Solomon typifies the resurrected Christ. Just as Solomon built and completed the temple of God, Christ in resurrection also builds His church to be the dwelling place of God on earth (2 Sam. 7:13a; Matt. 16:18; Eph. 2:21-22). Solomon means “peaceful.” Solomon is the king of peace. He built the temple of God in a peaceful situation. This typifies Christ building up the dwelling place of God in peace. Ephesians 2:15-22 reveals that Christ in His flesh abolished the law of commandments in ordinances, so making peace, and that in peace He is building the Body of Christ. Hence, the word regarding the seed of David in 2 Samuel 7 clearly prophesies that the resurrected Christ in His humanity is the seed of David for building up of the church.
In 2 Samuel 7 Nathan not only prophesied that the resurrected Christ will build the church, God’s temple, but he also prophesied that Christ in His humanity as the seed of David will be the Son of God, and God will be His Father. This is what is said in Romans 1; in His humanity Christ was designated the Son of God through resurrection (vv. 3-4). We must see that the person of Christ has two aspects. This God-man, Christ, possesses both divinity and humanity; He is God, and He is also man. Divinity is divine, and humanity is human. According to His divinity, Christ was already the Son of God. But as the seed of David, Christ in His humanity was still human, because He had put on flesh (John 1:14). According to the flesh, in His humanity Christ was “in the likeness of the flesh of sin” (Rom. 8:3). Thus, when He was still in the flesh, even though His humanity was sinless and perfect, it was not yet the Son of God. This part needed to pass through death and resurrection to be designated the Son of God by the mighty power of resurrection. This is the process of being “sonized”; the perfectly sinless humanity of Christ was uplifted to the level of divinity through resurrection. Thus, this Christ who is the seed of David in His humanity became the Son of God, even in His humanity, through resurrection, to be the firstborn Son of God, possessing both divinity and humanity (v. 29).
The prophecy in 2 Samuel 7:14 is extremely important in the eternal economy of God. The prophetic word of Nathan, which says, “I will be his Father, and he will be My son,” was not merely fulfilled in Christ. It further unveils a more important matter, which is that a seed of man—a son of man—can become the Son of God. This implies that God’s intention is to make Himself man in order to make man God in life and in nature but not in the Godhead. This is the ultimate goal that Christ has accomplished and attained as the seed of David in His humanity.
Other prophets in the Old Testament, such as Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Zechariah, also prophesied concerning the humanity of Christ. Isaiah 11:1-2 says, “Then a sprout will come forth from the stump of Jesse, / And a branch from his roots will bear fruit. / And the Spirit of Jehovah will rest upon Him, / The Spirit of wisdom and understanding, / The Spirit of counsel and might, / The Spirit of knowledge and the fear of Jehovah.” Jeremiah 23:5-6 and 33:15 both say that Jehovah would raise up for the house of David “a righteous Shoot,” who would reign as King and act prudently and execute justice and righteousness in the land. His name would be called “Jehovah our righteousness” (v. 16). The prophet Zechariah also mentioned that Jehovah promised He would bring forth David’s shoot (Zech. 3:8). These prophecies indicate that Christ in His humanity is a branch of Jesse, the Shoot of David.
Isaiah prophesied that Christ in His humanity would be a sprout that came forth from the stump of Jesse—the last part of a cut trunk close to the roots (Isa. 11:1a). The royal family of David had been cut to the bottom. The whole trunk of David’s family had been cut close to the roots, leaving only a sprout from the stump. Christ was born out of the family of David as a sprout that grew into a new branch, the branch of Jesse.
Jeremiah and Zechariah prophesied that Christ in His humanity is the Shoot of David. A shoot is the sprout of a tree, especially a sprout of a tree that has been cut down. The royal house of David was like a great and flourishing tree, but because of the degradation of Solomon and the apostasy of his descendants, the tree was cut down, mainly by Nebuchadnezzar, leaving only a stump in the earth. Nevertheless, Christ in His humanity is the sprout growing out from that stump (Isa. 53:2), to become the Shoot of David. Hence, the birth of Christ is the Shoot of David—the fresh sprout—growing from the stump of the tree.