by Adi Schlebusch
It is sadly still a widely-held misconception that Jesus only comes to the fore of redemptive history with His incarnation in the New Testament. As second Person of the Trinity, He is of course uncreated and His existence eternal. When king Herod inquired as to where the Christ would be born, Matthew 2:4-5 tells us that the scribes appealed to the authority of the prophet Micah who stated that He would be born in Bethlehem. Micah 5:2 prophecies concerning the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem, and the text indeed describes Him as “a Ruler in Israel” who is “eternal.”
Jesus created the world along with the Father and the Holy Spirit. The reference to the triune nature of God is evident from the history of creation recorded in Genesis 1, where in verse 26 God says: “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness.” The plural “we” refers to the three persons of the Trinity: the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Christ is not only uncreated and eternal, but He created the universe in his sovereignty. Therefore, his Lordship over the universe is also emphasized throughout the Old Testament:
In Psalm 2:12 we read that every nation on earth is called to obedience unto Christ and that this obedience results in blessings and prosperity, while disobedience results in judgment. In Isaiah 9:5 we read that Christ rules as Prince of peace over all creation and in Daniel 2:44 we read that there will be no end to his rule and that his Lordship is eternal.
Rousas John Rushdoony has also pointed out that God’s demand for obedience to his law cannot be understood apart from the reality of Christ’s absolute Lordship: As our sovereign King He is also our sovereign Lawgiver.[1] This of course implies that disobedience to God’s Law amounts to disregarding Christ’s Lordship—something the saints of the Old Testament understood very clearly. After all, when the prophet Daniel refused to engage in idolatry, he expressly rooted his refusal in the divine Lordship of Jesus Christ:
I was watching in the night visions, and behold, One like the Son of Man, Coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought Him near before Him. Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom the one which shall not be destroyed.
Daniel 7:13-14
Christ, as Lawgiver and King, demands from us the same devotion and obedience as from Daniel. This devotion and obedience should inform, shape and structure all aspects of our lives and everything we do. The purpose of our very existence is, after all, to glorify God.
The author is a senior researcher at the Pactum Institute.
[1] Rushdoony, R.J. 1977. God’s Plan for Victory: The Meaning of Postmillennialism. Vallecito, CA: Ross House , 14-15.