Welcome to the Banner of Truth broadcast. This program is brought to you by the Free Reformed Churches of North America. Your host is Pastor Jack Schumann, pastor of the Emmanuel Free Reformed Church of Abbotsford, British Columbia. And now, here is Pastor Jack Schumann. Our scripture reading today is taken from the prophecy of Micah chapter five, the verses one through four. Hear God's holy word. Now gather yourself in troops, O daughter of troops. He has laid siege against us. They will strike the judge of Israel with a rod on the cheek. But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to me the one to be ruler in Israel, whose goings forth are of old, from everlasting. Therefore he shall give them up, until the time that she who is in labor has given birth. Then the remnant of his brethren shall return to the children of Israel, and he shall stand and feed his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. And they shall abide, for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth. This ends the reading of the Holy Word of God. May the Lord bless the reading and the preaching of his word to our hearts. Dear friends, when did Jesus Christ come into the world? Well, I'm sure most of you would say, well, that's easy. He came into the world when he was born as a baby in Bethlehem. And that's true, of course. And we can read about that in Luke chapter two. And there we read about how Caesar Augustus, the Roman emperor, ordered all of the citizens of the Roman Empire to return to the place of their roots in order to be taxed. And as a result of this decree, Joseph and Mary traveled from Nazareth and Galilee to Bethlehem, because Joseph was of the house and lineage of David, and David had his roots in Bethlehem. And while they were there, Luke tells us Mary gave birth to the Lord Jesus Christ. She wrapped Him in swaddling cloths and laid Him in a manger because there was no room for Him in the inn. But dear friends, this was not the first time our Lord came into the world. In fact, He came into the world many times before this. Last week, to mark the Advent season, We began a short series on Christ in the Old Testament using Dr. David Murray's book, Jesus on Every Page, as our guide. And we saw how Christ revealed himself in the creation. And today, with God's help, we want to consider his pre-incarnate appearances, not just one of them, but all of them as a whole. We call these appearances Christophanies. That word comes from two Greek words, Christos, meaning Christ or Messiah, and phaino meaning to appear. So strictly speaking, a Christophany is a brief and temporary appearance of the second person of the Holy Trinity in human form. As such, when we speak of Christophanies, we're excluding other non-corporeal appearances of Christ, like the pillar of fire and cloud and the Shekinah glory of God. We're referring here only to his appearances in human form. Now, the prophet Micah makes reference to these appearances in Micah 5, verse 2, which we read just a moment ago. Micah writes there, But you, Bethlehem Ephrata, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to me the one to be ruler in Israel, whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting. Now, this verse is clearly messianic, and it reveals two things about the promised Messiah. It reveals, first of all, that he would be born in Bethlehem, in Ephrata, and secondly, it reveals that he would be a ruler or a king. But what's especially significant about this verse is what Micah says at the end of it. After revealing that the Messiah will be a ruler, Micah adds this comment. And I quote, whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting. Now literally, the verse reads, his exitings have been from before, from days of long ago. Now some have interpreted these words to refer to what theologians call the eternal generation of the sun. In other words, that the second person of the Holy Trinity is generated or proceeds from the Father from all eternity. Now, while that's possible, it's perhaps better to interpret this to refer to the pre-incarnate appearances of the Lord Jesus Christ. As the second person of the Holy Trinity, Christ existed from all eternity. But Micah tells us here that from time to time, in fact throughout the entire Old Testament dispensation, he appeared, however briefly, in human form. This is what Micah is referring to here. He's saying that our Lord's birth in Bethlehem would not be his first appearance on earth in human form. He will have appeared many times before then. his goings forth, or his exitings from heaven, will have stretched over a long period of history, even from days of long ago. Well, with the help of the Lord, we want to take a closer look, as I said, at these appearances. And we do so under the theme, the goings forth of the divine ruler in Israel. And we'll consider, first of all, the form he assumed, and secondly, the savior he revealed. In most cases, whenever the Lord Jesus Christ appeared in human form before his incarnation, he did so as the angel of the Lord. To put it another way, whenever we read of the angel of the Lord in the Old Testament, that is a reference to the second person of the Holy