We have now come to the end of our Genesis to Revelation survey of the biblical evidence that there is one God, the Father, and one Lord, the man Jesus Christ, His Son. We have repeatedly made the point that the vivid and compelling view of Jesus thus portrayed greatly facilitates our ability to identify with him and to appreciate the majestic plan of God who sent him. Our minds reel at the immense love of both God and Christ to bring to pass our redemtpion. Our words fail, but the following passage says it best:
Romans 11:33-36(33) Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and His paths beyond tracing out! (34) Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor? (35) Who has ever given to God, that God should repay him? (36) For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen.
In concluding this section of this book, we ask you to consider, from the perspective of Jesus, what his life must have been like, and how that life brought such glory to his Father.
Born in a manger in Bethlehem, he grew up in Nazareth much like thousands of other Jewish boys. In the synagogue, the Temple and at home, Jesus heard the Old Testament Scriptures. What must it have been like for him in the moment that he first understood that he was the "promised seed" of genesis 3:15, the Messiah to Israel and the Redeemer of mankind? Apparently, this realization dawned on him before he was twelve years old, because, in answer to his parents' urgent questioning when they realized they had left him behind at the Temple in Jerusalem, he stated, "Did you not know that I must be about my Father's business?" Jesus understanding of his identity led to a corresponding understanding of his purpose in the fulfillment of God's original dream. Jesus came to realize that he, and he alone, could do what was necessary to bring to pass an everlasting family of God in Paradise.
Think of the focus he must have had in his heart through his teenage years when, no doubt, many of his peers were frittering away their time with trivial teenage pursuits. Think of how goal-oriented he must have been throughout his twenties, when many other Jewish young men were consumed in establishing their secular careers. Think of how he steeled his heart throughout his earthly ministry, beginning with the time when he was face to face with the Devil in the wilderness.
Think of his agony in the garden of Gethsemane when he was tempted to the limits of his endurance and asked his heavenly Father if there were any other way than the Cross to redeem mankind. Unlike the first man tempted in a garden (the first Adam), Jesus chose to obey his God. Think of his resolve when, after hearing from his Father that there was no other way than the Cross, he arose and walked forth to meet his executioners.
Think how God must have felt as he watched his only-begotten Son suffer at the hands of evil men. Think about God's fathomless love in sacrificing His Son for you. If you are a parent you know how you hurt when your child hurts. If it were possible, most parents would gladly take upon themselves the suffering of their children. It took far more love for God, whose love for His Son is beyond our comprehension, to watch Jesus suffer and die than it ever would have taken for God to somehow become a man, if that were even possible, and go through the suffering Himself.
Think of the pressure on Jesus as he was beaten and tortured beyond description and then nailed to the tree, realizing that the destiny of all maknkind was riding on his "going the distance" for his Father. Throughout his life, Jesus had built an unwavering trust in the Word of his heavenly Father. In entrusting the mission of the ages to His Son, God had "put all of His eggs in one basket." In essence, all the Old Testament prophecies of Christ's life, death, resurrection and exaltation comprised the "good reputation" God gave His Son to live up to. Because Jesus had genuine freedom of will, he could have made one big lie out of all the prophecies about him from Genesis 3:15 through Malachi. In the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus could have turned his back on his Father, just like the first Adam did when he was tempted.
No doubt the angels watched in horror and with bated breath as Jesus hung on the tree. Surely God was doing all He could to help His Son, yet at that point it was up to Jesus alone to be faithful unto death. The entire destiny of mankind was riding on the flesh-and-blood shoulders of the Man from Galilee. At exactly the right moment, when he had fulfilled all of the Word of God that he had hidden in his heart, Jesus breathed his last breath with the words, "It is finished," and gave up his most precious possession - his life, entrusting himself to God's promise of resurrection.
What a bittersweet moment that must have been for God and the heavenly host. How horrifying to see the Son of God die, and yet how scintillating to realize that the destiny of mankind was now in the hands of the Creator. There was no question that God Almigty would keep His Word and raise His Son from the dead. There was no question that God would then highly exalt him as Lord, upon whom those who so chose could believe and receive everlasting life. Because, by his free-will obedience, he died and was "planted" in the ground, the Promised Seed would one day bear much fruit after his kind.
The Church Epistles are the apex of God's revelation to mankind, setting forth the "all truth" of God's curriculum for those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. Each and every epistle begins with a greeting from "God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ," and they illustrate the oneness of God and His Son. As with the gift of holy spirit, which Jesus Christ received from his Father and first poured out to mankind on the Day of Pentecost, so Jesus received the revelatoin of the Church Epistles and gave it to the Apostle Paul (Gal 1:11 and 12). The Church Epistles are "the word of Christ" (Rom 10:17), as he received it from his heavenly Father.
In the Church Epistles, God describes Himself as "the Father of Jesus Christ." What an incredible illustration of God's humility, and also of how highly He reveres His Son and what he acomplished. How God beams with pride as He says, in essence, "I'm Jesus dad." How touched the Lord's heart must have been when he received from his Father this revelation now recorded in the Epistles. This must be the epitome of recognition for the Lord Jesus.
By making Jesus the genetic equal to the first Adam, God equipped His Son to be the Redeemer of mankind. It was Jesus, however, who had to choose to obey the written revelation of his Father, and he did. God then kept His Word and raised His Son from the grave. How can we ever adequately thank God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ for what they have done for us? Certainly, one way we can thank them is to pour out our lives in service to them day by day.
If you are a Christian, God and His Son have equipped you to walk the path of righeousness that Jesus Christ blazed. Via the gift of holy spirit, you have the divine nature of God. You can do the works that Jesus did, and greater works. As you do, know that you will be richly rewarded for these works at his appearing, after which you will live forever with him and all God's people in Paradise. All of this, and its unfathomable yet-to-be-made-known blessings, was made possible by one man, The Man who "became obedient to death, even death on a cross."
Philippians 2:9-11(9) Therefore God highly exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name that is above every name, (10) that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, (11) and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
When the testimony of Scripture is so profoundly clear about the identity of Jesus Christ, we must now examine how it became so radically altered in the historical development of orthodox Christian doctrine. How is it that the vast majority of Christians have believed something fundamentally unbiblical and unintelligible, and which effectively diminishes the accomplishments of the one they sincerely meant to exalt?
-- Excerpt from "One God & One Lord;
Reconsidering the Cornerstone
of the Christian Faith", pp 312-314
Reconsidering the Cornerstone
of the Christian Faith", pp 312-314
submitted by
Keith Dyer
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