where he's contemplating
the siege of of Jericho and he confronts
this man he's confronted by a man who
has a drawn sword and this man is called
the commander of the host of
Yahweh what most would say in our camp
is a reference to the angel of the Lord
and here how that here's how that
recorded in verses 13- 15 now it
happened when Joshua was by Jericho that
he lifted up his eyes and looked and
behold a man was standing opposite him
with his sword drawn in his hand and
Joshua went up went to him and said to
him are you for us or for our
adversaries and then sort of the
non-responsive answer he said no rather
I indeed come now as commander of the
host of
Yahweh and Joshua fell on his face to
the Earth and bowed down and said to him
what has my Lord to say to his slave the
commander of the host of Yahweh said to
Joshua remove your sandals from your
feet sounds very Exodus 3 like for the
place where you standing is Holy and
Joshua did
so and then just two verses later in in Joshua
Joshua
62 this same man or Angel is referred to
as Yahweh and Yahweh said to Joshua see
I have given Jericho in into your hand
with its king and the Valiant
Warriors last example I'll give is that
of Gideon in the Book of Judges in the
middle of all his difficulties and
battles with the midianites an angel of
the Lord visits Gideon and and much of
Judges chapter 6 we read this this
morning records this back and forth
between Gideon and the angel of of
Yahweh for time's sake I won't get into
all the details but I do want us to zero
in on these words in verse 22 note how
Yahweh himself the
Angel and the angel of Yahweh as terms
are are interlaced with one another
here now these are the words of of
Gideon in judges 6:22 and Gideon saw
that he was the angel of Yahweh so he
said alas oh Lord Yahweh for now have
seen the angel of Yahweh face to
face so he's mixing the terminology
together with the angel of Yahweh being
identified is as God himself hence
Gideon's worshipful and reverent
response to
him I hope you're still tracking with me
in terms of how all of this relates to
the pre-existence of Christ the case I'm
attempting to build here is that the
angel of the Lord when referred to that
way as the angel of the Lord or the
angel of Yahweh is the pre-existent
Christ that's plank number one in in the
argument plank number two as we build
out this case for the angel of the Lord
being the pre-existent Christ is that
the angel of the Lord is distinct in
personhood from God the
Father for
instance in judges excuse me in Genesis
24 we come across this scene where
Abraham tells his servant that he would
be successful on his journey to to padon
Aron to find a wife for Isaac and look
what's recorded here in Genesis 24:7 say
it says Yahweh the god of Heaven who
took me from my father's house and from
the land of my kin and who spoke to me
and who swore to me saying to your seed
I will give this land he will send his
Angel before you and you will take a
wife for my son from there note the
important details here God the Father
who is called the god of Heaven In this
passage it says we will send his Angel
before you the the angel then meing the
angel of the Lord is distinct in
personhood from from God the Father
they're they're two separate
persons here's another example from Zechariah
Zechariah
1:12 where the angel of Yahweh is
addressed or described as addressing
Yahweh it says then the angel of Yahweh
answered and said oh Yahweh of hosts how
long will you have no compassion for
Jerusalem and the cities of Judah with
which you have been indignant these 70
years so the angel of Yahweh is
addressing Yahweh so they it's clear
they they are both God but they have
distinct personality a distinct
personhood would be the better way of
saying it so that and as Zechariah
records it here the angel is portrayed as
as answering
answering
God one more plank in this argument that
Old Testament references to the angel of
the Lord are actually references to the
pre-existent god the son it's
it's
this references to the angel of the Lord
and I have to say that carefully
references to the angel of the Lord
cease after the first coming of
Christ and that suggests very strongly
that the angel of the Lord and the
pre-existent Son of God are the same
person granted there are several uh
references in the New Testament to an
angel of the Lord we we studied that
this morning when we saw the angel
Gabriel appearing to Zechariah in the
Holy place however what you'll find when
you study the New Testament reference
references to Angels is there's a lack
of the definite
article attached to that angel meaning
rather than seeing references to the
angel of the Lord in the New Testament
as we do in the old we see references to
an angel of the Lord like in Matthew
2:13 now when they had departed behold
an an Angel of the Lord appeared to
Joseph in a dream saying get up take the
child and his mother and flee to
Egypt or Matthew 2:19 and 20 but when
Herod died behold an angel of the Lord
appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt
saying get up take the child and his
mother and angel of the Lord acts 5:19
and 20 opened up the prison gates for
the apostles but during the night and
Angel of the Lord opened the doors of
the prison and taking them out he said
go stand and speak to the people in the
temple the whole message of this life we
get to later in acts in Acts 12:7 we see
an angel freed Peter and behold an angel
of the Lord suddenly appeared and a
light Shone in the cell and he struck
Peter's side and woke him up saying rise
up quickly and his chains fell off his
hands last one and Angel of the Lord
killed Herod and on the appointed day
Herod having put on his Royal apparel
and sitting on the Judgment seat began
delivering an address to them and the
assembly kept crying out the voice of a
God and not of a man and immediately an
angel of the Lord struck him because he
did not give God the glory and he was
eaten by worms and breathed his last all
this to say there is strong Old
Testament evidence namely with these
references to the angel of the Lord back
in the Old Testament that Christ the
second person of the Trinity was that
angel of the Lord and was then
pre-existent meaning he didn't come into
