Understanding Biblical Agency

“It is the glory of a king to search out a matter.” This surely applies to students of the Bible! There is definitely no shortage of “matters” to search out in scripture! We look for insights and principles to guide us whenever we can. A principle that I have recently begun to appreciate more fully is the notion of Biblical Agency. Here’s an interesting article on it offered by a fellow believer and student of scripture named Carlos Xavier. This may not answer every question about God and Christ but it is certainly a step in that direction. Here is Carlos’ recent (and slightly edited) article that was printed in the “Focus on the Kingdom” newsletter of March 2022.

New Testament Christology (by Carlos Xavier)

“Of the greatest importance to NT Christology.” This quote is from one of the top biblical scholars of the 20th century, G.B. Caird from his book The Language and Imagery of the Bible, 1988, p. 181. “So completely is the ideal Davidic king identified with the purposes of God that he can be dignified with the titles of God himself [e.g., Ps 45:6]. This practice of treating the agent as though he were the principal is of the greatest importance for New Testament Christology.”

Encyclopedia of the Jewish Religion

Regarding the word “agent” (Hebrew, Shaliach). “The main point of the Jewish law of agency is expressed in the dictum, a person’s agent is regarded as the person himself (Ned. 72B; Kidd, 41b). Therefore any act committed by a duly appointed agent is regarded as having been committed by the principal.” We find agency between people, ie. agents for other humans and also between divinity and humanity. Here are a few examples.

Gen. 43-44: The steward or servant of Joseph is treated by his brothers as Joseph himself.
Luke 7:6-10 The friends of the centurion speak as the centurion and are addressed by Jesus as the centurion himself. “The centurion sent friends to say to him saying “I do not deserve to have you come under my roof.” When Jesus heard this, he was amazed at him.”
John 3.22 says “Jesus was baptizing” but in the next chapter the same writer says “Jesus Himself was not baptizing, but His disciples were” (John 4.2)!
Deuteronomy 29 contains an example of agency between divinity and humanity. Moses speaks as God in the first person. (but clearly Moses never claimed to be God) “Moses summoned all Israel and said to them…. I have led you forty years in the wilderness. “You have not drunk wine or strong drink, that you may know that I am the LORD your God…You are standing today, all of you, before the LORD your God.” The Pulpit Commentary on v. 5: “Moses introduces Jehovah Himself as speaking to them.” Cambridge Bible for Schools & Colleges: “here the speaker’s personality is merged in that of the Deity.” It is clear that Moses and other Old Testament prophets were viewed as God’s agents.

Other Examples of Biblical Agency

Deuteronomy 31:3, “YHWH your God is the one who will pass before you….Joshua is the one who will pass before you.” (Joshua is treated as YHWH Himself) Joshua 24.1: “Joshua assembled all the tribes [and] they presented themselves before God.”
Ezekiel 37:24, “My servant David will be king over them. (King David identified with YHWH) And they will all have one shepherd.” Zechariah 14:9, “YHWH shall be king over the entire earth. And on that day He will be one and His name will be one.” Hosea 3:5, “Afterwards, the Israelites will return and seek Yehovah their God and David their king.”

New Testament Christology

In the New Testament, so completely is Jesus identified with His God and Father that the writers can use a so-called YHVH text from the OT and apply it to the Son without confusion. There are many of these well known usages of language that are not referring to some mysterious plurality of persons within the one God of Israel. For example Paul quotes Joel 2.32 in Rom. 10.13.

The IVP Bible Background Commentary New Testament, John 5:30.

“Jesus is thus a faithful shaliach, or agent; Jewish law taught that the man’s agent was as a man himself (backed by his full authority), to the extent that the agent faithfully represented him. Moses and the Old Testament prophets were viewed as God’s agents and often spoke for Him in the first person.” Note also that 4 of the 10 plagues performed by Aaron were said to have been performed by God.

Summary

Again, “much of the equivalence between Father and Son [in John] is phrased in language that stems from the Jewish concept that the one who is sent (shaliach) is completely the representative of the one who sends him. Because Jesus is an agent who is God’s own Son, John deepens the legal relationship of agent and sender to a relationship of likeness of nature, still not in philosophical terms, however.” And that’s according to the noted Catholic scholar Raymond Brown, The Gospel According to John, p. 632.

Lastly, Peder Borgen another scholar who Brown quotes as the expert on this topic adds: The saying in John 12:44 “He who believes in me, believes not in me but in Him who sent me” is a very close parallel to the saying by the king in a quotation from the Siphre (an ancient rabbinic text) The same idea, that dealing with the agent is the same as dealing with the sender himself, is found in all four gospels. [See Matt. 10:40; Matt. 18 : 5; Mark 9 : 37; Luke 9 : 48 and John 13:20] The essential message is that, “he who receives any one whom I send receives me; he who receives me receives Him who sent me.”

Carlos Xavier

PS: Many students of scripture understand this principle on an intuitive level. This essay by Carlos Xavier helps us see clearly on an intellectual level something we knew in our hearts to be true all along.

