Christ In the Old Testament

 Have you noticed how the “new age” preachers main talent seems to be in missing the point? I’ve heard these preachers referred to as the “skinny jean” group. A lot of times you can recognize them by their spiked hair and tattoos and their “sermons” will be accompanied by distractions like walking the stage back and forth with hypnotizing synthesizer music in the background. The older guys of the missing the point doctrines usually hold to traditional standing still and motivating with cliches and meaningless personal stories with a little humor. The NAR “New Apostolic Movement”.  movement is full of these people. Yes, the modern “Apostles” come from this movement.  Founded by C. Peter Wagner, the “Presiding Apostle”, self appointed of course. A few others you may have heard of is Rick Joyner, Chuck Pierce, Bob Jones(diseased) and Todd Bentley (kicked out because of sexual deviancy and immorality and adultery). One of my favorites is Todd White.  His favorite miracle to perform is to lengthen legs. He literally “pulls your leg”. It’s an old magician’s trick and would be hilarious if it wasn’t being pulled on the weak who need Christ.

When I watch these people I’m amazed at what they can find in the Old Testament scriptures and yet can never seem to find the point or the context.  For example Kenneth Copeland claims the original sin was neglecting the tithe. He claims Genesis 3 is about the tithe. He claims the first sin was over the tithe. He also claims the first murder was over the tithe. Of course a greedy prosperity preacher in the Word of Faith movement is going to find tithing in everything he or she can. They will claim the tithe belongs to God and since they are representatives of God they are to receive the tithe for Him. If you don’t tithe, you’re stealing just like Adam did.  Kenneth Copeland: The Tithing Deception - YouTube

Genesis chapter 3 is So Not about tithing. I watch these clips while I study but I have to admit they will make your head hurt and your ears bleed. No not literally, figuratively. And the figurative language and the typology in Genesis 3 and Adam in particular is going to be my first article on this topic of Christ in the Old Testament.

Typology is defined as;

 1: study of or analysis or classification based on types or categories

2: a doctrine of theological types

Typology is the term we use to know what the New Testament writers were referring to a type when they referenced an Old Testament passage or prophecy in an allegorical way. Types and shadows are prevalent throughout the Old Testament Bible and the New Testament Bible itself tells us this is so.  Colossians 2:16-17. And one of the first types is Adam. Romans 5:14 The scriptures teach us that Adam was a type of Christ. Through one man Adam sin entered the world separating us from God. Through one man Jesus righteousness came into the world to reconcile us to God. When we compare and contrast we can see the similarities and the differences between Adam and Christ. Sin and death entered the world through Adam. Righteousness entered the world through Jesus.  Romans 5:17. Adam being a type of Christ doesn’t mean the type is necessarily righteous. That’s why we contrast and compare. Adam is the anti-type to Christ as baptism is the anti-type to the flood. First Peter 3: 20 through 21. Adam sinned and brought sin and death into the world, the ani-type of Adam was Jesus who is sinless and brought life and righteousness into the world.

If Adam is a type could his wife Eve be a type also? If so, what is the true, or the anti-type? First of all where did Eve come from? Look at Genesis 2: 18 God said; “It was not good that man should be alone. I will make him a helper comparable to him.”  In verse 21 Adam caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam and God took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh. Then God made woman from the rib and God brought her to Adam and Adam said: This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.

How is Eve’s creation different from Adam’s? Remember Adam was formed from the dust of the earth and God breathed in his nostrils and he became a living being, chapter 2 verse 7.  How the two were created may or may not have a deeper meaning other than God created, but knowing the is a True to any Type I believe there is a shadow here that we might skip over and not think anything of it.  First let’s look at verse 24 before we go to the New Testament for a possible Type.

Genesis 2:24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.

Jesus sacrificed Himself for His bride the Church. Adam sacrificed his flesh and bone for his wife Eve. His flesh was necessary to create woman. Jesus flesh and blood was necessary to create His Church. Adam was to “Cling” to his wife. Cling in this context would mean to have a strong emotional dependance on each other for support. Jesus so loved the Church He gave His life for her because as in Genesis 2 God said it was not good that man should be alone. Likewise it would not be good for the true type, Jesus, to not have His wife, the Church. Eve needed Adam for her existence. We need Jesus for our existence.  Jesus as the creator doesn’t literally need us but He gave Himself for us and purchased us as if He did need us. Adam needed a helper so he gave his flesh and bone for his wife Eve. We needed a savior so Jesus gave Himself so we could have eternal life. They sinned but clung to each other. We sin but Jesus will cling to us if we cling to Him and confess our sins and repent.

Look at Ephesians 5 beginning at verse 22 and compare and contrast the marriage of Adam and Eve, and to all of us since the beginning, to Jesus and the Church. Paul writes that women submit to your husbands AS TO THE LORD. Let us not think wives submitting to the husband means just anything the man says goes. This is being written to Christians and it is already known husbands are not brutal and wives are not beasts of the field or slaves. The marriage of Adam and Eve is the type and now we know Christ and the Church is the True.  Verses 25 through 27 says this;

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her,

that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word,

that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.

Paul goes on to write about the husband will treat his wife as himself. Husbands will not mistreat his wife with abuse no more than he would himself. He writes in verse 28 and 29 that a man will treat his wife as himself just as Jesus will treat His Church by nourishing her and cherishing her. Then notice in verses 30 and 31 Paul quotes Genesis 2:23

For we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones. 

“For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.”

Paul then says this is a great mystery, but that he speaks concerning Christ and the Church. And says husbands love your wives and wives respect your husbands in verses 32 and 33.

I am going to stop here for today. But I plan to write several more pieces concerning Christ in the Old Testament. I have learned that we can see Christ and the Church in many books of the Old Testament even in places I had never considered before. The institution of marriage ordained by God Himself itself can be seen a type of Christ and the Church and we can see that going back to Adam and his wife Eve, just as Ephesians chapter 5 shows. When we see marriage through that prism, we can understand more clearly why adultery and sexual immorality is the sin Jesus gives permission for divorce. Matthew 5:32

There’s a lot yet to come on this and a lot of Biblical references concerning the shadows and types in the Old Testament pointing to Christ. We do have to make sure we’re not finding shadows that are not there and making things up such as Kenneth Copeland did in finding a way to make money off the first sin which he said was breaking the tithe when the tithe wasn’t even given in the law yet and certainly doesn’t apply to the Church since we do not have a tribe of Levi to support.