existence at his birth birth rather he
existed before his own birth in the days
of Abraham and Moses and Joshua and
Gideon and reaching even further back into
eternity that brings us to our third and
final topic for this evening under this
heading of this major topic of the
pre-existence of Christ this would be
the third blank on your worksheet other
theological grounds for the
pre-existence of Christ so far we've
looked at New Testament evidences and
Old Testament evidences as we wrap up
our time together in this first session
we're going to deal with a couple of
theological odds and ends related to the
pre-existence of Christ first we're
going to look at how the pre-existence
of Christ interrelates with the doctrine
of the Trinity and then second we'll
look at how the the the inner
relationship between the pre-existence
of Christ and the eternality of Christ
let's start with some trinitarian
considerations which really tie into
what I just mentioned last
uh we we have seen that the angel of the
Lord the angel of the Lord the angel of
Yahweh is God we also know from our
reading of scripture and our our Deep
dive into these matters two summers ago
that God is
Triune he is one God eternally existing
and subsisting in three persons so that
being the case with which one of these three
three
persons from the standpoint of a
consistent trinitarian theology is the
Angel of the Lord to be
identified well by simple process of
elimination the answer has to be the
second person of the Trinity God the son
why well God the spirit the holy spirit
is just that
Spirit God the father has never been
seen by anyone John 1:18 says no one has
seen God at any time 1 Timothy 6:15 and
16 calls God here the the blessed and
only sovereign and the King of Kings and
the Lord of lords who alone has
immortality and dwells in unapproachable
light whom no man has seen or can see
that would leave God the son as the only
visible person of the
Trinity prior to the
Incarnation all three persons of the
Eternal Trinity father son and spirit
were Spirit beings and only one of those
persons God the son as we've just looked
at is ever being described as being VIs
visibly present among humans and then we
also know that he was visible of course
in his Incarnation and the word became
flesh and dwelt Among Us John 114 or
John 1118 here's the full version of
that verse no one has seen God at any
time the only begotten God who is in the
bosom of the father he has explained him
the son has explained exed the
father so what trinitarian conclusion
can we draw from all of this we can draw
this conclusion that that any revelation
of God in human form whether in the Old
Testament or the new as a matter of
sound biblically derived trinitarian
theology is a re revelation of the Son
Christ
last we're going to consider the inner
relationship between the pre-existence
of Christ and the Eternal the eternality
of Christ both the Old and the New
Testaments teach that Jesus Christ the
second person of the Trinity is
eternal and not there's a nuanced
difference between those two terms
pre-existence and
eternality pre-existence refers to the
fact that that Christ existed before his
birth and he existed before all events
of creation that's what we've been
looking at up to this point that that
Christ predated and preexisted all of
those Monumental events but but Christ
is not merely pre pre-existent he is
pre-existent but he's not merely
pre-existent he's
Eternal he not only existed before his
own birth he not only existed before his
own creation of the universe and the
worlds he has always existed
eternally I told you I'd be supporting
my points each Sunday night this summer
with scriptures so which scriptures
support the eternality of Christ well we
can start with Hebrews 1 we've already
looked at this part of this one
but verses 1 through3 of chapter 1 says
God having spoken long ago to the
fathers in the prophets and in many
portions and in many ways in these last
days spoke to us in his son whom he
appointed heir of all things through
whom also he made the worlds who is the
radiance of his glory and the exact
representation of his
nature our English words exact
representation there are are represented
by a single word it looks like character
in Greek
and what that word character we can call
it indicates is that Christ is the exact
representation of God's nature and God's
Essence and since God the father is
eternal God the son as the father's
exact representation is himself
Eternal and that one just gets it
started when we go to the Old Testament
prophets uh who had so much to say in
terms of predictive prophecy about their
coming Messiah they likewise claimed
that their Messiah would be Eternal by
the way I see what time it is I've gone
short like three straight Sunday
mornings I'm going to add like five
minutes to make up for it tonight okay
forgive me um we think of Micah who in Micah
Micah
52 in addition to the The Familiar part
of Micah 52 for each of us is that the
Messiah would come from this town of
Bethlehem that that prediction but he
also says in Micah 52 that his goings
forth speaking of the coming Messiah are
from Everlasting
and though in certain context that word
Everlasting Olam in in Hebrew can mean
from Days of old or from the earliest
times it's also a legitimate translation
to say that that that is saying from
eternity or in Isaiah 9 verse six this
will be on many Christmas cards this
December that this information is given
prophetically concerning the coming
Messiah for a child will be born to us a
son will be given to us and the
government will rest on his shoulders
and his name will be called wonderful
counselor Mighty God Eternal Father
Prince of
Peace now you see it there Eternal
Father some of us robust trinitarians
might get a little squeamish and nervous
about those words because we might be
worried that there might be some tension
or even contradiction here in scripture
because we know Jesus is the son and
there's only one Father and Jesus can't
be both the father and the son but all
this is referring to is that the Messiah
though a son and eternally the son would
function as a father to his own people
the people of
Israel just like I can
