The Reign That Ruins Rebellion (Psalm 2:7-9) | Worship Service

Deuteronomy 32 as a Call to Worship

Begin our service this morning with a call to worship from the book of Deuteronomy. In chapter 32 verses 1 to 4 it says. Give ear O heavens and let me speak and let the earth hear the words of my mouth let what I have learned drop as the rain my speech distill as the dew as the droplets of the fresh grass and as the showers on the earth.

For I proclaim the name of Yahweh ascribe greatness to our God the Rock. His work is perfect for all his ways are just a God of faithfulness and without injustice. Righteous and upright is he. Let's begin our service this morning this Reformation Sunday by singing.

Reformation song. Before we get to our scripture reading. Yep there we go just.

A couple of announcements before we get to our scripture reading. First up there's a Reformation night family night celebration coming up this week on October 31st. There'll be games here. It's kind of a family night if you want to bring your family here for games and snacks and popcorn and things of that nature check out to the bulletin for more information about that.

And then today is our potluck harvest dinner. So that's the reason why there's all this food here. And we invite you to join us for that afterwards which means that right after the service after we are dismissed we're gonna be setting up tables and chairs in here so we have a crew of guys who are going to do that and we will meet up here by the front of the stage after we're dismissed.

And if you're wondering am I on that crew only. If I talked with you this morning are you on that crew and you know who you are. So we'll meet up here. And then we would ask. It makes it really simple for setting up if everybody else gets out of this room so that we have access to take about 30 minutes to set up tables and chairs in here and then we'll call everybody back in before we before we eat.

So if everybody else could vacate this room with all of your accoutrements and the things that you came with that would be helpful and speeds it up for us for sure. And then while you're out in the foyer if you need room you can of course access the upstairs.

Go up there see what's new with the upstairs since you've been up there last time. And then also take the opportunity to buy the tickets to the Brenneman fundraiser concert and silent auction while you're out in the foyer those are available out there as well.

The Davidic Covenant and the Righteous King in Psalm 72

Turn now if you will please to Psalm 72 for the scripture. Reading Psalm 72 you will notice that the superscript says it is a psalm of Solomon not to be confused with the song of Solomon. That's something different.

A psalm of Solomon. And just to give you a little bit of a of a brief overview of what we're going to read here because it ties in today with our sermon from Psalm 2. Solomon being David's son was of course the and one of the intended recipients of the Davidic promise the Davidic Covenant in 2nd Samuel chapter 7 he took the throne after David died and became king over Israel.

And some of the stipulations of the Davidic Covenant of course fell to Solomon. But Solomon knew that he was not the ultimate fulfillment of that covenant that promised to David just as David would have known that he and Solomon were not going to be the ultimate fulfillment of that covenant.

So David and Solomon and the kings who took over after Solomon all looked forward to a king that was to come who would fulfill the stipulations of the Davidic Covenant and then fulfill the promises to the nation of Israel that that covenant promised.

And Psalm 72 expresses Solomon's wish for a righteous king. But of course it is looking forward to and anticipating that coming righteous king that was future to Solomon and is the establishment of this kingdom described here still future to us.

Psalm 72. Give the king your judgments. Oh God and your righteousness to the king's son. May he judge your people with righteousness and you're afflicted with justice. Let the mountains bring peace to the people and the hills in righteousness.

May he vindicate the afflicted of the people. Save the children of the needy and crush the oppressor. Let them fear you while the Sun endures. And as long as the moon throughout all generations may he come down like rain upon the mown grass like showers that water the earth in his days.

May the righteous flourish and abundance of peace till the moon is no more. May he also rule from sea to sea and from the river to the ends of the earth. Let the nomads of the desert bow before him and his enemies lick the dust.

But the kings of Tarshish and of the islands bring presents. The kings of Sheba and Seba offer gifts and let all kings bow down before him. All nations serve him. For he will deliver the needy when he cries for help the afflicted also and him who has no helper he will have compassion on the poor and needy.

And the lives of the needy he will save. He will rescue their life from oppression and violence and their blood will be precious in his sight. So may he live. And may the gold of Sheba be given to him.

And let them pray for him continually. Let them bless him all day long. May there be abundance of grain in the earth on top of the mountains. Its fruit will wave like the cedars of Lebanon. And may those from the city flourish like vegetation on the earth.

