The Fatherhood of God in Christ High Priests and His Sons
By G.T. Haywood
The High Priest of the Old Testament was chosen of God. No man took that office unto himself. hut when God desired to establish a typical priesthood it was to be patterned after the heavenly priesthood. (Heb. 8:4,5.) And in His choice for that divine office He chose Aaron and his sons and appointed it to them for “a perpetual statute.” Thus the office of the High Priest became hereditary. (Ex. 28:1,2,3, 40-43; 29:9, 29, 30.)
No one was admitted into the priesthood but the sons or descendants of Aaron. The High Priest was always the father of those who entered into the priesthood and gained admittance into the sanctuary. (See Eli’s family degraded from the office. I Sam. 2:27-36.)
Now that Christ has become the High Priest, the priesthood also has been changed. For he is a “priest forever (everlasting) after the order of Melchizedek.” The priesthood no longer remains in the house of Aaron, but has been bestowed upon the house ofGod, whose house are we-the heavenly family. We are the “royal priesthood” (I Pet. 2:9) that minister in the true tabernacle, and are made unto our God kings and priests (Rev. 5:8).
The fact that we are the “royal priesthood” and Christ is the High Priest, proves conclusively that Christ Jesus is our Father. For the High Priest was always the father of those who partook of the priesthood. Moreover, Christ is a Priest forever (everlasting), hence He is our “Everlasting Father,” as so saith Isaiah the prophet. (Isa. 9:6).
There is but “one God and Father of all, who is above all” (Eph. 4:6), and speaking of Christ, John bore witness that He was the one who was “above all,” showing clearly that He who was “from above (and) is above all” is the “one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all,” (John 3:31.)
Our High Priest and Father has entered into that four square city alone, while we, His sons minister in His sanctuary, the Spirit-filled body of Christ. He entered by the door into the sanctuary at the River Jordan, when He was baptized in water and Spirit. After the Resurrection He went into the Holy of Holies, or heaven itself. On the day of Pentecost He came out in the person of the Holy Spirit and gave us “power to become the sons of God” that we might minister in the true sanctuary.) Acts 1:8; John 1:12.)
It was on the Isle of Patmos that John saw Christ clothed in His Priestly costume. It was there that Christ declared himself to be the Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last. (Comp. Isa. 44:6, with Rev. 1:8, 11, 17, 18.) Therefore He could easily say: “He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his GOD, and he shall be MY son,” because the High Priest was the Father of all that partook of the priesthood. (Rev. 21:7.)
For what other purpose did God so arrange the typical Priesthood after this manner if it were not to reveal the fact that the Fatherhood of God was to be found in Christ Jesus, the High Priest of the Royal Priesthood? All things written in the Law, Psalms and Prophets were concerning Him. (Luke 24.)
The Head of Christ Is God
There are only two great factors in the plan of the world’s redemption, and these are The Lord and His Church. The most important factors in the great drama of Creation were Man and Woman. The formation of man out of the dust of the ground and making him a living soul to afterwards enter into a “deep sleep” so that from his side is taken substance with which “builded” (Margin) the woman, was typical of the “Second Adam” entering into a “Deep sleep” on Calvary where from His side flowed a substance (blood and water) with which He “builds” His church. See Gen. 2:21, 22; John 20:34, Matt. 16:18.
The Lord Jesus Christ is the head of the church, which is his body. Eph. 1:22,23. The body is Christ. For as the body is one and hath many members, and all members of that one body, being many, are one body: SO ALSO IS CHRIST. I Cor. 12:12, 13. And we, the members are “by one Spirit baptized into one body” (and the body IS CHRIST). The way we get into this Christ, the Church, is by baptism. “For as many of you as have been baptized into CHRIST have put on Christ.” Gal. 3:27; John 3:5; Mark 16:16.
Unless we recognize the body of Christ on the earth we will fall into the great error that is coming upon the whole breadth of the land. When they shall say, “Lo here, and lo there is Christ,” we who acknowledge that we are in CHRIST will never be deceived by any person arising and saying, “I am Christ.” Matt. 24:5; 23, 24, 25, 26.
Christ in Person, Spirit and Mystery
Christ in person is our Lord Jesus Christ. Christ in mystery, is the Church. Eph. 3:3, 4; Col. 1:26; 4:3. Christ in Spirit is the Holy Ghost. Heb. 11:24, 26; I Cor. 10:14; I Pet. 1:10, 11, with II Pet. 1:20, 21. These are thoughts that need much consideration inthese days to preserve God’s people from error. Because of the lack of knowledge on these things many are being made to believe that there is no “personal coming” of the Lord Jesus Christ.
