“And now, my Father, glorify thou me, with that glory which I had with thee before the world was.”
(John 17:5, Murdock)
Through the begetting of Christ (Ps 2:7) God enabled Himself to have descendants, in the words of Mal 2:15, it made possible His “Godly offspring”. Col 1:19-20 states it as follows: “For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross.”
When did He decide that He would reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross? Was the fall of Adam, which would change the entire humanity’s relationship with God for the worse, a surprise to Him, necessitating an emergency plan that would save those who sin?
No.
In Rev 13:8 (NKJV) these astounding words are written about Christ, the Lamb of God who took upon himself the sin of this world (John 1:29) – “the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world”.
In this timeless schema of God Christ is crucified before the creation of the world, “according to his eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Eph 3:11, NIV)!
In God’s search for descendants, He made a fixed covenant with his firstborn Son, Jesus Christ. In Ps 89:26-29 this is prophetically spelled out: “He shall cry to Me, ‘You are my Father, my God, and the rock of my salvation.’ Also I will make him My firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth. My mercy I will keep for him forever, and My covenant shall stand firm with him. His seed also I will make to endure forever, and his throne as the days of heaven.’” This is explained beautifully in Ps 110:1-4, where God addresses Himself in/through His Son, promising him an everlasting priesthood. Do not miss that this will happen through the Bride of the Lamb (Rev 21:9) who will reign from Zion: “The LORD said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool.” The LORD shall send the rod of Your strength out of Zion. Rule in the midst of Your enemies! Your people shall be volunteers in the day of Your power; in the beauties of holiness, from the womb of the morning, You have the dew of Your youth. The LORD has sworn and will not relent, ‘You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.’” (We will later dissect this more closely when we come to the tabernacle’s Holy of holies.)
Thus Christ’s coming to earth and his resulting crucifixion happened according to what God had promised Him, based on the covenant between them – “When You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed.” (Is 53:10). This is what Heb 13:20 means by “the blood of the everlasting covenant”.
- Sela: Consider 1 Pet 1:23 in the light of this teaching.
- Read: 1 Chr 14; Jer 40; Phil 3
- Memorise: Phil 3:8-10
- For a deeper understanding: Read Arthur W Pink’s The Divine Covenants.