May his name endure forever. May his name increase as long as the sun shines and let men bless themselves by him. Let all nations call him blessed. Blessed be the Lord God the God of Israel who alone works wonders and blessed be his glorious name forever.

And may the whole earth be filled with his glory. Amen and amen. The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended and you can remain seated for the prayer. Let's pray our father. We do long as righteous men and women those redeemed by Christ for a day when righteousness will triumph and the truth will prevail over all lies.

And when Christ the King shall reign as is promised as has been covenanted we long for that day. We know that while we are here in this world behind this veil of tears that we are ruled by the wicked we are ruled by evil and sin is an ever-present reality.

We know that there is coming a day when Christ will take his throne and rule from Jerusalem. And the will of our God shall be done. And we will enjoy the prosperity and the peace that is promised even in resurrected form.

We will enjoy this creation before the new heavens and the new earth. And though we long for that now we pray that you would give us patience to endure here while we are here with an election coming upon us.

We pray for peace in this nation domestic tranquility and the peaceful transfer of power with a peaceful transition of power. We pray that that you would watch over this nation. We pray that your will would be done.

And that that which is most for the accomplishment of of your will in this world that which most will hasten the reign that we have read about here will transpire in this nation. And we pray that your people would be comforted and encouraged and strengthened and that we may rest in you and in your sovereignty and in your providence and you would give peace not only to our nation but also in the hearts of your people as we wait upon you and trust ourselves to you be honored and glorified.

We pray through the response of your people in these trying times these difficult times and be honored. We pray through our worship here today as we give our thoughts and attention to these matters may you be glorified in our hearts in our minds and through the lives of those who are yours who gladly obey the King of Kings.

In whose name we pray please stand and.

Let's sing together the glory of the cross.

Upon the perfect lamb who suffered bled and died. The wisdom of a sovereign God whose greatness will be shown when those who crucified your son rejoice around your throne and all the glory of righteousness was there revealed that that justifies ungodly men and calls a filthy clean a righteousness that proved to all your justice has been missatisfied.

Takes me like yours. Chapter 2 verses 9 to 11. It says therefore God also highly.

Exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord of God the Father.

Let's sing together Oh great God.

Oh great God I ask that you occupy my lowly heart Oh it all and reign supreme conquer every wreck let no vice or sin remain that resists your holy war. You have purchased me had no ears to hear did not know your love within had no taste for your son.

Psalm 2 and the Question of History's End

And now turn your Bibles please to Psalm 2.

Psalm 2 give me a moment to find that. And then we'll pray before we begin our study. Let's bow our heads our Father. We just would ask this morning that as we look upon the reality of Christ who is our King that you would use your word to shape and mold our hearts and our minds conform us to his image create within us a longing to be like him a longing to be with him.

And we pray that you would sanctify us through your truth for his sake for his glory. During our time here as we spend it in front of your word we pray in Christ's name Amen. So where is history going.

Where will all of this end up. That is something that we think about. Maybe occasionally and probably a little bit more often than normal when it comes to election time as we're strolling up upon that inevitable day with destiny here in a couple of weeks.

And even now if you've never given a moment's thought to that question or any kind of reflection to that question you do nevertheless have something that you believe about that where history is going and what the purpose of all of it is.

We tend to make life decisions and live in a way that reveals what we truly believe about the purpose of everything the direction that everything is heading. In other words all of us have a worldview that is to say a view of the world the cosmos and our place in it.

Everybody has a worldview. It may be a wrong worldview it may be an inadequate worldview. It may be a misinformed worldview but we all have them. A worldview is a collection of assumptions presuppositions and beliefs about the world and your place in it.

A collection of assumptions presuppositions and beliefs about the world and your place in it. And inevitably every worldview is going to seek to answer the question why am I here where am I going what am I doing here.

And what is the purpose of all of this. Now your worldview may be something that you adopted without question from the culture or from academia or from your parents or your family or your lifestyle your peer group or even a false religion.

But whether you have ever evaluated it or not you have some underlying assumptions and beliefs about the purpose of everything and where it is going. And generally speaking worldviews will fall into one of two different categories.