It is the Christ in person whom we are expecting to come again. Acts 1:11; I cor. 1:7; Phil. 3:20; Col. 3:4; I Thess. 2:19; 3:13; 4:15-16; II Thess. 2:1; Titus 2:13 I Pet. 1:16-18.
Christ in you the hope of glory we recognize to be the Holy Ghost, which is the Spirit of Truth. Jesus said that in the day when the Holy Ghost came “ye shall know that I am in my Father, ye in me, and I IN YOU.” John 14:6, 16,17, 18, 20; Col. 1:27.
But Christ the Church is the body of baptized believers, that is, Spirit-filled, according to John 3:5; Mark 16: 16-18; Acts 2:4; Rom. 6:3, 4; I Cor. 12:12, 13; Gal. 3:27.
Christ, The Church
The head of every man is Christ. Jesus Christ is the head, or leader, of every man. He is the perfect example, worthy to be followed. Christ, the Church, is the head of every man. No individual, or company of individuals is superior to Christ, the Church. As the head of every woman is the man, even so is Jesus the head of the Church. Col. 1:18. Since the Church is Christ (Col. 2:17) it can be clearly seen that Jesus, who is the head of Christ (the Church) is God.
Therefore, “The head of every man is Christ; and the head of every woman is the man; and the Head (Jesus) of Christ (the Church) is GOD.” I Cor. 11:3. Note Mat. 1:21-23. They shall call His name Immanuel, which being interpreted is, GOD with us.
When The Last Enemy Is Destroyed
That God is doing wonders in these last days is a thing that is most generally acknowledged by the whole religious world, no matter what their various beliefs may be. Even the ungodly of this world admit that the time of marvelous revelation of things unknown heretofore has come.
Not only are things being revealed to the scientific world, but also to the Church of God in which many of us are playing a particular part. We are told that “in Christ are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Col. 2:2,3). Men, by scientific research, are revealing to the world things that have been hidden for thousands of years, but God, through the Eternal Spirit, is making known to us the mysteries concerning Jesus Christ “which was kept secret since the world began.”
Many things have been written in the past concerning our illustrious Saviour, but not since the beloved apostle received his mysterious visions on the Isle of Patmos, has so great a flood of revelations of Jesus Christ been given to the sons of men as are being revealed by the Spirit of God in these closing days of the Gospel. Surely there has been set before us an “open door” which no man can shut. (Rev. 3:7, 11).
There are many who have written upon the subject of the Son “DELIVERING UP THE KINGDOM OF GOD,” “but there has always been something lacking. We had settled it in our hearts by the “things which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the Psalms” that Jesus was the God of Israel, but this expression in I Cor. 15:24-28 was not as clear to us as we desired it to be.
The perplexity began to lift when we noticed in Dan. 7:14 “that the dominion, which shall not pass away, and ***shall not be destroyed.” Also in Psalms and Hebrews it is said concerning the Son’s dominion, “Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever.” (Psa. 45:6, 7; Heb. 1:8.) The passages just mentioned apparently stood in open contradiction to that of first Corinthians. One says his kingdom shall be “everlasting,” “forever and ever,” while the other says it shall come to an end and be “delivered up to God.” Because of this apparent contradiction the best Bible Commentators have declared I Cor. 15:24 to be one of the most difficult passages in the Word of God. Their conclusion is that it is his “medatorial” position that He assumed for the suffering of death that shall come to end, which position he must hold until “the last enemy is destroyed” which is death (ver. 26). The seed of the woman (the Son of Man) must bruise the Serpent’s head. This will not be fully accomplished until the Judgment of the Great White Throne, at which time death and devil shall be cast into the lake of fire. Rev. 20:10,14.
When the “last enemy is destroyed” the Sonship that God assumed will come to its end. The full work of redemption will have been completed. It is after death is destroyed that God will be all and in all. Then turning to Rev. 21:4 we read that when “there shall be no more death” and God himself shall be with men and shall be their God we hear the voice of Jesus saying, “Behold I make all things new. Write for these words are true and faithful. It is done. I AM Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. He that overcometh shall inherit all things: and I WILL BE his GOD, and he SHALL be My Son.” (Compare Rev. 1:10-18 and 21:6,7. The Son in this manner only will deliver up the Kingdom of God, for he was God (John 1:1) is now (John 1:14; Tim. 3:16), and forever shall be. The Lord which is, which was, and which is to come, the ALMIGHTY. (Rev. 1:8).
