Week 1

In week-one we cover a lot of ground work. Little time is spent in the book of Romans. We only make it through 1:3. We must first establish an Old Testament understanding of God’s promise “through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures (1:2).”

Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God…

What is an apostle? An apostle is 1) someone sent to preach the gospel in new places, or 2) Apostle (capital A) can refer to the 12 Apostles spoken of in the New Testament. In the latter sense, an Apostle must have seen Jesus’ resurrected body. Paul claims apostleship in verse 1. See 1 Corinthians 15:8. Paul is always on the defensive regarding his apostleship since he is one “born out of due time.” You can read about Paul’s witness of the resurrected Christ in Acts 9.

Before we can go any further with Paul we must understand what he means by the gospel. This is clearly outlined in 1 Corinthians 15, specifically in verses 3 and 4.

The gospel is not: 1) living like a nice person, or 2) believing in God.

The gospel is:
1) Jesus died for our sins
2) Jesus was buried
3) Jesus raised in a real body
4) Jesus really appeared to the brethren
5) Jesus ascended in a real body

All “according to the scriptures…” What scriptures. The New Testament has not been written yet therefore Paul is referring to the Old Testament.

…which He promised before through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh…

If what Paul says is true, where can we find the gospel in the Old Testament? Here is the ground work. I will only list a few of the scriptures, all of which we covered in week one:

Concerning the Son of God:

2 Samuel 7:12- When your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his Father, and he shall be My son. If he commits iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men and with the blows of the sons of men. But My mercy shall not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I removed from before you. And your house and your kingdom shall be established forever before you. Your throne shall be established forever.

This verse seems to be about David’s yet-to-be-born son, Solomon. In one sense it is about Solomon. However, Solomon’s throne comes to an end. The physical Davidic monarchy is not established forever. Either God did not stick to His promise or He wasn’t referring to Solomon entirely. If not referring to Solomon, than to who was He referring? This must be a prophecy of the Messiah. In this prophecy God calls the Messiah His Son. We may have trouble with the latter part of verse 14 (…if he commits iniquity…). Christ did indeed suffer chastisement with the rod of men and blows with the sons of men for He was punished greatly (Isaiah 53:5). We hold and teach that Christ knew no sin as does the Bible. “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him (1 Cor. 5:21). This is how Jesus fulfills this prophecy.

Genesis 3:15- And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.

This is the first mention of the gospel in scripture. It is God’s address to the serpent after the fall in which He mentions the woman’s seed. This is the only mention of the woman’s seed. Since Jesus was born of the virgin Mary, He fulfills this prophecy. However, Eve only had knowledge that she would bear the seed. God gave her no further information. For all she knew, her first child might have been this Seed God spoke of. Therefore, in Genesis 4:1, Eve says “I have acquired a man from the Lord.” The literal Hebrew translation of this verse is: “I have brought forth a man, the Lord.” Not only did she believe Cain was the fulfillment of this prophecy, she believed he was the Lord. This, she would soon find out, was not the case.

Genesis 12:1- Now the Lord had said to Abram: “Get out of your country from your family and from your father’s house, to a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.

This is the first instance of God’s promise to Abraham. It is very general and is conditional on Abraham’s obedience. Abraham must trust that God has spoken and that God will fulfill His promise. Abraham obeys. In Genesis 22:15, God reveals a little more to Abraham.

Genesis 22:15-18- Then the Angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time out of heaven, and said: “By Myself I have sworn, says the Lord, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son—blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your Seed shall possess the gate of His enemies. In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.

This passage is essential for understanding doctrine of the Seed. Let’s start by addressing translations. The above passage is taken from the New King James Version. I have altered the translation to match that of the Apostle Paul’s (Galatians 3:16). In verse 18, most translations say “descendants” or “offspring.” We miss a very important detail of the gospel when we use these words. Paul quotes this passage and uses the word “Seed.” He makes a very important point that we will address later. For now, suffice it to say, we must trust the Apostle Paul over our English Bible translators.

Let’s move on. God now reiterates His initial promise to Abraham. The blessing He promised will come “in his seed.” This is important because it is God who is using this language of seed. Not only that, but, as Paul teaches in Galatians, this Seed is one particular person, Christ or the Messiah.

One last note. God tells Abraham that He will multiply his seed as the stars in heaven and sands on the seashore. We can read into these two different kinds of seed: Heavenly seed and Earthly seed. We might say that the heavenly seed are those descendants of Abraham who spawn from the same faith that was accounted to him as righteousness (Gen 15:6). Or in other words, the saved. These are like the stars in heaven. There is also an earthly seed, or the sands on the seashore. This means the literal sons of Abraham; these are his descendants according to the flesh.

Psalm 2- Why do the nations rage? and the people plot a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against His Anointed, saying let us break Their bonds in pieces and cast away Their cords from us.” He who sits in the heavens shall laugh; the Lord shall hold them in derision. Then He shall speak to them in His wrath and distress them in His deep displeasure: “Yet I have set My King on My holy hill of Zion. I will declare the decree: the Lord has said to Me, ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You. Ask of Me, and I will give You the nations for Your inheritance, and the ends of the earth for Your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron; you shall dash, them to pieces like a potter’s vessel.’” Now therefore, be wise, O kings; be instructed, you judges of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and you perish in the way, when His wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him.

