The Seed of the Spiritual Covenant

 

The Seed of the Spiritual Covenant

 

Luke 3:23 states, "Now Jesus himself was about thirty years old when he began his ministry. He was the son, so it was thought, of Joseph, the son of Heli..."

Joseph is mentioned in Matthew 1:18–19: "This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly." A "righteous" (or faithful) person is one who looks toward God’s covenant through faith; in the eyes of those around him, Joseph was a man of faith.

Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit. Since His Father was not a human being—but rather, He originated from heaven—He is the Son of God. Although He is the Son of God, He referred to Himself as the "Son of Man." A human being is one who carries a promise; the forebears of faith looked toward the Messiah, who is the "Seed of the promise."

Tracing the lineage back from Joseph, Luke 3:38 records: "...the son of Enosh, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God." This reveals that Adam, too, was born of God. The first man, Adam, was formed from the earth—which served as his "womb"—just as Jesus was born from the womb of Mary. The first man, Adam, passed on a body of sin to humanity, yet he also conveyed the covenant that a Messiah would come to deliver them from that body of sin. This was the promise concerning the "offspring of the woman," as stated in Genesis 3:15—a promise delivered to the children of faith. This lineage of faith was passed down, eventually reaching Joseph, the husband of Mary. Regarding Cain and Abel—the sons of Adam and Eve—Cain killed his younger brother Abel by stoning him over a matter concerning an offering; Cain himself did not belong to the lineage of faith but instead went on to establish a different people. Consequently, God provided another "seed"—Seth.

Genesis 4:25 states: "Adam made love to his wife again, and she gave birth to a son and named him Seth, saying, 'God has granted me another child in place of Abel, since Cain killed him.'" Abel symbolizes Jesus, who died on the cross, while this "other seed" represents the resurrected Christ—the seed of the covenant characterized by faith.

In Galatians 3:23–24, this faith is described as coming from heaven: "Before the coming of this faith, we were held in custody under the law, locked up until the faith that was to come would be revealed. So the law was our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith."

Galatians 3:26–27 speaks to the outcome of this faith: "So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ." All the figures of faith who came before looked toward the Messiah (Christ)—the seed of the covenant. This faith exists within Christ Jesus; ultimately, the phrase "in Christ Jesus" is inextricably linked to His death on the cross and His resurrection. It is to be united with Jesus Christ in His death on the cross and in His resurrection. The "garment of Christ" is the spiritual body that one dons when a dead spirit is brought back to life.

Before Jesus Christ came into the world, people held the belief that resurrection would occur after the death of the physical body. Hebrews 11:39–40 states: "And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us." While they looked toward the Messiah and held a hope for resurrection, they envisioned it as something to take place only after the death of the physical body, as the Messiah had not yet arrived in the world. However, through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ on the cross, a faith emerged in which this resurrection could be realized as an actual, present reality.

Hebrews 11:35 mentions: "Women received their dead raised to life again. Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection." The term "better resurrection" does not refer to a specific *type* of resurrection, but rather to a resurrection that is superior to the physical state. The word *autōn* (αὐτῶν) is a third-person feminine plural genitive, referring to the women themselves. The phrase *tous nekrous* (τοὺς νεκροὺς)—literally "the dead"—refers to the deaths of their family members, specifically their husbands. Grammatically, *tous* is masculine plural; thus, it suggests that during the early era of Christian persecution, some women perceived the martyrdom of their husbands in connection with the resurrection. Having already experienced resurrection, they no longer concerned themselves with death.

The resurrection of the Lord spontaneously gave rise to the community of the church; thus, believers in the early church were known as witnesses to the resurrection. The resurrection served as the decisive catalyst for the inception of Christianity. Yet, the early Christians faced persecution from both Judaism and the Roman regime, leading to numerous martyrdoms. The women of the early church, however, overcame the agonizing reality of such martyrdom through their faith in the resurrection. Even as they faced horrific physical death, they endured their circumstances sustained by the belief that they would live on in glorious, resurrected bodies. It was this faith that enabled them to withstand such intense suffering and persecution.

In the context of the spiritual covenant, Jesus Christ represents a seed whose outer shell—the physical body—perishes (through death on the cross), while the life within that seed germinates, ultimately taking on a heavenly form (resurrection). 1 Corinthians 15:39–44: "Not all flesh is the same: people have one kind of flesh, animals have another, birds another, and fish another. There are heavenly bodies and there are earthly bodies; but the glory of the heavenly is one, and the glory of the earthly is another. The sun has one kind of glory, the moon another, and the stars yet another—indeed, star differs from star in glory. So it is with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body (*sōma pneumatikon*). If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body."

The term translated here as "bodies" is *sōmata* (σώματα). It implies that both earthly and heavenly forms are transformed into a glorious state. Paul introduces the concepts of the "body" (*sōma*) and "flesh" (*sarx*) in an overlapping manner. He draws comparisons between a seed and a body, between the nature of humans and that of animals, and between these bodies and the celestial bodies—the sun, the moon, and the stars. Paul’s purpose in providing these various analogies is to show that, in order to approach God, one’s current body must be transformed into a glorious state (resurrection).

A "perishable body" refers to a "natural body"—a body governed by the soul (*psychē*), representing the "old man" or the "self"—which exists in a state of separation from God. Conversely, a "spiritual body"—one that lives in relationship with God following resurrection—is an imperishable body. Any body that lacks a relationship with God is, in essence, a "natural body" (a body governed by the soul). *Soma pneumatikon* does not refer to a "spiritual body" in the sense of a supernatural or ethereal form, but rather a "body of the spirit." *Psychikon*, which has been translated as a "natural body" (or "body of the flesh"), is actually a "body of the soul." The "body of the spirit" is the very body in which Jesus was resurrected—a body born of water and the Spirit. The "body of the soul" is the soulish body inherited from one's parents. This body must necessarily die, and one must be clothed with a new body from heaven. Thus, this new "body of the soul" is described as a "spiritual body."

1 Corinthians 15:45 states: "So it is written: 'The first man Adam became a living soul (*psychēn zōsan*);' the last Adam, a life-giving spirit." The term *psychēn zōsan* (ψυχὴν ζῶσαν) means a "living soul." This implies that in the first man, Adam, the spirit became trapped within the flesh—effectively dying—leaving only the soul. It is crucial to properly understand the distinction between the spirit and the soul. The soul inherited from one's parents (the "old man") acts like a garment stained by sin, which causes the spirit to die. Therefore, the "old man" must die, and one must receive and put on a new soul (the "new man") from heaven, so that the spirit may come to life.