Written By: David Hicks                                   New King James Version

#17.

CHRIST IS THE CENTER AND HEART OF THE BIBLE!

PART TWO:

In our previous lesson, we discussed that the Old Testament is an account of sin, a Promise of redemption, and the development of a nation to bring forth the Promise. The Old Testament was a school master to bring us to Christ. Before man could stand, God had to teach him to crawl; before he could run, God had to teach him to walk. In this lesson we will see the full revelation of God for the redemption of man unveiled in Christ Jesus our Lord.

 

 I. The New Testament is an account of the Christ of God and the kingdom He came to establish.

The appearance of Jesus the Christ on earth is the central event of Biblical history. The Old Testament set the stage for it; the Gospels of the New Testament describe it.

 

The Gospels of the New Testament open with the fulfillment of the sign prophesied by the prophet Isaiah, note:

Matthew 1:21-23 “And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus , for He will save His people from their sins." 22 So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: (Isaiah 7:14 ) 23"Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel," which is translated, "God with us."

As He lived here on this earth (God in the flesh – John 1:14 ), He lived under the Old Law, note:

Galatians 4:4 “But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law,”

His life under this Law was sinless as an example to us and that He may in every way know our temptations, note:

Hebrews 2:17-18 “Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. 18 For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted.”

Hebrews 4:15 “For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.”

As He lived here on earth, He lived the righteousness of God ( Matthew 3:15 ; 5:17 -20 ). His ministry was one of repentance to the Old Law and preparation for the kingdom of heaven was at hand. Just as the prophet Isaiah said He would establish a great kingdom ( Isaiah 9:6-7 ), Jesus Himself looked forward and told His disciples while He was still with Him, that He would establish His kingdom with power, note:

Matthew 16:15-18 “He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" 16 Simon Peter answered and said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." 17 Jesus answered and said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. 18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.”

 

His ministry was the ministry of preparation and fulfillment, the witness of His teachings were the signs and wonders that accompanied His work (which even those who would not openly admit it, recognized that He had been sent by God by the signs and wonders He performed – John 3:1-2 ). In addition, He prepared His chosen disciples for the greatest work the world would ever know. He trained and taught them that they would introduce the kingdom to the world. We can see a glimpse of this training in the teaching He gave them Just before His betrayal, note:

John 15:26-27 "But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me. 27 And you also will bear witness, because you have been with Me from the beginning.”

John 16:12-16 “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. 14 He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. 15 All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you. 16 "A little while, and you will not see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me, because I go to the Father."

 

Finally, just as the prophet Isaiah foretold that He would be numbered with transgressors and that He would die to bear the sins of many ( Isaiah 53:12 ), Jesus Himself, during the last Passover with His disciples said:

Matthew 26:26-28 “And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, "Take, eat; this is My body." 27 Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you. 28 For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins .”

 

Romans 5:6-8 “For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

He did the unthinkable! What could God give us that we would understand His love? Gold? Silver? No! He gave us something that we could never have attained on our own and paid the price by offering a part of Him! The Christ became the great sacrifice that would atone for the sins of man; He bore them on the cross. Yet, His work was not done!

 

With this great deed done for man, He fulfilled another prophecy concerning Him by David; who said that God would raise Him up from the dead ( Psalms 16:8-11 ). This resurrection from the dead was not done in a corner, but in the presence of many witnesses and for many days ( Acts 1:3 ; I Corinthians 15:1-8 ). It was during this resurrection that He commissioned His chosen disciples, who a short time from this point would become His chosen Apostles (the chosen, sent!), note:

Matthew 28:18-20 “And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen.

Mark 16:15-16 “And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. 16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.”

Acts 1:8 “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem , and in all Judea and Samaria , and to the end of the earth."

 

At the end of the forty days that He remained with His chosen, He ascended to the Father that the fulfillment of all that was said of Him and His kingdom might begin. Two places in the New Testament will summarize these events best, before we conclude, note:

Romans 1:1-6 “Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God 2 which He promised before through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures, 3 concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, 4 and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead. 5 Through Him we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith among all nations for His name, 6 among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ;”

Philippians 2:5-11 “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. 9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

 

The Christ died to take away the sins of the world; Isaiah 53:12 – Acts 2:38 . God raised Him up as David foretold in Psalms 16:8-11 and Peter confirmed fulfilled in Acts 2:24-32 . God anointed Him as King of the kingdom, the church, just as David foretold in Psalms 2:6 and Peter said was fulfilled in Acts 2:32-33 ; 36 . Finally, He established His kingdom in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost, just as Isaiah foretold in Isaiah 2:2-4 and was fulfilled in Acts 2:36-47 . The existence of the kingdom was confirmed by the Apostle Paul to the church at Colossi, note:

Colossians 1:13 “He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love,”

 

The Old Testament set the stage for the Man, prepared a nation to bring Him forth and then prepared them for His future arrival. Through His life we glimpse the compassion, strength, wisdom, and power of the Father. In His death burial and resurrection we find the completion of God's pre-ordained plan for the salvation of man. The resurrection from the dead also serves as evidence that the Savior will come again for the judgment of the world by His word and will bring a proper conclusion to the story of the Bible, note:

John 12:48 “He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him--the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day.”

Acts 17:31 “because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead."

 

Just as the story of the Bible begins with the introduction of sin and the need for the redemption of man, the revelation comes full circle with the ability of man to regain the relationship he had with God in the Garden, note:

Revelation 22:14 “Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city.”

From sin and separation to redemption and life; this is the Bible story, and it is all made possible by

“The Messiah in the Middle”