Always Was, Always Will Be

 

Jesus is writ large in the Old Testament:

Isaiah 42:

1 “Behold! My Servant whom I uphold,

My Elect One in whom My soul delights!

I have put My Spirit upon Him;

He will bring forth justice to the Gentiles.

2 He will not cry out, nor raise His voice,

Nor cause His voice to be heard in the street.

3 A bruised reed He will not break,

And smoking flax He will not [c]quench;

He will bring forth justice for truth.

4 He will not fail nor be discouraged,

Till He has established justice in the earth;

And the coastlands shall wait for His law.”

5 Thus says God the Lord,

Who created the heavens and stretched them out,

Who spread forth the earth and that which comes from it,

Who gives breath to the people on it,

And spirit to those who walk on it:

6 “I, the Lord, have called You in righteousness,

And will hold Your hand;

I will keep You and give You as a covenant to the people,

As a light to the Gentiles,

7 To open blind eyes,

To bring out prisoners from the prison,

Those who sit in darkness from the prison house.

8 I am the Lord, that is My name;

And My glory I will not give to another,

Nor My praise to carved images.

9 Behold, the former things have come to pass,

And new things I declare;

Before they spring forth I tell you of them” (Isa. 42:1-9).

As I noted, Jesus is writ large all over the Old Testament.

And so is his desire to bring all the nations into his congregation, assembly, or church. The word 'Gentiles" is often misunderstood. It simply means 'nations' or 'peoples'. There is in the Old Testament the singular Hebrew word 'goy', meaning nation, and the plural word 'goyim', meaning nations or peoples. Sometimes the term refers to every nation except Israel, sometimes it refers to all nations, including Israel.

Israel is a 'goy', a nation. Judah is a 'goy', a nation. Edom is a 'goy', a nation. Egypt is a 'goy', a nation, and so on and son.

Jesus will be a light to all nations.  

He will bring all nations into his church, his congregation, his people. As Paul notes in Galatians,

"26 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise." (Gal. 3:26-29).

All who call on Christ are the inheritors of Abraham's promises. All who do not are not. This teaching finds its origin in the Old Testament. The multi-ethnic church was fulfilled in the New Testament, but as it is Christ's body it is writ large all through the Old, just like he is.

One people of God, one saviour, one way to inherit the promised land: through Jesus. The only way. This is the way. Always was, always will be.