Isaiah, this is the Christ. But as Philip goes and he tells Nathanael to come and see the one that they found, you note that Philip uses very pious language. He doesn't just surmise and say, hey, we found this guy that works miracles and seems really cool. We found this guy that has a real charismatic personality. But what is it that he tells Nathanael? He says that we have found him of whom Moses and the law and the prophets also wrote. Alright, so in the very least, these disciples, as they were being called, most of them thoroughly uneducated, and yet they knew enough of the Old Testament to know that there was a person that was promised who would come as the Messiah and as the Christ for the salvation of God's people. And so Philip's real call is here, right, that he has read the scriptures, he understands the Old Testament, and now he beholds, here is one that fulfills what the Old Testament spoke of. So we see this in the beginning of Jesus' ministry, right, that even before Jesus' public teachings are made known, before his miracles have come about, that the disciples saw enough in him to realize that this is the one of whom Moses spoke. And of course, we also note that not only does the account of Jesus' life begin that way, but it also ends in a very similar way. Alright, you think of the more well-known passage in Luke chapter 24, after Jesus has raised from the dead, and as he is walking along on the road to Emmaus with two of his disciples. And what is it that we read here? All right, if you look at Luke chapter 24 verses 45 and 46, or I guess we go back up to 44, we read that he said to him, right, that is Jesus, these are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the law of Moses and the prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled. So you note he uses the threefold division, as it were, in the Hebrew Bible. The law, the prophets, and the wisdom literature, Psalms there. And he declares here that all these things had to be fulfilled in me. And then we have this most astounding verse, verse 45, that he opened their minds to understand the scriptures. And he said to them, thus it is written that the Christ should suffer on the third day, rise from the dead, and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations beginning from Jerusalem. Right? So he opens the minds of his disciples. And he instructs them, he shows them how all of the scriptures, chiefly at this time, of course, the Old Testament, because the New Testament was still being written. Actually, not a thing had been written at this point in Jesus' ministry. Alright, so as he opens the scriptures, he opens the Old Testament, and he taught his disciples, this is how it all points towards All right, this is how it reflects me. And then we even see this in the apostolic preaching. All right, so a book ends Jesus' life and it is the sum and the substance of apostolic preaching. Now we turn again to that most sublime chapter, 1 Corinthians 15. As Paul lays out here kind of the program of his ministry amongst the people of Corinth, and he says there in 1 Corinthians 15 verses 3 and 4, he says, For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures. that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas and then to the Twelve. So Paul pinpoints this, that this is the very centerpiece of his ministry. Of first importance is this truth, that Christ has died in accord with Scripture, that he was buried, that he's been raised again, that this is all in accord with the Old Testament. So we see even here in the New Testament that the writers begin to draw this golden thread of continuity back to the person and the work of Christ. The apostles, though they were inspired by the Spirit, a part of that inspiration came through studying and learning the Old Testament and all that it spoke of concerning Christ. So we want to have this firmly fixed in our heads. The Old Testament reveals the person and work of Christ. And the first thing that Lanier does here is that he shows how the Old Testament proves to us that Christ is the divine Son of God. Right? This is the first point that he wants to drive home, that Christ is the divine Son of God. when you think of the doctrine of the Trinity, right? That what we confess as Christians is that there is one God in three persons, right? One substance, three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. That these three are one, that they are not divided, that they are not conflated with each other, but that they are distinct persons within the Godhead. but that they are equal in being, power, and glory. This is what the Church has come to confess. And Lanier doesn't just want to look at the New Testament to show us that the doctrine of the Trinity, and particularly the divinity of Christ, is real. But he wants to draw particular attention, in his words, to the fascinating ways that the New Testament draws on the Old Testament to convey the divinity of Christ. Alright, so to look at