Psalm 2 is jam-packed with theology that will help us see that Jesus is the Son of God. Before we go very far, it is clear that David is not talking about himself. Verse 2 mentions the Lord and His Anointed, referring, of course, to Christ. The Psalm begins quoting God or He “who sits in the heavens,” laughing. Yet Verse 7, although maintaining authority to “decree,” quotes another. We know this because whoever is being quoted in verse 7 is quoting Him who was quoted in verse 6: the Lord. In verse 7, the Lord says “You are My Son.” We are admonished, or the kings and judges of the earth, to “kiss the Son, lest He be angry (v. 12).” We can conclude by Psalm 2 that God has begotten a Son and that that Son is God.

Psalm 16:8-11- I have set the Lord always before me; because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved. Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices; my flesh also will rest in hope. For You will not leave my soul in Sheol, nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption. You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

We can know elements of the gospel in the Old Testament as we can here. The key verse in this passage is verse 10. God does not allow His “Holy One” to see corruption nor does He leave His soul in the grave. This implies two very important teachings that are reiterated in the New Testament: 1) Christ was buried, and 2) Christ rose from the dead.

Psalm 110:1- The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool.”

Sound familiar? It should remind us of the promise God made to Abraham about His Seed possessing the gate of His enemies. It should also remind us of Psalm two where we read God speaking to Himself. This is a very good proof-text for the doctrine of the Trinity. “The Lord said to my Lord…” or God says to God. He is one God, yet He speaks to Himself implying two persons. Add the Holy Spirit and we can see that the Bible, even the Old Testament teaches “God in three persons, blessed Trinity,” as the hymn goes.

Proverbs 30:2-4 Surely I am more stupid than any man, and do not have the understanding of a man. I neither learned wisdom Nor have knowledge of the Holy One. Who has ascended into heaven, or descended? Who has gathered the wind in His fists? Who has bound the waters in a garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is His name, and what is His Son’s name, if you know?

That God has a Son is not an unusual concept in the Old Testament! Here, Agur somehow knows that God has a Son. This doctrine is not specific to the New Testament!

Isaiah 7:14- Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall cal His name Immanuel.

This passage should remind us of the first prophecy mention in the Bible concerning the “seed of the woman.” Though that prophecy does not imply the virgin birth, Isaiah 7:14 does coincide with Genesis 3:15. Remember, these are both Old Testament passages. The virgin birth is not a New Testament concept but, as we see here, originated in Old Testament prophesies.

Look at the name Immanuel. Your Bible probably has a footnote giving the literal meaning of this word which is “God With Us.” Now, is the Seed of the woman God? Eve thought so, Isaiah said so. Is the Seed of the woman the Son of God? Gabriel told Mary that He was (Luke 1:32, see also Matt. 1:18-25). As we have read in prior verses, namely Psalm 2, we can conclude that the Son of God is also God. Up until this point, we have uncovered nothing new or additional concerning these things. Though Old Testament man might not have called these prophesies the gospel, they were, nonetheless not new concepts. What is new is that through Mary, by the Holy Spirit, the Seed of the Woman is finally born and is given a name, Jesus.

We will discuss the Law and sacrificial system later, but whatever purpose they served, they did not nullify this promise given to Eve, Abraham, Israel, David, Mary or us.

Isaiah 9:6- For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

The child who is born in Luke 1 and Matthew 1 is the Child spoken of here. What is said of this Child? He is named or better yet, described. Among that description is “Mighty God” and “Everlasting Father.” Again, a child will be born and we will call Him “Everlasting Father?” Everlasting Father means God. The only way to make “sense” of this is to say that the Child is God. The Son is the Father, the baby is God.

Isaiah 53- Who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, and as a root out of dry ground. He has no form or comeliness; and when we see Him, there is no beauty that we should desire Him. He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.

Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him and by His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.

He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so He opened not His mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment, and who will declare His generation? For He was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgressions of My people He was stricken. And they made His grave with the wicked—But with the rich at His death, because He had done no violence, nor was any deceit in His mouth.

Yet is pleased the Lord to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. When You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand. He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied. By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many, for He shall bear their iniquities. Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great, and He shall divide the spoil with the strong, because He poured out His soul unto death, and He was numbered with the transgressors, and He bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

We did not get too in-depth with Isaiah 53 in our study. For our purposes, we cannot find a clearer presentation of the gospel in the Old Testament than we do here. Isaiah puts the “snake out on the table,” as Dr. Padelford might say. By the words of the prophet we have details of the Messiah’s work, what He accomplishes and how He accomplishes it.

Notice the use of the word “seed” in verse 10: “He shall see His seed.” Christ accomplishes the atonement for those who the Father Him; He says, “It is finished (John 19:30).” If we follow the gospel as outlined in 1 Corinthians 15, particularly vv. 5-6, we see that Christ indeed beheld His seed. As we will establish later, the true seed of Abraham are those who share his faith for Paul says: “…and if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” Are Abraham’s seed not ultimately Christ’s seed? Therefore, He “see[s] His seed.


Some of this doctrine of the Seed can be confusing or it might be uncomfortable for us to interpret the first few prophesies of the Seed as one seed and not many. Lest we come up with this stuff on our own, we have the Apostles to teach us. In Galatians 3:6, Paul teaches this very thing. To trust scripture, we must trust the Apostle’s teachings as well. “Check it out.” Remember; let the New Testament teach us what the Old Testament is saying.

Some of this material was actually covered in week two. The next blog will contain notes from that week where we left off here.