More Things .. 28
Notes
Transcript
Sons of God, Seed of Abraham
Sons of God, Seed of Abraham
We have spent a lot of time talking about God’s plan to reclaim the disinherited nations and restore his rule over those he disinherited. By way of review: God’s original plan was that all humankind would be his earthly family, ruling in cooperation with him and his heavenly family. The OT describes the ruin of God’s desire through a series of primeval rebellions. But the original objective was not defeated, only delayed. After the rebellion at Babel, God set aside the nations and began anew.
Even as Yahweh started his kingdom plan with this one man and his wife, there were hints that the nations were not forgotten
I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
The focal point of this blessing was to be the ultimate son of Abraham, the messiah. After his resurrection, the Spirit promised by Jesus - and the prophets of old - came at Pentecost and began the great reversal. The gospel was carried to all the nations of the known world, transforming men and women held hostage to other gods into sons and daughters of Yahweh.
If You Are Christ’s, You Are Abraham’s Seed
If You Are Christ’s, You Are Abraham’s Seed
We saw last week that Paul understood God’s plan of infiltration in the wake of Pentecost, and, once confronted by Jesus on the road to Damascus, his own role in that plan. In his letters he referred to it as a mystery - how God could make the Gentile, a member of the disinherited nations, a full member in the family that he’d begun with Abraham. Instead of being disinherited by God, Gentiles were now joint heirs of the true God. Paul’s letter to Eph
For this reason I, Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles— assuming that you have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace that was given to me for you, how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have written briefly. When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.
and to Gal
just as Abraham “believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”?
Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.” So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.
for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.
In Christ, believers are “the sons of God.” The language of inheritance is crystal clear. It derives from and advances the Old Testament idea that humans were meant to be in the family of God all along. It’s no coincidence that the New Testament writers repeatedly describe salvation with words like adoption, heir, and inheritance to describe what the church really is - the reconstituted divine-human family of God. The believers destiny is to become what Adam and Eve originally were: immortal, glorified imagers of God, living in God’s presence as his children. The theological messaging is unmistakable in the context of the epic story we have tracked through the OT
He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.
But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.
For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.
even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,
We are accustomed, of course, to thinking of the Church as the”body of Christ.” It is certainly that as well. But this term points us to the family metaphor. The idea reflects the physical incarnation, death and resurrection of Christ we are members of his family
This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.
It is Christ who fuses the chosen sons of God from Abraham’s line to the sons of God called from the nations. His work on the cross is where the exiled and the disinherited meet, forming one entity. But that is only one aspect of who we are.
Inherited Authority: A Stake in the Family Business
Inherited Authority: A Stake in the Family Business
Believers are more than God’s family. Being the sons of God also means being members of God’s governing rule — his council. Believers have a divinely appointed purpose. Adam and Eve were supposed to make all the world Eden — to spread the Kingdom rule of God so that we could enjoy the love of God, our Father. That hasn’t changed.
Recall that, in ancient Israelite thinking. God’s home was not only where his family lived, but where his council met. The place was one and the same, and the members were one and the same. So it is in the NT. While NT writes employ family terms to describe the Church, the same terminology is associated with the divine council ..
he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,
In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.
For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might
English obscures an important connection back to the council., Saints means holy ones. Paul tells the Ephesians that believers have a glorious inheritance among the holy ones.
Remember everything we have discussed about the kingdom and the messiah and his rule
being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy; giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son,
we will judge angels
and have authority
Only hold fast what you have until I come. The one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron, as when earthen pots are broken in pieces, even as I myself have received authority from my Father. And I will give him the morning star.
this is from Psalm2: 7-8
I will tell of the decree:
The Lord said to me, “You are my Son;
today I have begotten you.
Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage,
and the ends of the earth your possession.
continuing in this theme
Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne.
out destiny is not only a place in God’s home, but dominion with Jesus among the holy ones
The Morning Star
The Morning Star
A minute ago the Rev text had an odd thing … the morning star. This reinforces out joint rule with Jesus over the nations and it takes us back to the OT once again
when the morning stars sang together
and all the sons of God shouted for joy?
The Revelation text is messianic .. look at these passages
I see him, but not now;
I behold him, but not near:
a star shall come out of Jacob,
and a scepter shall rise out of Israel;
it shall crush the forehead of Moab
and break down all the sons of Sheth.
people reading Revelation who were literate would know these references it is not brightness it is rule --And look how Jesus refers to himself
“I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.”
and he will rule them with a rod of iron, as when earthen pots are broken in pieces, even as I myself have received authority from my Father. And I will give him the morning star.
As dramatic as this is — next week we see we are made Jesus’ siblings — and we will met with the council with him by our side.