the way that the New Testament uses the Old Testament to esteem that Christ indeed is truly God. Now, I'm gonna throw out a number of things for you. We'll just pause at one place here to go through the tools that Lanier has, although much more could be done here, but just by way of example. All right, we know that Christ is the divine Son of God, that He is the divine Son, by the way that the New Testament authors make use of the titles for Jesus. All right, one of the more common titles is that Jesus is Lord. All right, well, Lord, as it's used throughout the Old Testament, all right, that it's a translation, if you care about this, the Greek is kurios, and it's a translation of the Hebrew words for Adonai and Yahweh. All right, that throughout the Old Testament, when the Lord is spoken about, that we are talking about the divine God, the true God, all right, the one who exists over all things. And the New Testament authors didn't hesitate to use this Old Testament title, Lord for God, and attribute it to Jesus. They saw that the Lord of the Old Testament was, in fact, incarnated in the person of Christ. Lanier throws out a number of examples. Perhaps one of the more salient ones, at least one of my favorite ones, comes from John chapter 20. You remember that Jesus has been raised from the dead, that he's appeared to Mary, and that he appeared to 10 of the disciples of the apostles, and there was one, well, there are two missing, one had killed himself, and the other one was Thomas, all right? Who knows where he was? But he wasn't with the band of apostles. when Christ first appeared to them on that first Resurrection Sunday. And you remember what Thomas is known for is that he doubted, right? And as the other apostles came to him, they're like, yo, Thomas, we saw Jesus. He's been raised from the dead. All right, Thomas declares that he is not going to believe unless he sees the hands, in his hands, the marks of the nails, and he places his finger in the marks of the nails, and he places his hand into his side, and Thomas says, I will never believe. And as John records for us, a week later, so this would be the second Lord's Day after Christ had been raised from the dead, the disciples were again inside and Thomas was with them this time, although the doors were locked and Jesus came and stood among them. We're not going there again this week, all right? So, Jesus comes and he stands amongst them and he says, peace be with you. And then he said to Thomas, put your finger here and see my hands and put out your hand and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe. And even though Thomas is known as the doubting one, John chapter 20 verse 28 has one of the clearest and the most glorious confessions of faith recorded in all the New Testament, right? That Thomas simply answers and declares, my Lord, and my God." Right? This is what Thomas comes to believe. He doesn't say, hey look, the rabbi has been raised again, or my friend Jesus, but he attributes to Christ that he is both Lord and that he is God. And even more poignantly perhaps, Thomas claims him as his own Lord and his own God. All right, well, the Greek terms here for Lord is kurios, and the Greek word here for God is theos, right? Kurios and theos are beyond all doubt, names of divinity, titles of divinity. So as Thomas comes and he confesses here, he is saying, this is Yahweh, this is Elohim, this is Adonai, this is the God of the Old Testament that now stands before me, and he confesses his faith in that. All right, so we see it in John 20, 28. We see other examples of Jesus being declared Lord. In Luke chapter 2, verse 11. In Romans chapter 10, verse 9. In 1 Corinthians 12, 3. We see it all over the New Testament. The New Testament writers use the title of Lord as they spoke of Christ. And to the mind of any first century Jew, all right, this would have been blasphemous save for the fact that Jesus actually was the Lord. Yes, Rich? The Messiah, yeah. Was Aaron anointed by Christ? Wow. Yes. I see some combining of stories where the high priest didn't stand on the rock. It was actually Moses that struck the rock. And as far as Christ goes, or the Hebrew word for Messiah, there were times when it was used in a general sense. So even Cyrus, as he issued the decree for the Jews to return from Babylon, is declared to be anointed. He's declared to be a Christ figure. So it was at times even used of pagan leaders, but in the particular use of it with Christ, we have the combination of Lord and God, which undoubtedly shows the divinity of him, things that weren't even said of one like Cyrus. So, but the rock that was struck, Moses struck the rock, but the high priest wasn't standing on the rock. Yep. So you're right, we also have the angel, the angel of the Lord, which signified the presence of God. I think a good case can be made that the angel of the Lord in the Old Testament was a pre-incarnate Christophany, that it was Christ himself who journeyed. And we will come