We See Through a Glass Darkly

Well here we are. Standing on the edge of eternity and peering into the pages of scripture looking for light and understanding. Our eyes strain to see God. We’re thankful that God has given us some understanding of the mystery of the Father and the Son, of God and His Christ. “We speak that we do know…” (John 3:11) Still, we confess that there is much we cannot see and much we do not understand. It’s not for lack of desire and it’s not for lack of study. It’s just that God has ordained that the time for seeing Him clearly, face to face, is not yet. It’s true that “we see through a glass darkly” but someday, some blessed day, that will change and we will finally see Him face to face! (I Corinthians 13:12)

No Flesh Shall See My Face and Live

Moses had some incredible experiences on his walk with God. He saw the waters of the Red Sea parted and Israel walk through the sea on dry land. He watched in the desert as God gave His people water flowing from a rock. Moses spoke with God “face to face as a man speaks with his friend” and then one day Moses pleaded with God saying, “Please, show me your glory!” (Exodus 33:18) God answered him by saying “no flesh shall see my face and live.” That wasn’t an angry threat, it was just a simple statement of fact. God put Moses in the cleft of a rock and then shielded him with His hand before passing by and showing Moses just a retreating glimpse of His glory. After seeing God’s glory Moses’ face shone so brightly he had to cover it with a veil!

The Unspeakable Light

There is something about the radiant outpouring of light from God’s glorious Being that flesh and blood cannot survive. Every solar eclipse brings a warning not to view it directly or risk permanent blindness. None of us could even hope to survive the intensity of light from a military laser or an atomic bomb. How much less could our mortal bodies endure the unspeakable light that shines from an infinitely powerful God? “Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto, whom no man hath seen nor can see…” (I Timothy 6:16)

We See Jesus

On the mount of transfiguration Jesus’ face “shone like the sun and his clothes became as white as the light.” (Matthew 17) On the road to Damascus the Apostle Paul saw a bright light from heaven and was blinded by the scales that formed on his eyes. (Acts (9:3-9) We aren’t in spiritual darkness any longer and “We see Jesus” (Hebrews 2:9) but our vision is still restricted by our mortality. Some glorious day, “We shall see Him as He is because we shall be like Him!” (I John 3:2) This mortal is going to put on immortality and these feeble eyes are going to see God at long last! And that, dear friend, is something to look forward to indeed.

God is Not a Man

“God is not a man that He should lie, neither the son of man that He should repent.” (Numbers 23:19). This plain spoken scripture actually contradicts some important dogmas about the trinity! (The church fathers insist that Jesus is God.) It contains a heretical thought and we wonder how trinitarian scholars have managed to ignore it for so long. What was the LORD thinking when He inspired these words? If God was a man this is exactly the kind of talk that would have gotten Him excommunicated! It seems to us God knew full well this verse wouldn’t harmonize with the doctrine of the trinity… but He included it in the scripture anyway.

Jesus Said “I Am a Man”

Jesus claimed to be a man. “I am a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God, but now you want to kill me.” (John 8:40) He told the truth when He said He was a man and He told the truth when He declared that His accusers wanted to kill Him. Jesus was born into the world like all men, but God is eternal and was never born. Christ was tempted like all men, but God cannot be tempted. Finally, Jesus died like all men but God cannot die. It’s clear in the scripture that Jesus claimed to be Christ, the Son of God, but he never claimed to be God Himself. The question we ask is this: Was Jesus God or was He a man?

By One Man’s Obedience

The Apostle Peter preached on the day of Pentecost and called Jesus “a man approved of God among you.” (Acts 2:22) The Apostle Paul declared “There is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” (I Timothy 2:5) In another place the Bible declares “By one man’s (Adam’s) disobedience many were made sinners, so by one man’s obedience many will be made righteous.” (Romans 5:19) It isn’t controversial to say that Jesus was a man, it is simply Biblical. What is truly controversial and unbiblical is the claim that Jesus was God! The overwhelming testimony of scripture is that Jesus was a man. He was one of us. The fact that Christ spoke and acted as only God could speak and act is easily explained by the doctrine of Biblical Agency.

No Man Has Seen God at Any Time

“No man has seen God at any time” (I John 4:12). “But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels…” (Hebrews 2:9) In Jesus we see “the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.” (Colossians 1:15) Jesus is the image of the invisible God but He is not God, He is the Son of God and men have seen Him. Wise men saw Him in Bethlehem’s manger. Doctors of the Law saw Him in Jerusalem’s temple and the people of Israel saw Him on Calvary’s cross. The Apostle John saw Jesus seated upon a throne at the right hand of God. Someday everyone will see Him and “every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:11)

PS: We confess that Jesus is the visibly human son of the invisible God. He was crucified, resurrected and glorified and now sits at the right hand of God. He is exalted above all creation and has a name above every name… yet for all that Jesus is a man and He is not God. This dear friend is the message of the Bible.

