“The Just Shall Live By Faith”

New King James Version                          Written by: David Hicks

 

Romans 1:17 “ For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "The just shall live by faith."

Galatians 3:11 “But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for "the just shall live by faith."

Hebrews 10:38 “Now the just shall live by faith; But if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him."

“Articles of Faith”

 

An Orderly Account Of The Greatest Story Ever Told

(A Study in Luke)

Chapter 1:26-33:

In our previous lesson we looked into the announcement of the coming of John the Baptist as the herald of the coming Messiah to his parents. In this lesson we will look at the announcement of the coming of the Messiah to His mother. Keep these thoughts in mind as we look at this announcement:

 I. He would be the Seed of woman.

The first prophecy concerning the Messiah announced that He would be of the seed of woman.

Genesis 3:15 “And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel."

 II. He was to be born of a virgin.

Some 750 years before the coming of the Messiah, Isaiah would prophecy His virgin birth.

Isaiah 7:14 “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.”

In Matthew's account of the announcement of the birth of the Christ to Joseph by an angel of the Lord; Matthew would record the conception as being of the Holy Spirit and would also confirm the fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy.

Matthew 1:18 “Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit .”

Matthew 1:22-23 “So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: 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."

 III. He was human and Divine.

The Messiah was humanly of the seed of David and Divinely the Son of God.

Romans 1:3-4 “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.”

Being God, He emptied Himself by taking on the form of a servant.

Philippians 2:6-7 “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.”

God sent forth His son, born of woman.

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,”

Luke being a physician and writing concerning Jesus the Christ as the perfect man (God in the flesh), gives more detail than anywhere else in the New Testament of the facts concerning the birth, and childhood of Jesus. To this end, Luke details that Christ entered the womb of the virgin Mary without the concurrence of man. He was both God and man. He was God come down to earth in human form.

Text #1:

Luke 1:26-29 “Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary. 28 And having come in, the angel said to her, "Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!" 29 But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was.”

Nazareth : This was the home city of Mary , located about eighty miles northeast of Jerusalem . It was on a mountain plateau on the north side of the valley of Esdraelon .

Virgin: Betrothals among Israelites in Bible times were very binding. Sexual infidelity on the part of a betrothed was considered adultery and punished as such under the Law of Moses.

Deuteronomy 22:23-24 "If a young woman who is a virgin is betrothed to a husband, and a man finds her in the city and lies with her, 24 then you shall bring them both out to the gate of that city, and you shall stone them to death with stones, the young woman because she did not cry out in the city, and the man because he humbled his neighbor's wife; so you shall put away the evil from among you.”

She was Troubled: Much is written in analysis concerning the psychological state of those in the scriptures. I am not going to attempt to describe that which is both obvious and unnecessary to know concerning her trouble at the statement of the angel. All you have to do is imagine that this is you, and I think it is self explanatory.

Text #2:

Luke 1:30-33 “Then the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus . 32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. 33 And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end."

Do Not Be Afraid: The angel Gabriel immediately sets out to put Mary's mind at ease. His statement is that she should not fear as she has been found in favor with God.

The Throne of David: To Mary it is revealed that the child she is to be blessed with would be given the throne of David. This was a purely Messianic note that was prophesied and used over and over in New Testament scripture as fulfillment of that prophesy.

2 Samuel 7:12-13 "When your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.”

Acts 2:30-31 “Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, He would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne, 31 he, foreseeing this, spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ, that His soul was not left in Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption.”

Romans 1:3 “concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh,”

His Kingdom Will Know No End: Unlike the kingdoms of men, the kingdom of Christ will not know the defeat of time or any other earthly deficit. Christ must reign as King until He has destroyed all enemies, the last of which is death, and that He will then deliver the Kingdom to God. The kingdom of God in Christ is to be manifested to destroy all His enemies and to bring to men the blessings of God's reign.

1 Corinthians 15:24-26 “Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power. 25 For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet. 26 The last enemy that will be destroyed is death.”

We may know the kingdom of God as the sovereign rule of God manifested in Christ. A realm would be created by establishing a people over whom He would reign.

Matthew 25:31-34 "When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. 33 And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on His right hand, 'Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world”

1 Peter 2:9 “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;”

Decrees would go out that would establish God's holy people in righteousness.

Romans 12:1-2 “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God .”

Hebrews 9:15 “And for this reason He is the Mediator of the new covenant, by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.”

2 Timothy 3:16-17 “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

The borders of the kingdom will not be governed by earthly standards.

Romans 14:17-18 “for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. 18 For he who serves Christ in these things is acceptable to God and approved by men.”

2 Corinthians 5:7 “For we walk by faith, not by sight.”

Christ's kingdom will not be one that the flesh will inherit, yet entrance is granted by birth and inheritance.

Matthew 7:21 "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.”

1 Corinthians 15:50 “Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption.”

John 3:3 “Jesus answered and said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God ."

(5) “Jesus answered, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God .”

1 Peter 1:23 “having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever,”

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

Romans 8:16-17 “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs--heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.”

The coming of the kingdom of Christ and His eternal throne at this point in our study is a pending occurrence. We have know discussed some of the particulars concerning that kingdom, but the coming of the Messiah in the flesh only marked the fact that the kingdom of heaven was at hand. A kingdom cannot exist without its King. Jesus did not ascend to His throne until after His resurrection.

Acts 2:33 -36 “Therefore being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see and hear. 34 For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he says himself:

'The Lord said to my Lord,"Sit at My right hand, 35 Till I make Your enemies Your footstool." '

36 "Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ."

However, this blessed announcement to Mary would mark the coming of the prophesied kingdom and the Christ that would sit on its throne. This announcement marked the fullness of time and that God will now work the great events necessary to bring about the kingdom in the coming of Jesus.

In our next lesson we will look at how this miraculous event would be made possible.