to a point like that in just a couple minutes, Rich. So thank you for drawing that out. So we have this title of Lord being used. We have the title of Lord. We have the title Son of God that is used in a very distinct way for Christ. You even think of the way in which Psalm 2 is used. If you're familiar with that well-known psalm where the Lord says... Oh, look at me losing myself right now. Right, that he's told here, sorry, it's in verse 7, I will tell of the decree the Lord said to me, you are my son, today I have begotten you. Ask of me and I will make the nations your heritage and the ends of the earth your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel. And the way that the Lord says to this individual within Psalm 2, that you are my son, that the New Testament authors use this in relation to Christ, right? That this is, if you will, a wonderful, we're eavesdropping into the glorious conversation between the Father and the Son as the Father promises to give the nations as an inheritance to Christ. And as the New Testament authors understood Psalm 2, you can go to places like Acts chapter 13 verse 33, Hebrews chapter 1 verse 5, and write that the son that's being referred to in Psalm 2, this divine son, that it is Christ himself. And so we see these titles, all right? We could develop this a lot more, but we won't. We see many of the titles that are used of Christ in the New Testament are drawn from the Old Testament, attributed to the God of Israel in the Old Testament, and now equally applied to Jesus in the New Testament. where Lanier really wants to come down is not only with these titles, but also showing that as the New Testament develops its theology of Christ, that the New Testament refers back to the Old Testament to speak of the pre-existence of Christ. Now, if you're familiar with your Trinitarian heresies, one of the more popular ones within the early church was this idea that Jesus was created, that he didn't have an eternal existence with the Father. This was known as Arianism. They came around and they said, well, Christ isn't exactly like us mere mortals, but he's also not, by nature, ontologically, the divine son of God, but that he is the first of God's creation. All right, this was Arianism, and if you're familiar with church history, you know that Arianism was incredibly influential within the church. That the whole church almost went into the direction of the heresy of Arianism until Athanasius, one of the early church fathers, stood up and he defied everyone and he destroyed them, right? And we're thankful for that. All right, but this heresy still remains today. You go and you talk to Mormons, you talk to Jehovah Witnesses. All right, they're going to be existence of Jesus from eternity past. They're essentially a new form of Arianism that continues to promote this teaching that Christ was maybe the greatest of God's creations, but that he was still a creation. All right? And yet, as we see the way in which the New Testament authors refer to Christ drawing from the Old Testament, it is very, very clear to us that Christ was preexistent, that Christ was not created, that he was not made, but that he has always existed in fellowship with the Father and the Spirit, even from eternity past. Yes. Yes. I'm a lousy speller, but this word I know how to spell. And Rich can even read it. So there you go, right? So Arianism. It was off of the guy Arius. Isn't that great? Have a heresy named after you so that you are forever infamously known as the great heretic of the church. All right? So Arianism. Again, it's alive and well, even amongst Mormons and Jehovah Witnesses. If I can just put in a parenthetical note. If a Mormon or Jehovah Witness ever attempts to tell you that we believe in the same Christ, they'll go back and forth with them, beeline it straight for the Trinity, beeline it straight for the position of Christ as eternally existing and equal and being in power and glory with the Father and the Spirit, and the debate is over. They won't talk with you. At least they don't talk to me when I do that, right? They don't enjoy that thought, right? But they'll have you believe that we confess the same Christ, and though they agree with the miracles of Christ, and they agree with the teachings of Christ, and they agree with many things about Christ, they deny the pre-existence of Christ and the doctrine of the Trinity. And so they are not Christians. It doesn't matter what they want to call themselves. They simply aren't if they deny this fundamental truth. And so the way the New Testament authors speak of Christ, we have many allusions to this clear and concrete idea that Jesus has always existed, that Christ has always been preexistent, and that there was never a time when he was not. And one example that Lanier points out from Colossians 1, verse 16. Actually, it's helpful if we go back to verse 15, and that Paul writes here, he is the image, right again, speaking of Christ, he