Either you believe that there is a purpose for everything that exists and everything that happens. Or you believe that there is no purpose behind everything that exists and everything that happens. It is purposeful intentional.

Or it is without purpose without intention without goal without aim without culmination. It's just we are all just aimlessly molecules in motion meat in motion. We're all meat puppets heading to an eventual grave to be digested by worms.

One of those two is your worldview. You either believe we have a purpose or you don't know. If there is no reason for anything then history is going nowhere. And it means that there is no directing purpose no goal no ultimate aim no culmination no plan that there is nothing and all is nothingness and it is all for nothing.

And listen if it is all for nothing then you are for nothing since you're part of the all that makes sense. And if you are for nothing since you're part of the all therefore you then have no purpose no consequence no intention.

There's nothing behind your existence. That means that everything you do and everything you are and everything you accomplish everything done by you everything done for you everything done to you is ultimately without purpose.

Without aim without goal it is meaningless purposelessness. And it is not difficult to see where that kind of a worldview consistently leads. It leads to nihilism and to despair and to utter hopelessness.

Now an atheist who believes that we're all just meat puppets molecules and motions and the results of random chance and natural collection of natural processes and chemicals. And atheists may try to ignore the implications of his worldview.

He may not like to live in consequence with his worldview as if that worldview were true. But he can't avoid the obvious that if there is no purpose to any of it then you are without purpose as well since you are part of the any of it which means that you have no aim.

But there is a purpose for everything. That's the other kind of worldview. There is a purpose for everything. And if there's a purpose then there is a purposer. If there is a goal then there is a goal setter.

If there is an aim and there is somebody who is shooting everything towards that aim. If there is design there must be a designer. If there's intentionality there must be one who has intended everything to turn out some way.

And I would suggest that not only is there someone who has established or created everything with a purpose that he is also moving all things towards the accomplishment of that purpose. If he has the power of the wisdom and the ability to speak all of this into existence then he also at the same time has all of the power and ability and intentionality to direct all things toward the purpose that he has established everything for meaning that he will accomplish that purpose.

And I would submit to you that that worldviews also fall into one of two categories in terms of purpose either the purpose can be known or it can't be known. And either the purpose has been revealed or it hasn't been revealed.

And I would suggest that the purpose of all things can be known and that it has been revealed by the one who has purposed all things for a purpose. I'm glad that Rick Warren didn't copyright the word purpose.

Otherwise I would have had to pay a king's ransom for royalties just for that introduction. But God is the one who himself has purposed all things that exist he has a purpose behind all of it. Isaiah 46 verses 9 and 10 says.

Remember the former things long past for I am God and there is no other I am God. And there is no one like me declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things which have not been done saying my purpose will be established and I will accomplish all my good pleasure.

Now it has pleased God the Father to place into the hands of his son the accomplishment of every purpose that he has in creating all things. Jesus Christ a second person of the Trinity directs all of creation toward its intended goal.

Hebrews 1 3 describing Christ as he is the radiance of God's glory in the exact representation of his nature. And he that is Christ upholds all things by the word of his power. That word upholds all things not only means that the Greek word not only means that he holds all things together keeping it from just dissolving in an instant but that he carries it along towards its intended goal.

He upholds it and directs it and brings it along on its predetermined course toward the goal that he has set for all of creation. Ultimately we would say that the glory of God is the overarching reason for everything that exists and anything that exists.

And one of the many ways in which that overarching goal of God's glory will be accomplished is the establishment of Yahweh's King upon Zion and his rule over all of the world. That is the goal and the ultimate destiny of all of creation.

The establishment of God's King and his rule over all of this world that is described in Psalm 2. Now it's all the way through Scripture. But our focus in the last couple of weeks and for today and next week is on Psalm 2.

We're working our way through this Psalm at a pace that is in keeping with its very convenient outline four sections of three verses each and we've divided that up over the last couple of weeks. We're continuing with that today.

I'm going to remind you of the outline thus far because it's such a good one. We're going to remind you of the outline thus far as we read our way through the Psalm. And then I'll remind you of what is to come next week.

So Psalm 2. Let's begin with verse 1. In Psalm 2 this describes Yahweh's promise to establish his king and his kingdom in spite of the vain opposition of earthly rulers. In verses 1 to 3 we see that the rebellion of the wicked is vain folly.

