The Fountain of Life Church: What happened to Jesus’ Humanity?

“If it’s not about Jesus, it’s not about anything.”

(Motto of the Fountain of Life)

PART 2 OF 2

SPS: To study the humanity of Jesus; its meaning and its value.

INVOCATION: Our Father in heaven, we pray in Jesus’ name that the following message presents the Word of God humbly, honestly and truthfully as it applies to the humanity of Jesus and that it bring glory and honor to Him.

The Mission and the Covenants

The Mission Continues. In Part 1 of 2 we viewed the concept of prophetic type antitype as seen through Christ’s vicarious humanity as it applies to the priestly functions surrounding the Day of Atonement and Good Friday. Let’s continue along that line and consider Jesus’ ministry as Mediator, Savior and King. Christ Jesus is the mediator between God and man. He is an everlasting Mediator and Savior. The Old Testament priests died and were replaced. But Christ, who lives forever, is a priest forever (Hebrews 7:23-24).

Jonathan Edwards

The famous American Theologian Jonathan Edwards (1703 - 1758) explains that Jesus’ kingly office is also everlasting. David and Solomon were powerful kings, but they died and were replaced. But for Jesus, as Hebrews 1:8 indicates, “Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever.” Daniel 7:13-14 show that though all other kingdoms will be demolished, the Kingdom of Jesus will stand forever. This means that His humanity at the throne of heaven is forever and ever.

The mission of Israel was to provide the world with a Messiah, a Mediator, a Savior, and a King. That mission did not end at Good Friday or Easter. The mission was inaugurated then by the racial son of Israel, Jesus Christ. David, Solomon, Hezekiah ruled, occupied their places in history, died and were replaced. But the Incarnation, the humanity of Christ is not an event, it is not a static point in history. It is living, efficacious and eternally continuing through the prophetic Messiah of Israel, Christ Jesus.

Israel is intimately conjoined to Jesus Christ through race and prophecy. Edwards points out that Jesus’ mission is eternal, therefore through Jesus and only through Jesus, Israel’s mission, election, and calling are eternal. Because the physical messiah still lives, the election of the physical nation lives on in Him. Let’s continue with this line of thought and look at the Covenants.

The Covenants Fulfilled

Type – Ancient Israel: Antitype - Jesus

Theologian Karl Barth

Swiss theologian Karl Barth (1886 – 1968) illustrated a point that a basic denial of Israel is in fact a denial of Jesus Christ. He wrote that, “For the mission, the prophetic, priestly and kingly mission of the nation Israel is identical with God’s will and work, as surely as it has been set forth and revealed in Jesus Christ…Israel as representing God’s sovereignty on earth – becomes visible as a type. But finally – and this concerns us – this mission of Israel is fulfilled in the appearance and coming forward of the man Jesus of Nazareth out of this people, in His unquestionable belonging to this people.”

The mission of Israel was to provide a Messiah to the world. That is her election and God’s election holds for eternity: Romans 11:28-29, “But as touching the election, they are beloved for the father’s sake. For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.” The nation Israel provided the Messiah through the Jews, nevertheless, Jesus is Israel. Hos 11:1 is about Israel and Matthew 2:15 is about Jesus: “Out of Egypt I called Israel my Son.”

What does this mean? If Jesus Christ is the fulfillment, the consummation of the mission and the election of Israel and if Jesus is Israel does physical Israel’s election still hold? The election holds for eternity, the election continues. Israel’s mission did not end at Bethlehem, Calvary, or the garden tomb.

We will appeal again to Jonathan Edwards for help in understanding this. Edwards pointed out that Christ is unchangeable in His office as Mediator and Savior of His Church and people. The office of Mediator never ceases nor is it ever replaced. Jesus is the only Mediator between God and man. 1 Timothy 2:5 shows, “There is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.”

Are Israel’s covenants therefore fulfilled? Yes. This means that they were all fulfilled and are fulfilled. But very importantly, their covenants continue to be fulfilled in and through Jesus, and not in or through the past, present or future nation of Israel. Continuing fulfillment through Christ is how their election continues. In fact, the Old Testament already supports the physical fulfillment of God’s promises to the physical nation Israel: (Joshua declared in Joshua 23:14: “You know with all you heart and soul that not one of all the good promises the Lord your God gave you has failed. Every promise has been fulfilled, not one has failed.” Solomon spoke in 1 Kings 8:56: “Praise be to the lord, who has given rest to his people Israel just as he promised. Not one word has failed of all the good promises he gave through his servant Moses.”) Their election also continues in the racial Israelites who are in the Church yesterday, today and tomorrow.

We remember that the primitive Church consisted only of racial Israelites, 120 of them. In other words, the election of physical Israel, the type of Christ, continues through Jesus Christ a racial son of Israel; through Christ Jesus the antitype of spiritual Israel.

GOOD NEWS OF GREAT VALUE

John Calvin

Is this Good News? It is terrific news. Christ has done for all of us what we could not do for ourselves. He’s lived that life of obedience for us. He has communion with the Father and is joined to Him and through Jesus, so are we. In Jesus we find acceptance and worthiness when presented to the Father. John Calvin (1509 – 1564) admonishes us not to look at ourselves, but rather to look away from yourself and look to Jesus. And here we return to the effects of the Vicarious Humanity of Jesus. Our standing with God is never in ourselves, it’s in Christ. He’s the worthy one, He’s the righteous one. The Good News which we hear from the Word of God is that the Holy Spirit joins us to Jesus so that all that is His becomes ours, including His righteousness, including His humanity, and we can rejoice in that. His present humanity is the guaranty that He reserves humanity for us; or rather more specifically, that He reserves you and me to remain human with Him in eternity.

When the devil tries to tell us “You’re not worthy, you’re not good enough; you’re not smart enough.” We don’t have to get defensive and pridefully argue, “Oh yes, I am. Look at my sound doctrine and good works.” Nor do we have cower and give up saying, “You’re right it’s hopeless; I’m hopeless, horrible and unworthy.” NO! Rather we humbly and confidently may answer him by saying, “Don’t look at me. Look at Jesus, He is my advocate. He is righteous, faithful and worthy, and because of his humanity and the power of the Holy Spirit, I am in Him and I benefit from everything He has done for me and share in every good thing that He gives to me.”

Beloved, in fact, we don’t have to say anything to the devil. We just hold onto our big brothers hand and let Him do the talking. That’s a huge comfort to me and to you too, I’m sure.

Now, brethren, mere knowledge of the vicarious humanity of Jesus does not save us. But knowing about it does have great value. Let us try to use poetry and imagery to understand what that value is. Learning about His humanity, by adding it to our expanding knowledge of Him, it is as though we add another verse to the singular song of our own individual salvation and sing with ever ever deepening realization and conviction, that “O God, my God, how great Thou art!”

Benediction: Beloved, may the song of your salvation continue to grow and deepen throughout all eternity. May the grace and peace of God our Father, and that of Jesus our Lord and Savior be with you all.