Finding Jesus in the Bible…So We Can Follow Him in Life
Bible Reading Plans
- Plan One: New Testament Only
- Plan Two: New Testament + Psalms
- Plan Three: New Testament + History
- Plan Four: The Entire Bible – Year 1 of 3, Year 2 of 3, Year 3 of 3
Don’t know which plan? Go to A Christ-Centered Bible Reading Plan: Quick Start.
Extras
Verse of the Day, Audio Capsule, and Video Minute
***
Christ Is God
Chapter 36 – A Change in the Order
Recall from Chapter 18 – “Twin Gods?” the stories of Rebecca (from Genesis 25) and Tamar (from Genesis 38). Each woman bore twins. The order in which each twin was born mattered. The ancients prized order. (We should, too.)
God made Christ in His image from the very beginning (2 Corinthians 4:4 and Colossians 1:15) – that is, the “form of God” that spoke of a certain “equality with God” (Philippians 2:6). You could say that God made Christ as His twin. However, since God was first, Christ was always subordinate.
1 Corinthians 11:3 But I want you to understand that Christ is the head of every man, and the man is the head of a woman, and God is the head of Christ.
And this is why Christ prayed with such deference:
John 17:3 “This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.”
And, in this regard, we should also remember what Jesus said about “one who is sent.”
John 13:16 “Truly, truly, I say to you, a slave is not greater than his master, nor is one who is sent greater than the one who sent him.”
Everyone knows that it was God who sent Christ – not the other way around.
Given all this, you might ask, how could Christ ever be God? The answer is found in the Second Coming, but the grounds for it were laid early in the Old Testament.
When Rebecca was pregnant, she asked the Lord about the struggle she felt within herself.
Genesis 25:23 The LORD said to her,
“Two nations are in your womb;
And two peoples will be separated from your body;
And one people shall be stronger than the other;
And the older shall serve the younger.”
Referring to this exchange, Paul wrote in New Testament times:
Romans 9:10 And not only this, but there was Rebekah also, when she had conceived twins by one man, our father Isaac;
Romans 9:11 for though the twins were not yet born and had not done anything good or bad, so that God’s purpose according to His choice would stand, not because of works but because of Him who calls,
Romans 9:12 it was said to her, “THE OLDER WILL SERVE THE YOUNGER.”
Thus did God indicate His right to overrule the natural order of things when and as appropriate. And thus the refrain of the ages became “The God of Abraham, Issac, and Jacob” instead of “the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Esau.”
On his deathbed, Jacob followed this pattern altering the order when he blessed his grandsons
Genesis 48:13 Joseph took them both, Ephraim with his right hand toward Israel’s left, and Manasseh with his left hand toward Israel’s right, and brought them close to him.
Genesis 48:14 But Israel stretched out his right hand and laid it on the head of Ephraim, who was the younger, and his left hand on Manasseh’s head, crossing his hands, although Manasseh was the firstborn.
When Joseph objected to this switch, Jacob gave the same sort of explanation that had been given to his mother Rebecca.
Genesis 48:19 But his father refused and said, “I know, my son, I know; he also will become a people and he also will be great. However, his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his descendants shall become a multitude of nations.”
Thus were there precedents in the Old Testament for a change in the normal birthright order. Next, let’s learn what that meant for the Second Coming.
***
A Bible Reader's Website 