Look at verse 1. Why are the nations in an uproar. And the people's devising or meditating on a vain thing. The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against his anointed saying let us tear their fetters apart and cast away their cords from us.

Verse 1 it is a raging rebellion. Verse 2 it's a defiant rebellion. Verse 3 it is a lawless rebellion. Then in verses 4 through 6 we saw that the response of Yahweh is mocking fury. Verse 4 he who sits in the heavens laughs the Lord scoffs at them.

Then he will speak to them in his anger and terrify them in his fury saying. But as for me I have installed my king upon Zion my holy mountain. We saw last week that he holds rebels in derision. In verse 4 he terrifies rebels with divine wrath.

In verse 5 and he answers rebels with a decree in verse 6. Now in verses 7 to 9 we see that the reign of this king is with sovereign force. Verse 7 I will surely tell the decree of the Lord. He said to me you are my son today I have begotten.

You ask of me. And I will surely give the nations as your inheritance and the very ends of the earth as your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron. You shall shatter them like earthenware.

And in verses 10 through 12 we see that the refuge of the wise is this King's blessed favor. Verse 10. Now therefore Oh King show discernment take warning. Oh judges of the earth. Worship the Lord with reverence and rejoice with trembling.

Do homage to the son that he not become angry. And you perish in the way for his wrath may soon be kindled. How blessed are all who take refuge in him. Verses 7 to 9. Sorry. That's verses 10 through 12.

Now our passage today is verses 7 to 9 and we have seen that in each of these little groups of verses there is a different person that speaks. In verses 1 to 3 we have the world speaking the kings of the rulers of the nations they speak.

And in verse 3 they say of God and of his Christ. Let us tear their fetters apart and cast their cords from us. Then in verses 4 through 6 it is Yahweh or God the Father who speaks. And in verse 6 he says.

But as for me I have installed my king upon Zion my holy mountain. Now in verses 7 through 9 it is a different person that speaks. It is the son or the king who is installed upon Zion. That's the decree of verse 6.

In verses 7 to 9 we have that king speaking. He is the one who speaks in verses 7 to 9 and he retells what Yahweh has said to him in issuing this decree. So Yahweh gives the decree I have installed my king upon Zion.

Now in verses 7 to 9 the king speaks the one who is installed and he speaks on behalf of of himself and his right to rule describing his commission to rule his authority to rule. And he describes what Yahweh has said to him regarding the establishment of his kingdom in Zion.

Today we're looking at verses 7 to 9 we're going to see that the reign of this king is with sovereign force. That was our overarching idea. Verses 7 to 9 we're going to see three things regarding his rule.

First in verse 7 he rules as a son. He rules as a son. Then in verse 8 he rules as a steward. Ask of me and I will give the nations as your inheritance. And then in verse 9 he rules as a sovereign. He rules as a son as a steward and as a sovereign.

Those three things describe the rule of this Son of God. First he rules as a son. Verse 7. Let's read together Psalm 2 verse 7 again I will surely tell of the decree of the Lord. He said to me you are my son today I have begotten you.

Now verses 7 through 9 are all what Yahweh has said to this king. And in verse 7 he describes Yahweh describing describing this king as a son. Yahweh says to this one you are my son today I have begotten you.

So this is another person. It is the king the son speaking in verses 7 through 9 telling of his commission. Now ultimately the author of the psalm was David. Remember remember that we learned that the very first Sunday we were in Psalm 2 the author of the psalm is David.

And there was a sense in which David is describing something that was true of him as one whom God had chosen to sit upon the throne of the nation of Israel. There's a sense in which David is describing something that is true of him.

Yahweh in a sense called David a son. But there is also a sense in which verses 7 to 9 described things about this king that were not fulfilled by David that couldn't possibly describe David. David never ruled over all of the nations.

David was not a son of God in the sense that this king is a son. So David is the author is speaking on behalf of this king. But again as I mentioned before the scripture reading David's looking forward to one who would come who would ultimately fulfill verses 7 through 9 and would fulfill this entire psalm.

But David was not that king. The the symbol ism of a son is significant both in the Old Testament and in the New Testament. And of course we recognize places in the New Testament where Christ is called the Son of God.

