Foretold in prophecy by almost all the prophets of old is the Jesus of the Bible: Christ. Christ is a title, meaning“the Messiah,”or “the anointed one.”
I PETER 1:10-11
10 Of which salvation the prophets have inquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you:
11 Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.
Two dictionaries point to Christ as synonymous with Jesus of Nazareth: One is “An Introductory Dictionary of Theology and Religious Studies” by Orlando Espin (2007) and “A Dictionary of Jewish-Christian Relations” by Edward Prager (2005).
Prophetic Psalms and figures portrayed by the things of the law were fulfilled in the person of Jesus Christ.
LUKE 24:44
And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me.
“Me” talking here is Christ. All things concerning him that were written: 1) in the law of Moses, 2) in the prophets, and 3) in the psalms must be fulfilled. As such, He has an important role to play in the writing of these parts.
Actually, the paschal lamb being offered by the Israelites throughout the centuries before Christ is an antitype of Him. An antitype is something that corresponds to or is foreshadowed in a type.
I CORINTHIANS 5:7 (RSV)
Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our paschal lamb, has been sacrificed.
The Son of God who became Jesus Christ in the flesh existed from eternity with the Father.Notice the time element involved here: “before the world was.”
JOHN 17:5
And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.
When He was born in the flesh, the prophecy explicitly clarified His origin.
MICAH 5:2
But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.
He is called the "Son of God" because He was born of God - before anything else came into existence.
HEBREWS 1:4-5
4 Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.
5 For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son?
PSALMS 2:7
I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.
HEBREWS 5:5
So also Christ glorified not himself to be made a high priest; but he that said unto him, Thou art my Son, today have I begotten thee.
Everything was created in Him, through Him and for Him. Him here is Christ.
COLOSSIANS 1:16-19 (RSV)
16 for in him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or authorities--all things were created through him and for him.
17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
18 He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the first-born from the dead, that in everything he might be pre-eminent.
19 For in him all the fulness of God was pleased to dwell,
Christ is the power behind the creation of everything. For believers,Apostle Paul described Christ as the power and wisdom of God.
I CORINTHIANS 1:24
But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.
He is the force behind every work of the Father Almighty.
JOHN 1:2-3 (RSV)
2 He was in the beginning with God;
3 all things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made.
Jesus Christ, as the power of God, is the unseen worker in everything that the Father does! The Prophets and the Apostles preached and wrote with Christ being the unseen force that directed them, without which they can do nothing.
LUKE 11:49
Therefore also said the wisdom of God, I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they shall slay and persecute:
JOHN 15:5
I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
The truth is, the power or energy that moved the Apostles and the Prophets to preach and to write is the Lord Jesus Christ. Profoundly speaking, He is the author of the entire Holy Book!
What is written in the paper pages of the Holy Scriptures is really intended by the Lord Jesus Christ to be written in the four chambers of the human heart!
II CORINTHIANS 3:3 (NRSV)
and you show that you are a letter of Christ, prepared by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.
II CORINTHIANS 3:3
Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart.
Christ, the beloved Son of God, is the center of the scriptures. Yet, He is the most debased personage in the Scriptures!
I CORINTHIANS 2:6-8
6 Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to naught:
7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory:
8 Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
Christ is the Lord of glory.
JAMES 2:1
My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons.
He is the wisdom of God ordained before the creation of the world. The wisdom by which everything came into existence is the very wisdom that caused the writing of the entire Bible.
PSALMS 104:24
O LORD, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches.
Let us take an example of the wisdom that was caused by the Wisdom of God to be written in the Bible. Long before human science discovered the cell, the building block of living things, with the intricate universe of activities, information, and mysteries within it, the Bible tells us the difference between cells of humans, animals, birds, and fishes.
I CORINTHIANS 15:39
All flesh is not the same flesh: but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds.
It is wonderful to note recent discoveries about the DNA and the chromosomes in man as different from those in apes. This discovery proves the accuracy of the information given by the Wisdom of God in the Bible! Apes are different from man, belying the theory of evolution!
Science found DNA differences in human and chimp.
Long before the invention of the Hubble Space Telescope and modern knowledge in astronomy, the Bible carried an advanced record of things that at the time of the writing of the Scriptures is impossible for a man to fathom and understand!
I CORINTHIANS 15:41
There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory.
Notice that some stars are a million times brighter than the sun – allowing for the fact that God made the sun just right for the benefit of man and his needs.
The Bible even informs us of a fact written almost 3,000 years ago but understood only very recently by human science:the cause and the existence of black holes.
HEBREWS 1:10-12
10 And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands:
11 They shall perish; but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment;
12 And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail.
Stars do age and become decadent.When a star grows old and dies, a black hole is formed.It means God did not intend stars to remain forever. Stars are God’s handiwork and he “folds them up” when the time comes. The decay of a star involves a black hole forming.Here’s an artist’s rendering of black hole. ()
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is the United States government agency responsible for the civilian space program as well as aeronautics and aerospace research. Here’s its explanation about black hole.
These scientific discoveries prove the wisdom written in the Bible. These prove the accuracy of the Holy Scriptures. There is a purpose being worked out here on earth and someone is in charge.
Something accurate does not become inaccurate. Something accurate must not be tailored to pacify the conflicts popping up in the inquisitive human mind. But the friend asking these questions said:
" I, for one, have had to tailor my own beliefs to be able to survive the thousand questions that I have been asking myself over so many years.”