I've just seen another one!!!
I've been making a list of the places in the Bible which describe the Son of God, the Messiah, as the father of a new people. It is a profound theological point. He is our brother and in another way he is our father or ancestor. He is the new Adam after all for all who put their faith in him. Here is where I'm up to
1. Isaiah 9:6
For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
2. Isaiah 6:13
And though a tenth remains in the land, it will again be laid waste.
But as the terebinth and oak leave stumps when they are cut down,
so the holy seed will be the stump in the land.
(This is part of remnant theology. If Christ is the true remnant of Israel, all new Israel is his progeny).
3. Isaiah 8:18
Here am I, and the children the LORD has given me. We are signs and symbols in Israel from the LORD Almighty, who dwells on Mount Zion.
(Hebrews 2:13 puts these words in Jesus' mouth)
4. Isaiah 50:1-2
Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness
and who seek the LORD:
Look to the rock from which you were cut
and to the quarry from which you were hewn;
look to Abraham, your father, and to Sarah, who gave you birth.
When I called him he was but one, and I blessed him and made him many.
(I think this verse is setting up God to bring the many from the one again!)
5. Isaiah 53:10
Yet it was the LORD’S will to crush him and cause him to suffer,
and though the LORD makes his life a guilt offering,
he will see his offspring (lit. seed) and prolong his days,
and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand.
6. Hebrews 2:13-15
And again, “I will put my trust in him.”
And again he says, “Here am I, and the children God has given me.”
Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.
(Jesus is both brother and father in this passage)
7. New Adam Typology / Remnant theology in the New Testament
8. (the one I just found) Jeremiah 33:22 (ASV - much more literal; NIV obscures this one)
As the host of heaven cannot be numbered, neither the sand of the sea measured; so will I multiply the seed of David my servant, and the Levites that minister unto me.
(I think that the remarkable thing is that the seed of David and the new Levites are one in the same in Christ)
If Jesus is our ancestor ... this puts a profoundly new emphasis to the sometimes maligned word 'Christian' - one who belongs to and follows Christ. We are Christians not just because we follow him in faith and obedience but also because we come from him. We are his spiritual progeny after all.
5 comments:
Intriguing connection Andrew.
Do you think the term 'father' (at least) in Isaiah 9:7 signifies fatherly authority and care, rather than being generative? Ie. the Son will shepherd his people into the future, rather than necessarily preceding them in the past?
Even though it uses neither category of 'Father' or 'son', John 8:53 is pretty interesting too, that Jesus is 'before' Abraham (the great 'father' of Israel) in every way - temporally, preeminently, etc.
Do you think the term 'father' (at least) in Isaiah 9:7 signifies fatherly authority and care, rather than being generative?
Interesting, but 2 thoughts occur. First, the idea of authority is wrapped up in the words 'Mighty God'. So 'father' is saying something different, just as 'counsellor' is saying something different. Second, the mention of the 'seed' that Andrew highlighted is also a generative idea, so it's not as if the idea is foreign to the immediate context.
Hey and also, how about the idea that Jesus is called counsellor, and then in John's gospel the Holy Spirit is the Counsellor. So that Jesus in Isaiah 9 is in some sense identified with Father, Son and Holy Spirit. That may be a stretch, but there we are.
Good post Andrew, so long as you don't end up using it to bolster some idea of Jesus being the elect man ;-)
Mark: Thanks for checking out my blog. I think I Jesus must precede his people as a father. Two things:
1. One part of the solution is that he was before them and so was the father (in a way) to the whole nation of Israel. He is also called the root of Jesse.
2. Another part of the solution is that he only really became their father in the New Covenant with his death and resurrection and the creation of a new people. I think the Isaiah 53 verse can't be taken any other way.
I'll have to keep thinking through the pre-existence language because the second person of the trinity was before Israel as God but begat the New Israel as God-Man.
Also, does this mean we have three father's in common?
Gordon:
As to the counsellor. The Holy Spirit is described as another counsellor - so I'm sure Jesus saw himself as the first counsellor. But still?
Also, no worries about Jesus being the elect man for all the world. He is gives birth to a particular people - the true Israel, the offspring of David. He is not the father of all humanity.
As to the counsellor. The Holy Spirit is described as another counsellor - so I'm sure Jesus saw himself as the first counsellor.
Well yes, and so you avoid modalism.
Just as your idea on how Jesus is 'father' saves us from that trap.
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