to Chnst by saying, “Thou art my Son, This day have I begotten thee.” In no sense is the Lord Jesus to be thought of as a created being. The word “begotten” in this passage means to put on display or to reveal. Isaiah is very careful to make this sh a rp distinction concerning the prophecy of Christ’s incarnation. We read, “Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given” (Isa. 9:6). The Son was not born, for He was eternal with the Father. In Hebrews 10:5, it is stated that a body was prepared for Christ. The implication is that our Lord Jesus existed eternally. In that body the Lord Jesus came to do the will of the Father. Then we have the name “Jesus”. We find that in Matthew 1:21 when Joseph was told that Mary was to have a Son by the Holy Spirit, the name of the child was given. His name was given for He would save His people from their sin. In verse 23 we find His name “Immanuel”. That is interpreted as “God with us.” Christ came to involve Himself “with us.” He came “not to be min istered unto but to minister and to give His life a ransom for many.” No one can know God apart from the Lord Jesus Christ. How wonder ful to know that there’s a Saviour waiting to be accepted by you! The gloty of God comes to the child of His who waits, for faith which waits shall surely see. As Christians, we need but have one main concern — that we put the first things first-r faithfulness to God. A man without decision is a wave of the sea, a feather in the air blown about by every breeze. Quiet TENSION is not trust. It is simp ly compressed anxiety.
THE GOSPEL THEME I n R om an s 1 :3 and 4 we are given the heart and purpose of the Gos pel. Here a number of titles are giv en to our Lord. In the words, “His Son,” we see our Lord Jesus Christ’s relationship to the Father. “Jesus” symbolizes His relationship to the world as Saviour. “Christ” which is the Greek equivalent to the Hebrew term “Messiah.” This shows His relationship to Israel. Finally, “our Lord” shows clearly His rela tionship to believers who have trust ed Him by faith. Nicodemus, as recounted in John 3, came to the Lord by night. He was a religious leader of Israel. Christ asked him, “Art thou a master of Is rael, and knowest not these things?” (v. 10). Nicodemus listened to Jesus’ teaching. While this religious leader was almost right concerning the Saviour, yet our Lord was not simply a teacher come from God; He was God who came to teach. There’s a great difference. Christ was as much God as God the Father, and as much God as God the Holy Spirit. He was a member of the Trinity. When you and I use the word “son”, we do so in a biological sense. It carries with it the idea that there was a time when someone had a def inite beginning. It would be much like the conception of a child. When the word “son” is limited only to this biological term, false religions thereby develop. Reading the Scrip tures very carefully, we discover the word “Son” is not used merely in a biological sense. As an example, in the opening verses of Hebrews, we see that our Lord Jesus has been ap pointed heir of all things. God the Father, in His marvelous grace, made Christ His agent to do His will on earth. In this legal sense He is a Son. The same is true in Psalm 2 where in prophetic truth God refers 4
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