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Sovereign Grace Doctrine - Grounded In Biblical Truth | |
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| Concerning 'The Gospel' - Lord Jesus Christ | ||
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Sovereign Grace Doctrine - Grounded In Biblical Truth | |
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| Concerning 'The Gospel' - Lord Jesus Christ | ||
| Full Page Version |
CHRIST AS THE REDEEMING ANGEL
GENESIS 48:16
Good News From The Redeemer
Sermon by Pastor Daniel Parks
JANUARY 8, 2000 - RADIO MESSAGE #301
In Genesis 48:15f we read that Jacob extolled “the Angel who has redeemed me from all evil.” Jacob identified this Angel as “God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has fed me all my life long to this day.” Who is this Angel?
I. An angel is a messenger. Our English word is derived from the Greek angelos. It is generally used of the created order of angels, “ministering spirits” (Hebrews 1:14). But the Angel here extolled by Jacob is not of the created order because ...
II. This Angel is divine: “God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked.” This Angel is therefore Jehovah, “the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob” (Exodus 3:6,15,16; 4:5; Matthew 22:32; et.al.).
III. This Angel is the divine Shepherd: “the God who has fed me all my life long to this day” is literally “the God shepherding me.” Jacob therefore acknowledges this Angel as “Jehovah my Shepherd” (Psalm 23:1ff).
IV. This Angel is Jacob’s Kinsman-Redeemer: “the Angel who has redeemed me from all evil.” Here is found the first instance in Scripture of the Hebrew word gaal (pronounced gaw`al), kinsman-redeemer, “one who fulfills the obligation of the near-kinsman in redemption” (as in Leviticus 25:25,48f; Ruth 4:1-6). Jacob acknowledged this Angel as his Kinsman who had become His Redeemer “from all evil.” He redeemed Jacob from temporal evil when He caused him to prevail over all his foes (Genesis 32:22-28; Hosea 12:4). He redeemed Jacob from spiritual evil in the saving of his soul, in answer to Jacob’s prayer “I have waited for your salvation, O LORD” (Genesis 49:18).
V. This Angel is Christ! Christ is indeed an Angel, or Messenger. He is the “Angel of Jehovah” who often appeared in Old Testament times (e.g. Genesis 16:7ff; 22:11ff; Exodus 3:2ff), the “Angel of Jehovah’s Presence” (Isaiah 63:9), the “Angel of the New Covenant” (Malachi 3:1), and the Angel who bound Satan (Revelation 20:1f; cp. Matthew 12:27-29).
And Christ is indeed the Angel of whom Jacob here spoke. Everything Jacob spoke of this Angel is manifested in Christ -- and in Christ alone, to the exclusion of every other angel!
1. Christ is the divine Angel. He is the Creator of the created angels (Colossians 2:16; John 1:3). And He is “so much better than the angels” (Hebrews 1:4ff) because He is God’s Son (v.5), the object of their worship (v.6; cp. Psalm 97:7), and their Ruler (vv.7-13). He is co-equal and co-eternal with God His Father, for which reason “all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father” (John 5:23).
2. Christ is the divine Shepherd. When the saints quote Psalm 23 and extol “Jehovah ... my shepherd,” they speak of Christ. He is the “Good/Ideal Shepherd” (John 10:11), the “Great Shepherd” (Hebrews 13:20), the “Chief Shepherd” (1 Peter 5:4), and the “Shepherd of the saints’ souls” (1 Peter 2:25).
3. Christ is the saints’ Kinsman-Redeemer. His coming as such was foretold in Old Testament times. “‘The Redeemer will come to Zion, and to those who turn from transgression in Jacob,’ says the LORD” (Isaiah 59:20). “Thus says the LORD of hosts: ... ‘Their Redeemer is strong; the LORD of hosts is His name. He will thoroughly plead their case” (Jeremiah 50:34).
Christ fulfilled these prophecies in His incarnation, when “the Word became flesh” (John 1:14) and “God was manifested in the flesh” (1 Timothy 3:16). He did so in order to be “made like His brethren” -- their Near-Kinsman “in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people” (Hebrews 2:17). He has fulfilled His obligations as their Kinsman-Redeemer. They are therefore told “you were ... redeemed ... with the precious blood of Christ” (1 Peter 1:18f; cp. Galatians 3:13; Acts 20:28).
Christ has thereby become to all His people what He was to Jacob: “The Angel who has redeemed me from all evil.” Is He yours?
Your servant for Jesus' sake.
Address all questions to pastor
Daniel E. Parks (2 Corinthians 4:5) e-mail RedeemerBC@aol.com
Pastor, Redeemer Baptist Church
2801 Cleveland Boulevard, Louisville, KY 40206 / 502.899-9205
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