"And we declare unto you glad tidings, how that the promise which was made to the fathers, God hath fulfilled the same unto us their children, in that, He hath raised up Jesus again; as it is also written in the second psalm, Thou art My Son, this day have I begotten thee."
Acts 13:32-33
Part 4
Yesterday: The Promise is Fulfilled with Jesus’ Resurrection
“God hath fulfilled the same unto us their children, in that he hath raised up Jesus again.”
The promise made to the Father and their children was fulfilled when Jesus rose from the dead! Our salvation has been purchased at a great price, and our Savior is victorious over sin, death, and the grave!
“As it is also written in the second psalm.”
These words validate Jesus as the “Son of God.”
Today: Jesus, the Father’s Son, is the Only Begotten Son of God!
As he preached, Paul is confirming Jesus’ identity by quoting Psalm 2:7.
“Thou art my Son.”
Yes, indeed, Jesus is God’s Son! He is the God-Man. His resurrection confirms and supports everything He ever told the Jews about himself. Jesus said, “Before Abraham was, I am” (John 8:58), and “I and my Father are one” (John 10:30-31). For which they wanted to stone Him! But when Jesus rose again from the dead, these statements and all others He made, were proven to be correct.
“Before time began, He was the only begotten Son of God, John 17:5. But His sonship was declared at His resurrection, Acts 13:30-37. The world is His, to be won by the Cross and intercession”[1] (F.B. Meyer).
Jesus Words and Works have proved His identity all along. His disciples finally got it after Peter tried walking on water, failed, and Jesus rescued him. In the boat, that morning, each of His disciples said, “Of a truth thou art the Son of God” (Matthew 14:33).
“This day have I begotten thee.”
The Father said, “have I begotten thee.”[2] We use the word “begotten” to mean parents who have produced a child. The child is “begotten” of them. In this phrase, Paul is using,
“begotten Thee = brought Thee to the birth, i.e., in resurrection”[3] (Bullinger).
As Paul is preaching, he mentions several passages of Old Testament scripture.
“He quotes Psalm 2:7, Isaiah 55:3, and Psalm 16:10. He makes unexpected use of the first of these quotations, teaching that it was fulfilled in the Resurrection. This sheds new light on death. It is not death but birth; not an ending but a beginning. Our Lord was the first-born from the dead. We say that a saint has died; angels say that he has been born”[4] (F.B. Meyer).
It is not death to fling
Aside this sinful dust,
And rise, on strong, exulting wing,
To live among the just.
Jesus, Thou Prince of life!
Thy chosen cannot die:
Like Thee, they conquer in the strife,
To reign with Thee on high.[5]
One last thought.
In Paul’s sermon that day in that synagogue in Antioch, he gave David perhaps the best epitaph possible in what he said about him,
“For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell on sleep, and was laid unto his fathers, and saw corruption” (Acts 13:36).
“Notice that great word about David…. He served God’s counsel, or purpose, in his own generation. That should be the supreme objective of our lives. Not to get on, or to make money, or to please ourselves, but to serve the will of God who sent us forth”[6] (F.B. Meyer).
Quote: Believers, may this simple truth be said about each of us when we have gone home to glory. He or she “Served their generation by doing the will of God!”
[1] F.B. Meyer. Through the Bible Day by Day, the electronic version in eSword. Psalm 2:7. The emphasis is mine.
[2] The Greek word here translated as “begotten” means, “of men who fathered children,… to be born, to be begotten, of women giving birth to children,…” and “metaphorically,… of God making Christ his son,… of God making men his sons through faith in Christ’s work” (Thayer). J.H. Thayer, Thayer’s Greek Definitions, the electronic version in eSword.
[3] Bullinger, ibid. Acts 13:33. His emphasis.
[4] F.B. Meyer. Ibid. Acts 13:33. The emphasis is mine.
[5] These are the fourth and fifth verses of “It Is Not Death to Die” by César Malan (1787-1864). Written in 1832. Translation: (1847) by George W. Bethune (1805-1861). Tune by Joseph E. Sweetser (1849). Copyright Status: Public Domain.
[6] Meyer, ibid. Acts 13:36. The emphasis is mine.