Trinity, to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Now, the fact that our Lord is referred to as the angel of the Lord in the Old Testament is not to suggest that he was an angel. and therefore a created being. That is the teaching of Jehovah's Witnesses. But Jesus was not an angel, nor was he created. He is the second person of the Holy Trinity, co-equal, co-eternal, co-essential with the Father and the Holy Spirit. So the word angel here describes not his nature, but rather his office. And that becomes clear when we consider that the word angel means messenger. And that's exactly what angels are. They are messengers of God. So are ministers, by the way. This is why ministers are called angels in each of the seven letters to the churches of Asia in Revelation 1 to 3. A minister is an angel in the sense that he proclaims the word of God. Now, our Lord Jesus Christ is the ultimate angel. He's the ultimate messenger of God. In fact, this is how Malachi refers to him. In Malachi 3, verse 1, he quotes God as saying, Behold, I send my messenger, my angel, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger, the angel of the covenant in whom you delight. Who's Malachi speaking of here? He's speaking, obviously, of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the messenger. He is the angel of the covenant because he conveys the Word of God to man. And as such, the word angel describes not his nature, for he is divine, angels are not, but his office or his function. In fact, the phrase angel of the Lord actually means the angel who is the Lord. Now, how do we know that the angel of the Lord is not an ordinary angel? Well, there are several reasons for this. First of all, because he is called God, by himself and by others. I think, for example, of Exodus 3, verses 2-6. There we have the account of Moses at the burning bush. And verse 2 says that the angel of the Lord was in the burning bush. And then verse four says that after Moses turned aside to see the wonder, that the Lord saw him, and then it says that God called him from the midst of the bush, implying that the angel was God. Now that's made explicit in verse six, where the angel says to Moses, I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And then it says, and Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon God. No ordinary angel is ever called God or calls himself God, and therefore the angel of the Lord is God. Secondly, the angel of the Lord is not an ordinary angel because he possesses divine attributes and does divine works. Think, for example, of Genesis 16, verses 9 through 13. There we have the account of Hagar in the wilderness. And verse 10 says that the angel promised that he would multiply Hagar's seed. Now only God can do that. And then verses 11 and 12, it says that Hagar was pregnant. The angel said that Hagar was pregnant and that she would bear a son, his name would be Ishmael, and that his seed would be a source of contention wherever he would go. Now again, only God would know that. And then verse 13, Hagar responds to this by calling the angel the God who sees. Now only God is all-seeing, and therefore the angel of the Lord is God. Thirdly, the angel of the Lord is not an ordinary angel because he is the object of worship. In Joshua 5, verse 14, when the angel of the Lord appeared to Joshua, we read that Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped. And in Judges 13, verse 19, when the angel of the Lord appeared to Manoah, we read that Manoah took a young goat with a grain offering and offered it upon the rock to the Lord. And when the angel of the Lord ascended in the flame of the altar, Manoah and his wife fell on their faces to the ground. Now, the Jews did not worship angels. To do so would have been considered sacrilegious, not to mention a violation of the first commandment. They worshiped only God, and therefore the angel of the Lord is God. More specifically, he is, as I've mentioned already, the second person of the Holy Trinity. Now, we know that because, first of all, like the angel of the Lord, God speaks to men through his Son. This is why John calls Jesus the Word of God in John 1 verse 1, because Jesus speaks on behalf of God and communicates to men the will of God. And in Hebrews 1 verse 1, we read that God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by his Son. Now, it's true that sometimes God uses prophets to speak to men. Sometimes he even speaks directly, like at our Lord's baptism and at his transfiguration. But primarily, he speaks through his Son. And therefore, the angel of the Lord must be the second person of the Holy Trinity. Secondly, like the angel of the Lord, God appears to men through his Son. John 1 verse 18, John says, no one has seen God at any time. The only begotten son who is in the bosom of the father, he has declared him. Now we know from the scriptures that God is an invisible spirit, and as such, we cannot see him. All we can see of God is his son, the Lord Jesus Christ. And therefore, the angel of the Lord must be the second person of the Trinity. Thirdly, the angel of the Lord himself distinguishes himself from God. For example, in Genesis 16, verse 11, when the angel