There's Old Testament significance to that father-son analogy as well. I'm just going to give you a brief introduction to this. So you can see the way in which this would have described David and Solomon and others.

The language of father and son is used in the Davidic Covenant in 2nd Samuel chapter 7 where God appeared to David and made a promise to David that he would see one of David's descendants upon his throne and establish his kingdom forever and that the household of David would never come to an end it would be an everlasting kingdom.

And there's language in there that seems to describe Solomon. And there's language in that covenant that describes a king who had to have come after Solomon who would ultimately fulfill that covenant.

So while David and Solomon were foreshadowings of that or pictures of that coming king they weren't the fulfillment of entirely of that Davidic Covenant. 2nd Samuel chapter 7 verses 13 and 14 use the father-son analogy for this king of Israel.

Listen to what he says. The Lord says he shall build a house for my name and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be a father to him and he will be a son to me when he commits iniquity I will correct him with the rod of men and the strokes of the sons of men.

Now that of course is describing Solomon and Solomon's progeny who would come after him and take over as king over Israel. The king was one who ruled on behalf of God and so was regarded as a quote-unquote son using that term loosely.

He's not a divine son not of divine nature but a son of God in the sense that the king was given the rule over his theocratic kingdom and he was the one through whom Yahweh would rule the nation. That was the intention.

And so he is the son of Yahweh in that sense that the king functions as a mediator and as a designator designated one to rule the kingdom. But ultimately Solomon as well as every descendant of Solomon would fail to obey the terms of the government government covenant and to rule on God's behalf.

So one would have to come later on who would not fail to do what Solomon and every king after him failed to do. Second this father-son analogy is not just used to refer to the king of Israel but to Israel itself is called God's son.

Exodus chapter 4 verses 22 to 23. In the Exodus then you shall say to Pharaoh thus says the Lord Israel is my son my firstborn. So I said to you let my son go that he may serve me but you have refused to let him go.

Behold I will kill your son your firstborn. And of course Hosea chapter 11 verse 1 when Israel was a youth I loved him and out of Egypt I called my son. And you recognize that Hosea 11 1 is quoted by Matthew to speak of Christ to come later.

So there is in God's intention in in Hosea 11 a reference to Israel the nation as his son but of course also to one who would come later on who would not fail to do what Solomon did and would not fail to do what Israel did.

Israel was supposed to keep the terms of the covenant but they disobeyed and they failed to do what God commanded them to do so he disciplined them. And so then we wait for a king and one that Israel foreshadowed who is truly a divine son but he would not fail as Solomon failed and he would not fail as David failed.

And he would not fail as Israel failed. But instead he would keep all of God's Word and fulfill all of God's Word. And that of course is the Messiah God's anointed. That is also he is also called his son.

This is where we get this reference in verse 7 and in verse 12 you see it explicitly in verse 12 do homage to the son that he not become angry. It's a reference to the king who is here speaking of verses 7 to 9 the king whom Yahweh says he will install in verse 6 Israel failed to keep the covenant and obey God.

Solomon would fail to keep the covenant and obey God. But this coming king would not fail. In fact he would come and he would do all of Yahweh's will perfectly obeying the Father fulfilling the government covenant covenant not government covenant.

And do all of Yahweh's will being obedient to the very end and thus he will rule his people and his throne will be established forever. There are New Testament references that we are familiar with that alludes to this verse verse 6 of Psalm chapter 2 at the baptism and the transfiguration Matthew 3 and verse 7 and Matthew 17 where the father says of Christ this is my beloved son and whom I am well pleased.

That is an allusion back here to Psalm 2 specifically in a Hebrews chapter 1 and Hebrews chapter 5 this verse is quoted in Hebrews 1 to describe the sonship of Christ by his exaltation to the right hand of the father.

And in Hebrews chapter 5 to describe the priesthood and the mediation of Christ as a high priest and king. And then it is quoted by Paul in Acts chapter 13 referring to the resurrection of Christ. And look at that here in just a moment.

So it is often quoted in the New Testament and every time that it is it refers to Christ. So there's no doubt in the minds of any New Testament writer who it was that David was describing here. The term begotten in verse 7 is probably the most discussed verse or phrase of this entire psalm if not the entire Psalter.