is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities, all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And then he gets into the ecclesiastical sphere, right? And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. Right? So you note the allusions that Paul makes here. All right, that he draws back as he's identifying Christ to the church in Colossae. He's actually borrowing from Ephesians, or Ephesians, from Genesis chapter 1. All right, that he declares here that Christ created everything in heaven and on earth. This is a clear allusion back to Genesis 1, where we are taught that God created the heavens and the earth, right? So we have that attribution in Genesis 1 to God, and Paul uses that attribution of Christ here, that he is the one who created the heavens and the earth. And then what isn't so clear in our English Bibles is that Paul tells us here that he created visible and invisible. And the Hebrew Bible doesn't have the word invisible there, but the Greek, one of the Greek translations of Genesis 1-2 does use the term invisible. It uses the primordial earth as invisible, is what the Septuagint uses. And as Paul was a student of the Septuagint, he's likely referring to Genesis 1 there with the invisible as well. Not that you need to tell people that, because the created heaven and earth, that this is strong enough. So we see this, right, that he is the preexistent ones, that all things were created through him. Now Lanier doesn't touch on this, but in case it's helpful for you, you find this at all interesting. This is often where Mormons and Jehovah Witnesses will go to, as they'll say, well, look, Colossians 1, Paul tells us that Christ was the firstborn of all creation, and if he's the firstborn, then that must mean that he was born. Real simple, to dispel this argument, super simple, right? Firstborn, from a biblical perspective, typically doesn't, there are times when it can mean the firstborn child, you know, biological, from dad and mom, But more often, as it's used in the theological sense, is that this is a title of preeminency. This is a title of preeminency. I don't know how to spell preeminency, so you just kind of scribble there, and then people ought to know what it says. And one of the key ways to deal with this, this isn't Lanier again, this is just simply me helping you in case you have the unfortunate happenstance of meeting a Mormon or a JW, is that if you go back to Exodus chapter three, I think Exodus chapter 3 is the first place where the title firstborn is used, and it's actually used of Israel, alright? Where God comes to Moses in the burning bush, and he tells Moses there, you need to go and you need to tell Pharaoh to let my son go, my firstborn son. Now Israel, at this time in the days of Moses, you're talking 600,000 men plus women and children. So this isn't a literal, but the theological title, the sense here is that Israel has risen above all nations in preeminence. This is a title, this is not speaking of the ontological nature of Christ himself. All right, so just put that in the back of your mind. Firstborn, I've seen Christians trip up on this, right? A Mormon or JW says, look, it says right there he's firstborn of all creation. What are you going to do with that one? That's a title of preeminency, right? And we see this in Exodus chapter 3 with Israel itself. And so Paul here, of course, in Colossians 1, isn't only drawing back to creation, he's also drawing back to the Exodus event. Unfortunately, Lanier doesn't want to go there, so we won't this morning. All right, so we see Colossians 1, all right, makes this illusion. Christ is the one who created all things, heaven and earth, the visible and the invisible world. We see other places where the New Testament takes us back to understand Christ as the preexistent one. John chapter 1. By the way, Muslims and Jehovah Witnesses will have Bibles that translate these words differently, but I guess they're fine prostituting the Word of God. But you note here in Genesis chapter, or in John chapter 1, that John makes several references back to Genesis as he speaks of the pre-existence of the Word who is Christ. Right there in the beginning. We have the three words in the beginning. What does that make you think of? Genesis chapter one, verse one, right? The first words that open the Bible, in the beginning, all right? So John is bringing us all the way back to creation here as he's going to talk about the existence of Christ. So he notes there in the beginning, we have here, Right that in the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God now there's lots of speculation about how we're to understand the word here about the nature of the word whether John is borrowing from Grecian philosophy here in order to describe this word which is logos, but one thing that can easily be overlooked is right that that is as As John notes here, that here is the word, right? The Greek is logos. And it shares the same stem for the Greek word lego, which