tells Hagar what he will do, giving evidence of his deity, he goes on to say, the Lord has heard your affliction. And in Genesis 22, verse 12, after preventing Abraham from sacrificing his son Isaac on the altar, the angel said, now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me. The fact that the angel of the Lord distinguishes himself from God, even though he is God, teaches us that he is a person in God, namely the second person of the Holy Trinity. So the fact that God ordinarily speaks to men through his Son, that he appears to men through his Son, and that the angel of the Lord distinguishes himself from God while still manifesting the marks of deity, all of these things strongly suggest that the angel of the Lord is none other than the second person of the Holy Trinity, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. And so Christ in his pre-incarnate state appeared in the form of the angel of the Lord. Now, what do these appearances reveal about him? What do they tell us about the kind of Savior that he is? Well, that brings us to our second point. The pre-incarnate appearances of Christ reveal several things about our Lord. First of all, they reveal that he is holy. Now, as we've seen, when Moses and later Joshua saw the angel of the Lord, they had to remove the sandals from their feet because the place where they were standing was holy ground. If the presence of the angel of the Lord could make the ground holy, then how holy is the angel of the Lord? Now, we need to be reminded of that because there's a tendency in the church today to bring Jesus down to our level. Jesus, for many Christians today, is more of a buddy figure. He's someone who's there for you, who helps you in difficulties and lifts you up when you're feeling down. And you can detect that in so much of Christian contemporary music today. And while Jesus does indeed do these things, let us guard against developing earthly thoughts of Him. Let us guard against pulling Him down to our level. Remember, He is the Holy God. And as such, he deserves to be worshipped and served and obeyed with the utmost reverence and respect. Secondly, the pre-incarnate appearances of Christ reveal that he is good. After God created the heavens and the earth and everything that is in them, he made a beautiful garden, the Garden of Eden. This was man's home. It was forgiven to man to live in and to enjoy. And God planted the tree of life whereby on condition of obedience, Adam could live forever. And he gave man dominion over all the things that he had made. And he gave Adam a wife to be a helper and a companion for him. He also gave him the Sabbath day, a day of rest and worship. Now, although Genesis 2 doesn't state that explicitly, the one who did these things was Christ. He is the second person of the Trinity who interacts with man, And the point is that in doing all these things for man, it shows that he is good. He is good to his creation, and he is good to man in particular. And beloved, he's still good today, isn't he? Every blessing we receive, life, health, food, drink, shelter, friends, family, all these things come from the hand of God in Christ. And since that is so, should we not thank him, not least for the gift of his salvation, Should we not praise Him? Should we not love and serve Him with all of our heart, mind, soul, and strength? Does He not deserve at least that much? Thirdly, the pre-incarnate appearances of Christ reveal that He is merciful. In Genesis 18, we have that account of Abraham interceding on behalf of the righteous and Sodom. You remember how first Abraham asked the Lord if he would spare the city for the sake of 50 righteous, and the Lord said that he would. And then he asked if he would spare the city for the sake of 45, and then 30, and then 20, and then 10, and every time the Lord said he would. Oh, how merciful and long-suffering the Lord is. He was willing to spare the entire city of Sodom, which was exceedingly wicked, for the sake of only 10 righteous. And there weren't even 10 to be found, only Lot. Lot was the only righteous man in the entire city. And he wasn't all that righteous either. Now we need to be reminded of that. Because there are those who so emphasize the holiness and the justice of God that they tend to neglect his love and his mercy. Beloved, let us never do this. Let us never emphasize one of God's attributes over the other. God is simple. That means he is the fullness of all of his attributes. To emphasize one attribute of God over another is to create an idol of our own making. So let us keep before us that if God was so merciful to Sodom, that he can and will be merciful to us as well. My friend, do you feel the weight of your sins before God today? Do you think that they're so great that God cannot and even will not forgive them? Oh, banish all such thoughts from your mind. Those who come to Him pleading for His mercy will never be turned away, for He takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but desires that all may come to salvation in Christ. Fourthly, the pre-incarnate appearances of Christ reveal that He is compassionate, When Hagar was in the wilderness, she went down to her last drop of