Because the question comes down to what is the nature of this begottenness. Does this does the reference to Christ as the begotten Son of God indicate that there was a time when he was not and was created and came into being.

And the answer to that is no. That's not what begottenness means. Not in this context and not in any New Testament context where Christ is called the begotten Son of God. You're familiar with some of those references.

John 3 16. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life first. John chapter 4 verse 9. By this the love of God was manifested in us that God sent his only begotten Son into the world that we might live through him.

So the phrase only begotten Son is used of Christ in the New Testament. And every time that language is used of Christ it is hearkening back to Psalm chapter 2 where this begottenness is described here.

The word begotten especially the word that is used in the New Testament monogamous is not a word that describes a beginningness. It describes a relationship. It is a relationship not a beginningness. This is an eternal begottenness.

The begottenness describes the nature of Christ not his coming into being because Scripture overly over and over emphasizes that Christ has no beginning that as long as God has been God Christ has been the second person of the Trinity fully divine sharing the same essence in nature as the Father has and possesses.

The word begotten in the Greek means only or unique or singular and unique. It is a way of singling Christ out. He is a son in an entirely different way than any king of Israel was a son. He is a son and an entirely different way than Israel was a son.

And he is a son in an entirely different way than you and I are sons and daughters of God. We are sons of God by adoption. Christ is the Son of God by nature which is why when he claimed divine sonship of himself in the Gospels the Jews picked up stones to stone him.

And he asked them why do you pick up stones to stone me. Is it because of some good work that we have I have done. And they would answer him and say no. It is not because of anything that you have done but because you being a mere man make yourself out to be God that in response to his claim to be the Son of God because they understood that what Jesus was claiming was not to be the Son of God in the way Israel was or the David was but to be the Son of God in a unique sense.

And though they never would have stoned David for that claim because they understood what that would have meant for David they would stone Christ for that claim because they understood exactly what he was claiming to be to have a special relationship with the Father by which he shares the nature of the Father.

And this relationship between Father and Son and the Trinity has always existed. It is an eternal begottenness. John 1 1 says in the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God.

He was in the beginning with God all things came into being through him and without him nothing was made that was made nothing was created apart from him nothing came into being apart from him. He is the the creator of all things who spoke all things into existence.

And John 1 14 says that word became flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld his glory as of the only begotten of the Father full of grace and truth. So the divine one who has always existed in relationship with the Father there was a never a time when he was not.

He at a point in time took upon himself a real human nature stepped into time and space without ever ceasing to be God. He assumed true humanity and he lived and dwelt among us here. And John says that becoming of flesh we in that becoming of flesh we beheld his glory as of the only begotten of the Father.

And then later on four verses later in John chapter 1 John describes Jesus Christ as the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father. So since Christ is the word we could read John 1 verse 1 said this way in the beginning was Christ and Christ was with God and Christ was God.

He was in the beginning with God he is the eternal Son of God which is we have to admit something of a mystery because it is unlike anything else we have ever contemplated or thought of. This is why the Nicene Creed says that Christ is true God from true God begotten not made begotten not made begotten and eternal begottenness without a beginning.

There's no illustration of that. There's no analogy. I can't pull out some some meatball story and give it to sort of picture that it doesn't work like that there's it's unlike anything else we've ever seen or experienced.

We just have to apprehend what is true with our mind without fully comprehending it that this one can be with God. He is not the Father but he possesses fully the divine essence. And in that sense he is the God who is begotten and eternal begottenness without beginning now.

Paul quotes Psalm 2 verse 6 regarding the resurrection of Christ. In Acts chapter 13 Paul in preaching in Pisidian Antioch said this that God has fulfilled this promise to your children in that he raised up Jesus as it is also written in the second Psalm.

You are my son today I have begotten you. And there Paul calls the resurrection the fulfillment of that verse. How is it that the resurrection is the fulfillment of that verse. It is not as if he became the Son of God in resurrection but there is a sense in which he was declared to be the Son of God in resurrection.

And that's what Paul says in Romans chapter 1 verse 4 that he was declared the Son of God with power by resurrection from the dead according to the Spirit of holiness Jesus our Lord begotten as it were out of the grave his resurrection declares him and demonstrates him to be the eternal Son of God who was what he claimed to be.