The Seed of Christ

This passage is puzzling. In verse 8 the Messiah is cut off from the land of the living. Cut off means more than just death. It means no children, no progeny; your blood line is cut off. Yet in verse 10, after he has been cut off and made an offering for sin, he sees his seed and prolongs his days.

Jesus Christ fulfilled this prophesy, his virgin birth playing a key role. To understand how this prophesy was fulfilled, we need to go back to the very beginning.

The Law of Genetics

^{Genesis 1:11}And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so. ¹² And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good. ²¹ And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good. ²⁴ And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so. ²⁵ And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and everything that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good. 

These verses are part of the familiar account of the creation story. From the beginning God established the principle that every living thing would have seed within itself, bringing forth fruit after their own kind. The way they were conceived would be the way they would conceive and reproduce.

Fulfilling the Prophesy

To show how Jesus fulfilled Isaiah’s prophesy, we need to understand how Jesus was conceived, the seed by which he was conceived, and how that seed allowed him to reproduce after his death. 

The Son of God

^{John 1:14} And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten <monogenace> of the Father,) full of grace and peace.

We see here that Jesus was conceived by God the Father – begotten means conceived. The Greek word for only begotten, monogenace, is made up of two parts: mono meaning only, and genace meaning generate, or conceive. Jesus was the only begotten of the Father.

We can look at this as an unrelated event, but if we see it in light of the New Covenant, the virgin birth takes on substantial significance.

The first act of the love the Father had for the Son, the one that brought him to earth, was when he conceived Jesus through Mary.

^{Luke 1:28}And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, [thou that art] highly favoured, the Lord [is] with thee: blessed [art] thou among women. ²⁹And when she saw [him,] she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. ³⁰And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. ³¹And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. ³²He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: ³³And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. ³⁴Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? ³⁵And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.

It is clear from this passage that the Holy Spirit was to be involved in this transaction of love. God, the Father, used Mary’s resources to conceive and give birth to Jesus, the Son of God.

If the model is accurate, Jesus would then love others the way he had been loved, conceiving others by the Holy Spirit.

The Incorruptible Seed

^{1 Peter 1:23} Being born again [anagennao], not of corruptible seed [spora], but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever. ²⁴For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: ²⁵But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.

Born again is the same Greek word that we saw in verse 3, same chapter. The phrase “born-again” is a familiar expression that is a little misleading. It would be clearer if it were translated the same as in verse 3, referring to conception, not birth. 

This passage identifies the seed by which we are conceived again. It is the word of the Lord. From the law of genetics we understand that Jesus must have also been conceived by the word of God. That is how the Word became flesh.

Jesus died without bearing physical children, but had he done so, he would have violated the principle that he would love one another as he had been loved. Since he was conceived from above, he would have to conceive others from above, through the Holy Spirit coming upon them. Doing so they would become his children, making them of the house of Israel and eligible for the promise of the New Covenant which was with the house of Israel.

Everyone who is conceived from above receives this love from Jesus, potentially through the resources of another. This love is referred to the first love; it is the initial entry of grace in your account, the first law written upon your heart. If you are I the kingdom of heaven, you have received this law. Not everyone receives the love of God without measure – we all receive different “gifts” – but this gift is universal to those who have entered the kingdom. That is why the great commission applies to us all; it is the first law written on our heart.

Jesus’ Children

^{1 Peter 1:3} Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again [anagennao] unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. 

The Greek word for begotten again is anagennao. It is made up of two words: ana meaning again, and gennao referring to conception. It is ambiguous as to who the subject of the verb is (begotten again). From the text it could be God, or it could be Jesus. However, since Jesus is the only begotten of the Father, we can rule out God. Jesus is the one who has begotten us again. This passage identifies the born-again Christians as the children of Jesus Christ. 

A New Nature

^{2 Peter 1:3} According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: ⁴ Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

There is a popular controversy about which is more influential in a person’s life, nature or nurture. Nature has to do with your genetics which determine your inherited capabilities and characteristics. Nurture has to do with your environment, your experiences.  