means to speak. Sorry, Tyler. Right, lego, it means to speak. And in Genesis chapter one, We read 11 different times this verb Lego, right? All right, it technically would be in third-person singular But we have the word that is present there that over and over again what Moses is showing us is that God created through his Word that he spoke things into existence and as John now comes and he refers to Christ as the Logos right there is a connection here particularly with the Septuagint and Lego there that John is showing us that Christ was the agent of creation itself this becomes abundantly clear not only from Colossians, but also what John goes on to say in verse 3 all things All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made." That's wonderful Johannine language. It's packed and it's pregnant with meaning there. But undoubtedly, even on the surface reading of it, what is clear here? Did Christ create everything? All things. What includes all things? Is there anything in all of creation that Christ didn't create? Nope, without him nothing was made. So if Christ created all things, and if without him nothing was made that has been made, then how could somebody say Christ was made? Or that Christ was created? Or that Christ was brought forth even as the first of God's creation? John simply won't allow that, right? He brings us back to Genesis to show us that as God spoke, that it was through his divine word, that it was through the Logos, it was through Christ himself that he was creating everything. In addition, what we note here, as a John in verse 3, as we noted, that he says, all things came to be through him. And this all things came to be, this word is used 20 times in Genesis chapter 1. Chiefly, when we read that God said, let there be light, and there was light. Same word here, that all things came to be, that light came to be. And so we see that John is drawing on creation. We also see here in verses 4 through 10, the themes of light, dark, life, men, world. These are all significant words used in Genesis. So it's incredibly important, right, that we remember this, that we recall this, that Christ didn't come into existence with creation, but that he was prior to creation. That, as a matter of fact, all things were created through him. And so we have his pre-existence there. We also see the pre-existence of Christ, and that even under the Old Testament, he had a ministry to the people of Israel. One of my favorite passages, although depending on what translation you have, they don't all follow this, I think they should, but in Jude chapter 5, You remember that Jude is writing to the church that he's warning against these false prophets and teachers. Some of the most salient and graphic terms for false teachers are used in the short book of Jude. But listen to what Jude says in verse 5. He says, Now I want to remind you, although once you fully knew it, that Jesus who saved a people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe. Anyone pick up on what's significant about that? Who led the people out of Egypt? Well, okay, so Moses did, but who told Moses to lead the people out of Egypt? God, all right? And who was it in Psalm 95 that rages against the stubbornness of the people and kills a bunch of them in the wilderness for their grumbling and unbelief? God. And yet, what is it that Jude says here in verse 5? That although you once fully knew it, that Jesus, Jesus who saved the people out of the land of Egypt, and afterward he destroyed those who did not believe. Yes, there is something there, quoting from Hosea 11, verse one, very, very significant. Not touching exactly on this point here, but I appreciate that comment, Rich. One of my favorite verses in the Bible. Does this surprise you, right? Can't believe I just said it. That was a slip of my tongue. All right, so what we see here is that Jude, as he reads the great Exodus event, he says it's Jesus who did these things, right? That Jesus is God. So we see this union here, all right? Especially as you contrast it there with Exodus 13 and 14 where this is spoken about. As Rich has already very helpfully brought to our attention in 1 Corinthians chapter 10, all right, as Paul is talking here. fat fingers can flip pages on this cold morning. On 1 Corinthians chapter 10, right, what we read here is for I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and all ate the same spiritual fruit, and all drank the same spiritual drink, for they drank from the spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ. So you remember the scene well, that Moses and the people are grumbling that there isn't enough water, and God tells Moses, go and strike this rock. And as Moses struck the rock the first time, streams of water flowed out and the people drank. And you remember another scene happened later on, and they were grumbling again that there wasn't enough water. And Moses was angry, and God said, go and speak to the rock. And Moses goes and he takes his staff