On The Right Hand Of God
As there are many who are anxious to be enlightened, or to get an explanation of the scriptures concerning Jesus being “on the right hand” of God, since this present great message has come forth, we hereby set forth the meaning of the “right hand” according to the word.
When Rachel brought forth her last son, Jacob, his father, called him Benjamin, that is, “Son of my Right Hand.” Benjamin was Jacob’s “favorite” son, and became the head warrior tribe (Gen. 49:27) and he was the most “favored” among his brethren by Pharoah. (Gen. 45:22).
Of the two sons of Joseph, Ephraim received the “right hand” blessing, Jacob guiding his hand wittingly, and when it displeased Joseph and prompted him to remove his right hand to the head of Manasseh, Jacob refused and said,*** “truly his younger brother shall be greater than he,” ***and he set Ephraim before Manasseh, power and authority being given unto him. Gen. 48:13-20.
It was at the Red Sea that God’s “right hand” was made glorious power,”
and being favored God in this trying hour the children of Israel
recognized themselves as being on the right hand of the Most High.
Power and authority had been given unto them, and as a nation they were
destined to show forth, in a measure, the future glory of the Coming
Kingdom of Christ (Ex. 15:6).
In the Law it was understood that he who received the Right Hand blessing was eligible to exercise all authority over the possessions to which he has fallen heir. All things are given into his hands. In all cases it was the “first-born” who became his father’s right hand child, with the exceptions of the cases of Ephraim and Manasseh, Esau and Jacob, Joseph and Benjamin, and such like wherein God endeavored to show the transferring of his favor from the Jews (the first) to the Gentiles (the last).
When David was in trouble, he cried, “will the Lord cast off forever and will he be favorable no more? Is his mercy clean gone forever? Doth his promise fail forevermore? Then he said, “This is my infirmity: I will remember the years of the ‘right hand’ of the Most High.” Psa. 77:7-11. Here it can be plainly seen that the “right hand” of God is the “favor” of God. He would remember the years when he was favored of God; when he was in power and authority, and all his enemies had been subdued unto him. So it is with Christ.
He was God in the “likeness of men”; the Lord and Master in the “form of a servant;” The Everlasting Father “as a son;” the Eternal Spirit “manifest in flesh;” Divinity robed in “humanity;” the High and Lofty One in “humanity;” and in his humiliation His judgment was taken away, he was misjudged. They judged him to be a man speaking blasphemy against the Most High. Though they judged him cursed of God, yet he said, “Ye shall see the Son of man (this human form) sitting on the RIGHT HAND OF POWER, and coming in the clouds of heaven. ” (Mark 14:62). On the resurrection morning he arose from the earth as Almighty God, favored with “all power given unto Him both in heaven and in earth.” Matt. 28:18.
It is this truth that sent conviction to the hearts of Israel on the day of Pentecost, “Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted***God has made this Jesus***both Lord and Christ.” Acts 2:32-36. When Stephen saw Jesus “standing in the favor of God,” in defense of whom the Jews had put to death it was more than his enemies could bear, and they dragged him out to the city and stoned him to death. Acts 7:55-59.
To say that Christ is on the right hand of God does not mean that there is another human form like unto that of Jesus seated in heaven, but instead, it showed that the humanity of Jesus Christ (Son of Man) had been highly favored by God against whom he was accused of speaking blasphemy. What a rebuke! What a sting! Jesus of Nazareth, the blasphemer, the desecrater of the Sabbath, sitting on the right hand of God! Could it be possible? These are the things that confronted the Jews after the resurrection and those who testified to the truth of these things only inflamed the Jews with bitter hatred. Acts 7:55-60.
In reading the following scriptures, you will find that Jesus did not use the term “right hand of God” but instead, “the right hand of POWER.” Matt. 26:64; Mark 14:62; Luke 22:69. Moreover, it will be noticed that He also uses the term “Son of Man” (humanity), instead of “Son of God.” He was the Eternal Spirit’s right hand Man. (Jehovah’s fellow, Zech. 13:7).
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THE ABOVE MATERIAL WAS PUBLISHED BY APOSTOLIC BOOK PUBLISHERS, PORTLAND, OR., 1968, PAGES 51-62. THIS MATERIAL IS COPYRIGHTED AND MAY BE USED FOR STUDY & RESEARCH PURPOSES ONLY.