water. She thought for sure that she and her son Ishmael were going to die. And so you remember how she placed the boy under a shrub and walked a short distance away and she lifted up her voice and she wept. And we read in Genesis 21 verse 17 that God heard the voice of the lad. And then we read that the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven and said to her, what ails you, Hagar? Fear not, for God has heard the voice of the lad where he is. Arise, lift up the lad and hold him with your hand, for I will make him a great nation. And then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water. And she went and filled the skin with water and gave the lad to drink. Oh, how compassionate and merciful the Lord is. He even hears the cry of slaves and the children of slaves. Oh, let this be an encouragement to us to come to the Lord. Beloved, if you cry to him, he will answer. If you call upon Him, He will hear. He will not cast you out, for He is a compassionate Savior." Fifthly and finally, the pre-incarnate appearances of Christ reveal that He is willing and even eager to save His people from their sins. Ask yourself this question, why did our Lord appear in human form so many times in the Old Testament? Well, part of the reason was to make it easier for us to connect with Him. It's much easier for us to connect with a being who looks like us and talks like us and acts like us than an invisible spirit or powerful force. And Christ knows that. And that's certainly one reason why he appeared in human form before his incarnation. But there's another reason as well. It is to anticipate his incarnation. When Christ appeared in human form during the Old Testament, he did not become incarnate. He did not become incarnate until he was born of the Virgin Mary in Bethlehem. But his pre-incarnate appearances anticipated, they prefigured and prepared the minds of men for his incarnation. What is more, they indicated, at least in part, how God would redeem his people from their sins. You see, Old Testament believers were familiar with the promise that God made to Adam and Eve that one day the seed of the woman would bruise the head of the seed of the serpent. What they did not know was how God would accomplish that. Well, the pre-incarnate appearances of Christ gave them a hint. God would take upon himself our flesh and blood. He would become a man. And as a man, he would take our sins upon himself and earn for us the righteousness that we need in order to stand before God and live to all eternity. Now, how much the early Old Testament believers understood of all this, we do not know. But as time went on, they understood more and more. So that by the time that Isaiah wrote Isaiah 53, They understood that the promised seed would be bruised for our iniquities and that with his stripes we would be healed. But there's one more reason why Christ appeared in his pre-incarnate state. It was to prepare Christ for his messianic mission. Dr. Murray writes that Christ's pre-incarnate appearances are expressions of holy impatience. They provide us some insight into how much Christ enjoyed trying on the clothes of his incarnation. Dr. Murray writes that they are delicious appetizers of his great gospel work, when he would no longer be simply God manifest in human form, but God manifest in human flesh. Oh, do you see how eager and how willing Christ was to save his people from their sins? He was so eager and so willing that he simply could not wait to try on his new clothes, even though this would mean having to suffer and die the most painful, the most humiliating, the most cursed death imaginable, his death on the cross. Oh, how great. is the love of Christ for his own. But these appearances, especially his incarnation, look beyond the brief years of his earthly ministry to the time when he would dwell with his people forever in glory. John writes of this in Revelation 21 verses 1 to 4. John writes, now I saw a new heaven and a new earth. For the first heaven and the first earth had passed away and there was no more sea. Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people. God himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain. for the former things have passed away. Oh, what a glorious day that will be. In this life, we behold him only with the eye of faith, but then we who are in him will see him face to face. We will hear him speak. We will feel his touch and his embrace, and we will live and reign with him forever and ever. Oh, my friend, will you also be there? If you're not saved today, seek the Lord today. This is why He came to this earth. This is why He assumed our flesh and blood, so that sinners like you and me could receive the pardon of all of their sins and everlasting life. Seek Him, therefore. Repent and believe. The promise of the gospel is you shall be saved. Amen. We always appreciate hearing from our listeners. If you were blessed by or have a comment on the message you've heard today, we'd very much appreciate hearing from you. Our mailing address is Banner of Truth, 3386 Mount Lehman Road, Lehman is spelled L-E-H-M-A-N, Abbotsford, British Columbia, V4X 2M9. 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