When you are born again, you get a new nature. This is not like a caterpillar becoming a butterfly, a transformation to a new phase of the same species. The new nature is a divine nature, as redefined by your new genetics. 

Here is where we travel into the realm of speculation. Is the new nature that of a new man, a spiritual man? Jesus was conceived by the word of God and he became flesh, not a spiritual being. What did his DNA look like? 

^{John 3:1} There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. ²The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God, for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him. ³Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born <gennao> again <anothen>, he cannot see the kingdom of God. ⁴Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born? ⁵Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit [pneuma], he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

The question that was on Nicodemus’ mind was the one Jesus answered. He wanted to know the nature of Jesus’ relationship with God. His response was designed to get Nicodemus to ask another question: How can a person be born again? This translation does not do the passage justice. Here, each time the word born is used it is referring to conception. And the word, again, is another, which means from above.

This next point is pure conjecture on my part. This is concerning being born of water and of the Spirit. The Greek word for spirit is pneuma, which is air, but often translated Spirit. When we were born the first time, we were born of water – the sperm travels through water to its destination. When we are born again, we are born of air – the incorruptible seed travels through air to reach our ears. When Jesus was conceived the Spirit overshadowed Mary. When we are born again, the Spirit is involved, so both air and the Spirit are involved. 

In Christ

^{2 Corinthians 5:17} Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

The expression, “in Christ” is another familiar expression whose meaning could stand clarification. Look at a passage that uses a similar construction.

^{Hebrews 7:9} And as I may so say, Levi also, who receiveth tithes, paid tithes in Abraham. ¹⁰ For he was yet in the loins of his father, when Melchisedec met him. 

This passage is clear about what it means to be “in Abraham.” Levi was in Abraham because he was in the loins of Abraham. Even though he was removed by three generations, Abraham being dead when Levi was born, the Bible says that Levi was in the loins of Abraham. 

Being in Christ means to be a descendent of Christ. We are in Christ because we were in his loins when he lived his life on this earth – hard to comprehend. 

The Hebrews passage is also interesting because it explains the benefits of being in Abraham. Levi, even though as a priest he was exempt from having to pay tithes, received credit for paying tithes because he was in Abraham when he paid tithes. 

^{Romans 7:1} Know ye not, brethren, (for I speak to them that know the law,) how that the law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth.

We are dead in Christ because we were in Christ when he died. And because we are dead in Christ we are free from the law. 

Loins of the Mind

We can see from the Hebrew passage that the central function of the loins is their role in the reproductive process: Loins are where the seed is held.

^{1 Peter 1:13} Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;

The seed of Christ, being the word of God, is held in the mind. The loins of the mind are where the seed of Christ is held. Peter is urging us to protect our mind from the evil one, to guard our minds so that we can be fruitful.

Reproduction in Christ

This takes us to our next concept: the ability to reproduce after our new “kind.” 

^{John 15:1} I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. ²Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. ³Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. ⁴Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. ⁵I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

We are clean through the word that was spoken to us. Being clean has to do with our new, divine nature. As we abide in his word, we are able to live a fruitful life, speaking to others, bringing them into new life in Christ. This is the fruitful life that God intended for us. Abiding has to do with meditating on God’s word, a necessary component of the maturing process.

If this concept seems strange, just remember how you felt the first time you learned about the facts of life. It seemed pretty far out. Why should this time be any different – it is no less a miracle.

The Virgin Birth

According to the law of genetics, had Jesus been born from human seed, the only way we could have been his children would have been by being his direct descendants. But because He was born of a virgin, conceived of the incorruptible seed, the word of God, we can become His children when we are born again by that same incorruptible seed, the word of God. 

Not everyone was lucky enough to be born into greatness. Not everyone has been given the chance to marry into greatness. But everyone is given the choice to be born again into everlasting greatness.

^{John 3:16} For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten [monogenes] son, that whosoever believeth in him should have everlasting life.