like the first time, and he strikes the rock and water comes out. God comes up to Moses and and what it is for this sin right is for this sin of striking the rock that God says Moses You can't go into the problem. Just remember it. You can't go into the promised land All right and Moses though he was faithful in all of God's house and led the people for 40 years in this wilderness and they grumbled and they rebelled and they were Stubborn and they were hard-hearted and stiff-necked and all Moses did is he struck the rock when God had said? speak to it, and he's forbidden from entering into the promised land. That might cause you to scratch your head. But then when you come to a passage like 1 Corinthians 10, and Paul tells us that this rock that the people drank from, that this rock was Christ, that it was a type of Christ, that it was a symbol of Christ, all of a sudden you're going, oh, that's why Moses was barred from entering into the promised land. It's not just because he got angry and took a little piece of wood and hit a little chunk of rock, But the spiritual theological significance here is that Moses struck Christ. That he struck Christ. This is why he's forbidden from going into the promised land. And yet what you note here is that Paul tells us that this rock was Christ. What an amazing picture of the Exodus. And the Jude reminds us it's Jesus who led the people up out of Egypt. It was Jesus who, you know, destroyed them when they were grumbling. It's Jesus of whom they drank from this rock, right? The spiritual water that nourished them and sustained them. These New Testament writers can't help but look at the Exodus and they see Jesus everywhere. All right, that Christ was undoubtedly present in the Old Testament. And this would also come out, as Rich has already noted, with the angel of the Lord. And we won't develop that this morning, but I think a good case can be made that that angel of the Lord was Christ himself. So we see in all of these ways that Christ... Yes, Rich. I have problems saying it was the arrogance of Moses, because Moses is characterized as the most humble man who ever lived. I think it would be more reflected in his anger. And there were other times when he very rightly told the people, I've done this for you. And he wasn't condemned for arrogance, right? He understood that the Lord was using him as an instrument. So I think it's more the anger and not obeying the voice of what God had told him to do. Not those exact words. There's some words in Hebrews chapter 6 that we can't crucify Christ again. And that false teachers tread him underfoot. I don't know that I'd stretch it that far. I love you, Rich, but I have issues with saying God was hurt. That one doesn't sit with me well. Moses didn't listen to the voice of God. That is undoubtedly true. And for that, he was kept. But I don't know that I'd draw that into the crucifixion. Maybe that's worth thinking about a little bit more. So all we want to do is note here, right, that as the New Testament authors speak of Christ and His divinity, that they are continually going back to the Old Testament, that we see this in titles, that we see this in the connection between Christ and creation. And what we don't have time for this morning, but if you want to look ahead, is to look at this astounding verse. We'll pause here and get more into it next week. In John chapter 12, I think it begins in verse 39, right, that John makes use here of Isaiah chapter 6. And what he draws here and the connection that he makes between Isaiah 6 and Christ's ministry, personally, I think is quite astounding. So you can begin to think about that for next week, that we will land here and we'll go through Lanier's three tools here. Clearly, there's more than sufficient information here that we can't pause in every way. But just note this, the New Testament authors, they understood Christ, right? They saw Him everywhere as the agent of salvation in the Old Testament. And then we'll come and open with John 12 next week. Very funny. Alright, let me close in a word of prayer. Our gracious God and Father, how thankful we are that by faith that we are participants with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in your glorious covenant of grace. We thank you for our Savior Jesus Christ, who was one with the Father and the Spirit even before the world was, and that it pleased Him to heed your voice, O Father, in the covenant that you had established within yourself from eternity past to come in our likeness, to be the one who is truly God and truly man, the one mediator between God and man. And we thank you, O Christ, that you have shown yourself to be the Savior of your people over and over again, all throughout history. And we pray that our faith might ascend to you, how we pray that we would continue to rest and receive you alone for salvation as you are freely offered in your Word. Be with us as we transition now to a time of public worship. In Jesus' name, Amen.