Consider the Lilies

God’s Creations Are Beautiful and Perfect

Consider what God creates and you’ll see that, “He has made everything beautiful in its time” (Ecclesiastes 3:11). When the world was created “God saw everything He had made and behold, it was very good” (Genesis 1:31). “Consider the lilies of the field… even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these” (Matthew 6:29). We are surrounded by an incredible amount of beauty that was bestowed upon us by the marvelous hand of God. We are blessed with sunrises and sunsets, blue skies and rainbows, birdsong and butterfly. The scents and colors of flowers, still waters in the moonlight and a night sky ablaze with stars… these things all belong to us! We look around us at God’s creation and see perfection. Incredible, beautiful and amazing perfection… because that’s how God does things.

Man’s Creations Are Flawed

When you consider what man creates it’s a different story altogether. We build concrete cities and highways lined with billboards. Instead of “dressing and keeping” this garden earth we have polluted and scarred it. Most of man’s creations are flawed, deeply flawed. We make weapons of war. Humanity has created a world marked by violence and crime, pollution, corruption, wars and greed. God knows we cause a lot of trouble and our fallen natures are the cause of untold misery and suffering. Look around at what mankind has created and you’ll see far more ugliness than beauty. Sadly enough, that’s just how humanity does things.

Scripture is Beautiful

When it comes to spiritual things we see the same pattern. God conveys beautiful truths in the revelation we call the Bible. Scripture speaks of God poetically and in strikingly powerful language. We know God as the Ancient of Days and the High and Lofty One who inhabits eternity. Our Father is the Alpha and Omega, The Creator, A Man of War and our Shepherd, Redeemer and Judge. He is Yahweh, the God of Israel and His Only Begotten Son Jesus Christ is our Messiah and Savior. The revelation of God and His Son in scripture is a work of divine artistry… beautiful, eternal and perfect! Scripture is beautiful because that’s how God does things.

Creeds Are Ugly

If you consider the “official” creeds of the church it’s easy to see just how ugly these man-breathed writings are in comparison to the lofty beauty of scripture. The heavens (and scripture) declare the glory of God and fill us with hope. Creeds are as dry and lifeless as a software manual and filled to the brim with human pride and threat. (The Athanasian Creed is a great example of this.) Part of the ugliness of creeds is all the violence and division they have caused within the Body of Christ. Sadly, that’s just how humanity does things.

Filthy Rags of Human Pride

Please remember this, “All our righteousness is as filthy rags.” The things men create (creeds) that pretend to be as authoritative as God’s Word are just filthy rags too and they will not save you. Reciting the creeds faithfully every Sunday won’t do you any good. People who heard Jesus speak said “No man ever spake like this man!” His words are Spirit and they are Life and only His words can give us beauty for ashes. All you will get from the trinitarian dogma of the creeds is ashes in exchange for the filthy rags of human pride and philosophy.

Let Beauty Be Your Inheritance

Let beauty be your inheritance and choose scripture instead of creeds. We know and believe that “God has made everything beautiful in its time” and someday He will “beautify the meek with salvation.” (Psalms 149:4) There is coming a time when everything will be made new and beautiful and when that happens we don’t think there will be a creed in sight.

Who Knows God?

Who knows God and who understands the mystery of God? Scripture teaches that God has a lot to say about who will know Him and who will not. Knowing God takes divine revelation and no one understands the mystery of God without God’s help. Jesus said, “No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and no one knows who the Father is except the Son, and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him.” (Luke 10:22) When Jesus asked “Whom do men say that I, the Son of Man am?” Peter answered “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God!” Jesus commended him and said “…flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 16:13-17). Scripture declares only the Son reveals the Father and only the Father reveals the Son.

The Eyes of Your Understanding

Preachers love to preach and writers love to write about the mystery of God and Christ but only God can give true understanding. Jesus taught, “No one can come to me unless the Father draws him…” (John 6:44) and again “No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). These few verses make it clear that coming to a knowledge of God and Christ takes divine help. We publish this website in hopes that “The eyes of your understanding may be opened…” (Ephesians 1:18) but realize that no one can open your eyes but God Himself. This whole business of knowing God and Christ depends on divine intervention.

It is a Great Gift to Know God

The scales that blinded the Apostle Paul’s eyes were put in place by God and then God Himself removed those scales. This faith of ours and our ability to hear it, understand it and believe it is not of ourselves it is a gift from God. “For by grace you are saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God.” (Ephesians 2:8). It is a great gift to know the true identity of the man Christ Jesus and it is a great gift to know God. Think of it as a pearl of great price because it truly is.

Blessed Are Your Eyes

Jesus had a lot to say about people who hear but don’t hear and see but don’t see. “But blessed are your eyes, for they see; and your ears for they hear” (Matthew 13:13-16). He still cries out in the marketplace today, “He that hath ears to hear, let him hear”. Jesus invites us to hear Him but His words have somehow gotten lost in the speculations of our learned philosophers and theologians. Nevertheless, the message of the Father and His only begotten Son still blazes on the pages of the holy book. If you want to truly understand the mystery of God and Christ just ask. God wants you to understand. “Ask and you will receive. Seek and you will find. Knock and it will be opened to you.” We think those are some pretty wonderful promises.