simultaneously be the son of my own
father at the same time be father to my
sons Christ can be simultaneously God
the son and father to his own people the
people of Israel of course in his case
perfectly the perfect father since he is
God God and the Eternal Father since he
is God he is the the Eternal Father
father to the people of Israel I
appreciate by the way how EJ young
summarizes that far more artfully than I
can he says the word father designates
the quality of the Messiah with respect
to his people he acts toward them like a
father the quality of fatherhood is
defined by the word eternity the Messiah
is an eternal father if this is correct
the meaning is that he is one who
eternally is a father to his people now
and forever he guards his people and
supplies their
needs I'll give you two more New
Testament references to the eternality
of Christ then we'll call it a night
we'll start again with John 8:58 we saw
this earlier so I won't belabor it but
recall that there the following is
recorded Jesus said to them the
Pharisees truly truly I say to you
before Abraham was I am now note those
last two words again I
am had our Lord wanted to communicate
merely the fact of his pre-existence
here that he predated
Abraham he could have said something
like before Abraham was I was that'd be
a simple way to say I I go further back
in time than
Abraham but he says before Abraham was I
am that again indicates eternality
because Jesus here as we've already seen
is equating himself with the Eternal self-existent
self-existent
God here's another one Revelation 1:17
this is Jesus of course in his glorious uh post Ascension State appearing to the
uh post Ascension State appearing to the Apostle John on the aisle of Patmos
Apostle John on the aisle of Patmos here's how John records it he says when
here's how John records it he says when I saw him I fell at his feet like a dead
I saw him I fell at his feet like a dead man and he placed his right hand on me
man and he placed his right hand on me saying do not fear I am the first and
saying do not fear I am the first and the
the last and in using that terminology I am
last and in using that terminology I am the first and the last Christ was using
the first and the last Christ was using an expression that was used of God the
an expression that was used of God the father in Isaiah 48 12 hear me oh Jacob
father in Isaiah 48 12 hear me oh Jacob even Israel whom I called I am he I am
even Israel whom I called I am he I am the first I am also the last both
the first I am also the last both references whether in Isaiah or in
references whether in Isaiah or in Revelation 1 are pointing to a
Revelation 1 are pointing to a Transcendence over time
Transcendence over time pre-existence eternality and they both
pre-existence eternality and they both support the truth that Christ is eternal
support the truth that Christ is eternal so to summarize when we refer to the
so to summarize when we refer to the pre-existence of Christ
pre-existence of Christ I should say that again when we refer to
I should say that again when we refer to the eternality of Christ we are saying
the eternality of Christ we are saying he is
he is pre-existent but it goes back even
pre-existent but it goes back even further than that he existed eternally
further than that he existed eternally as the second person of the godhead he
as the second person of the godhead he has always existed being no less Eternal
has always existed being no less Eternal than God the
than God the Father I'll give the final word to
Father I'll give the final word to schaer who says no approach to a
schaer who says no approach to a Biblical christology is possible that
Biblical christology is possible that does not ground itself on and proceed
does not ground itself on and proceed from the all determining truth that the
from the all determining truth that the in incarnate second person though he was
in incarnate second person though he was a Man of Sorrows and acquainted with
a Man of Sorrows and acquainted with grief is the Eternal
grief is the Eternal God that's it for this evening we'll
God that's it for this evening we'll cover the DD of Christ next Sunday night
cover the DD of Christ next Sunday night let's pray Lord thank you for this time
let's pray Lord thank you for this time uh together tonight to to change our
uh together tonight to to change our approach to to take the scriptures in a
approach to to take the scriptures in a different more systematic
different more systematic setting and to be taken with the reality
setting and to be taken with the reality of the pre-existence and eternality of
of the pre-existence and eternality of your son God I pray that we would come
your son God I pray that we would come away from this
away from this lesson More Than intrigued but with a
lesson More Than intrigued but with a higher and reverent view of who you are
higher and reverent view of who you are a higher and more reverent view of of
a higher and more reverent view of of all three persons of of the Triune
all three persons of of the Triune God that seeing Christ of course as our
God that seeing Christ of course as our savior of course as the one- day
savior of course as the one- day returning and conquering King but also
returning and conquering King but also as the pre-existent one I pray it
as the pre-existent one I pray it fuels and inflames right and reverent
fuels and inflames right and reverent worship of
worship of you God I praise you for your wisdom and
you God I praise you for your wisdom and your plan of of of Salvation and
your plan of of of Salvation and Redemption creation before that and
Redemption creation before that and fulfillment in the
fulfillment in the end God I pray that we would take these
end God I pray that we would take these truths that we've learned this evening
truths that we've learned this evening and also this morning that they would
and also this morning that they would sink into our hearts and penetrate our
sink into our hearts and penetrate our hearts and transform Us in the image of
hearts and transform Us in the image of your son it's in his name we pray amen e
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