Letters to the Church

The promises of God find their fulfillment in Jesus Christ. “ IN HIM ,” they find their “ yea ” and “ amen .” The things that were once “ hidden ” are revealed in the life, words, death, resurrection, and exaltation of the Son of God, the one in whom all the shadows and types prefigured in the Hebrew Bible are actualized. All God’s “ mysteries ” are laid bare for all men to see in the Nazarene, especially in his death and resurrection.

When certain “ super-apostles ” began undermining his authority, the Apostle Paul warned the Assembly in Corinth not to heed anyone who was “ proclaiming another Jesus, whom we did not preach, or a different spirit, or a different gospel .” Instead, Paul pointed to the same Jesus that he first proclaimed in the city, the “ Crucified Messiah .” He was the measuring rod against which all other messianic claimants and beliefs must be compared.

The  Gospel of Matthew  begins by declaring that Jesus is the “ son of Abraham .” This is more than a genealogical notation. It sets the stage for the theme of fulfillment in this gospel account. The lowly man from Nazareth is the Messiah and King of Israel, the promised “ Seed ” of the Patriarch. In him, all the covenant promises find their fulfillment. He is the true Seed of Abraham, the heir of the covenant promises, and the receipt of the inheritance is based on faith in him.