Psalm 102:13,16 Thou shalt arise, and have mercy upon Zion: for the time to favor her, yea, the set time, is come.
16 When the Lord shall build up Zion, He shall appear in His glory.
The psalmist says that God will arise and have mercy upon Zion. There will be a Zion-people! In the set time of the Lord He appears in glory and favors her. These Zion-people are the virgin people who become the Bride of Christ. We are going to begin this message in the first chapter of the Gospel of John and see how the Lord fulfills this prophecy. It is a mystical prophecy and we are in the beginnings of its fulfillment.
John 1:6-9 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.
7 The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through Him might believe.
8 He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.
9 That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.
The Lord Jesus Christ is the true Light! The fact that the Scriptures speak of Jesus as the true Light tells us that there is also a false light. The false light is antichrist. The Apostle John tells us there are already many antichrists (I John 2:18).
Jesus Christ is the true Light who enlightens every man coming into the world. Obviously, this is not talking about every man who comes into the natural world, for all people have not been enlightened by the true Light. This is speaking of the world of Christ. The true Light comes forth in every man coming into the world of Christ.
John 1:10 He was in the world, and the world became through Him, and the world knew Him not.
He was in the world and the world became through Him. We’re talking primarily of the world of Christ, that mystical eternal realm which is His life. There are those who are coming into the world of God, and they are entering His world through Christ.
He was in the world, and the world was becoming through Him, and the world knew Him not. The Lord is enlightening a people who did not know Him and is bringing them into His world. I am found of them that sought Me not: I said, Behold Me, behold Me, unto a nation that was not called by My name. Isaiah 65:1. But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people; that you should show forth the praises of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light: which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy. I Peter 2:9-10. The Light of His presence is coming, and those who are being enlightened by Him are entering His world. The Kingdom of heaven is at hand (Matthew 3:2; 4:17; 10:7). Can you see it? Are you aware of it? Many Christians are not aware of it. They say: Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. II Peter 3:4. The coming of the Lord, the coming of His Kingdom, and the coming of His chosen into His world is all the same, and Christians are constantly putting it into the future. They are not aware of the spiritual presence of the Lord and His Kingdom, for the Kingdom of God comes not with observation (Luke 17:20).
John 1:11 He came unto His own, and His own received Him not.
That is true historically and it is true now. Today He is coming to His own; that is, His presence is available for all who are His possession. All Christians belong to Him, but all Christians are not receiving Him. They are not all receiving the Light of His Presence. How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard Him. Hebrews 2:3.
John 1:12 As many as received Him, to them He gave power (or, the right) to become the sons of God….
This is not talking about the receiving of Him as in the sense of becoming a Christian. This is speaking of receiving the spiritual coming of His presence. It is then that you have the right to become the sons of God.
…even to them that believe into His name. Most translations render “believe on His name,” but “believing into His name” is the correct translation. Prepositions are important, so it is sometimes necessary to check the Greek. The Greek word eis means “into.” It has to do with motion from the outside to the inside. That is what “into” means. You are moving from the “out” to the “in”. It is one thing to believe on His name; it is quite another to believe into His name. You can believe on His name while He is apart from you. You could say, “I believe Jesus is the Christ,” but that doesn’t mean you are believing into His life. It is far better to believe “into” Him. Those who are believing into Him are becoming sons of God.
John 1:13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
Another important Greek word is ek. Are you familiar with ekklesia, the Greek word for church? It is made up of ek, which means “out of” and klesia, which means “called”. The church is the “called out” people. That little word ek is important. It means “out of” and that is the Greek word used in this verse. Which were born, not out of blood, nor out of the will of the flesh, nor out of the will of man, but out of God. So those who are becoming sons of God are coming into Him, and they are not born of blood or of the will of man. They are born of God! We are talking about a change of nature.
John 1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory… .
We’ve always understood that to only refer to Jesus Christ and it is referring to Jesus. He is the Word! He is the Word made flesh! It also has to be true for the Church, the many-membered Christ. If you keep this in context with what we have read here in these few verses, you will realize it is not limited to Him only, for we are also becoming the Word made flesh.
The Word was made flesh and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
One could say, “Well, the disciples beheld the Lord of glory.” But it is also talking about the Word becoming flesh in us, and we will behold His glory in one another. Paul talks about that in 2 Corinthians 5.
Let’s look at 2 Corinthians 5. You might see this in a little different light. How many times have you heard “if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature; old things are passed away and all things have become new”? That is usually related to the experience of becoming a Christian. Old things have passed away, they say, and all things have become new. Has it been your Christian experience that old things have passed away and all things have become new? A lot of things are new, a lot of things have passed away, but have all things passed away? Have all things become new?
2 Corinthians 5:16 Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we Him no more.
We have known Christ after the flesh. We saw Him walking around in those Gospels. We saw Him in Galilee, Capernaum, Jerusalem, and Judah. We saw Him in the flesh. We don’t see Him that way anymore. If you are still looking at the Lord as Jesus the Nazarene, then you need to begin seeing Him as the Lord of Glory. Paul said, “Though we have known Him after the flesh, we do not know Him that way anymore.”
2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if any man (be) in Christ, (he is) a new creation: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
Paul is not saying the individual has become a new creation, but Christ has become the new creation. The King James translators added the words in parenthesis. They are not in the original. Let’s read it again and leave out the words added.
Therefore if any man in Christ, a new creation, old things are passed away, behold all things have become new. Now Jesus Christ the Nazarene is one individual. Christ is one person until others are brought into Him, and then He is a new creation. He is a many-membered Christ. Paul talks about it in I Corinthians 12:12. For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. Christ became a new creation as people came forth in Him. He is not one individual anymore; He is a many-membered Christ. The new creation is the many-membered Christ. In Revelation 3:14 Jesus is called the beginning of the creation of God.
Psalm 102:13,16 Thou shalt arise, and have mercy upon Zion: for the time to favor her, yea, the set time, is come.
16 When the Lord shall build up Zion, He shall appear in His glory.
The set time to favor Zion is not a period of time on a time line; it is not a particular time in history. The set time is a realm of fulfillment. The Scriptures we read in the first chapter of John spoke of the light of the Lord’s presence coming forth in His people. His presence and life coming forth in them is the process of them becoming a new creation. He builds them up spiritually until He can appear in them in His glory. Then the time to favor her has come.
Copyright © 2004 by Henry DuBose