The Believers (1)
Message Six
Brothers of Christ as the Firstborn Son of God
THE EXTRACT OF THE OUTLINES
Scripture reading:
Rom. 1:3-4 Concerning His Son, who came out of the seed of David according to the flesh, who was designated the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness out of the resurrection of the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord;
I. “I will raise up your… descendant…, I will be his Father, and he will be My son“—2 Sam. 7:12a, 14a: (Monday)
A. This word corresponds with Paul’s word in Rom. 1:3-4 concerning Christ as the descendant of David being designated the Son of God in His humanity in resurrection—Rom. 1:3-4.
B. “Your… descendant” in 2 Sam. 7:12a and “My son” in verse 14a imply that the descendant of David would become the Son of God, that is, a human descendant would become a divine son—Rom. 1:3-4.
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II. In Acts 13 Paul said that from the descendant of David, God, according to promise, brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus; God has fully fulfilled this promise by raising Jesus, as it is also written in the second Psalm, You are My Son; this day have I begotten You—Acts 13:23, 33: (Tuesday)
A. Christ as the firstborn Son of God was the promise made by God to the fathers, and God fulfilled this promise by raising Jesus—Acts 13:32-33.
B. Resurrection was a birth to the man Jesus; in resurrection He was begotten by God to be the firstborn Son among many brothers—Rom. 8:29.
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III. The descendant of David becoming the Son of God speaks of the process of Christ being designated the firstborn Son of God through resurrection—2 Sam. 7:12-14a; Rom. 1:3-4: (Wednesday)
A. The gospel of God is the gospel of sonship for the reality of the Body of Christ—Rom. 1:1, 3-4; 8:28-30; 12:5.
B. When Christ died, the divinity within Him, which is the Spirit of holiness, became active, and in resurrection He blossomed to become the Son of God—1 Pet. 3:18.
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IV. The descendant of David becoming the Son of God speaks of the process of our being designated the many sons of God through resurrection—Heb. 2:10-11: (Thursday)
A. The life of the Son of God has been planted into our spirit; we are now like a seed sown in the earth that must pass through the process of death and resurrection—Heb. 2:10; John 12:24-25.
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B. In resurrection Christ was designated the Son of God in His humanity; through such a resurrection, we also are in the process of being designated the sons of God—Rom. 8:11. (Friday)
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V. God’s will is to produce the many brothers of His firstborn Son so that He may have an expression; God predestinated us to be conformed to the image of the Son of God so that His Son would be the firstborn among many brothers—Rom. 8:29. (Saturday)
