FORESIGHT OF THE MASTER PLANNER - IS JESUS MORE THAN MAN? Part III The Son of God

THE NATURE OF JESUS CHRIST

IS JESUS MORE THAN MAN? Part III The Son of God

Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God, (Which he had promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures,) Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh; And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead: By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name: Among whom are ye also the called of Jesus Christ: To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. (Romans 1:1-7)

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God”. .(John 1:1)

For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles. And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time (1 Corinthians 15:3-8)

In our last post we started our look at the second part of the first of three questions asked to see if Jesus is the “Saviour” and “liberator” of mankind; we looked at Jesus as the Son of (M)man: We have seen in previous posts how the term, Son of Man is used in the Bible to express different points (generally with reference to the weakness of humanity); some of these include; the ordinariness; the inherent physical, spiritual and moral weaknesses in humanity that lead to difficulty in resisting temptation or avoiding wrongdoing (character flaws). It is also used in the old testament to uniquely show characteristics of Jesus Christ as the Saviour Son in capital "S" and in the new to illustrate His genealogy (as a man); as we have also seen that The Son of God has no genealogy (John 1:1). But as the Son of man Christ does have a genealogy (Matt. 1:1-17; Luke 3:23-38).

In this post we shall be looking at the core of the hypostasis - or the essence or reality of the nature of Jesus Christ - the essential nature or reality of Jesus Christ, in which the divine and the human are believed to be combined in other words, we will take a look at common questions like; if He called Himself Son of man, how is He then able liberate man from sin? Or if God is Spirit, how can He have a Son? How is it possible for Him to be God and man at the same time? Is He the Son of God?

Son of God

"And unto the angel of the church in Thyatira write; These things saith the Son of God, who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire, and his feet are like fine brass" (Revelation 2:18).

In the days of the old testament God spoke through the prophets, who were men born through His Spirit (as seen in 2 Peter 1:21).

“God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high; Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they“ Hebrews 1:1-4

In the new testament He spoke through the Son; in the person of the Son. God had made the Son, God himself expressed:

“But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom“ (Hebrews 1:8)

“Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: the sceptre of thy kingdom is a right sceptre. Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness: therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows” (Psalms 45:6-7).

God the Father is hidden; God the Son is expressed. No one has ever seen God; the Son, as the Word of God (John1:1; Rev. 19:13) and the speaking of God has declared Him with the full expression, explanation and definition of Him:

“No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him” (John 1:18)

The Son is the centre of the eternal purpose of God. He is the essence or the brightness radiating from the Father’s Glory and the impress of The Father’s substance. John explains this further when He said:

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not” (John 1:15)

In creation, He is the means through which the universe is made; the power that upholds and bears all things; the heir appointed to inherit all things; in redemption He accomplished the purification of man’s sins and He is now sitting on the right side of God in the Heavens. Someone out there would ask - how is that possible? From God to man and then back to God? God and man at the same time? Why didn’t He stay as God to do all He wanted to do if He was really God? What was the need for all these? These is answered in what is called the “hypostatic union” because God in His infinite mercy decided to become man so as to save man.
GOTQUESTIONS.ORG describes the hypostatic union as:

“The hypostatic union is the term used to describe how God the Son, Jesus Christ, took on a human nature, yet remained fully God at the same time. Jesus always had been God (John 8:58, 10:30), but at the incarnation Jesus became a human being (John 1:14). The addition of the human nature to the divine nature is Jesus, the God-man. This is the hypostatic union, Jesus Christ, one Person, fully God and fully man.

Jesus' two natures, human and divine, are inseparable. Jesus will forever be the God-man, fully God and fully human, two distinct natures in one Person. Jesus' humanity and divinity are not mixed, but are united without loss of separate identity. Jesus sometimes operated with the limitations of humanity (John 4:6, 19:28) and other times in the power of His deity (John 11:43; Matthew 14:18-21). In both, Jesus' actions were from His one Person. Jesus had two natures, but only one personality.

The doctrine of the hypostatic union is an attempt to explain how Jesus could be both God and man at the same time. It is ultimately, though, a doctrine we are incapable of fully understanding. It is impossible for us to fully understand how God works. We, as human beings with finite minds, should not expect to totally comprehend an infinite God. Jesus is God’s Son in that He was conceived by the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:35). But that does not mean Jesus did not exist before He was conceived. Jesus has always existed (John 8:58, 10:30). When Jesus was conceived, He became a human being in addition to being God (John 1:1, 14).

Jesus is both God and man. Jesus has always been God, but He did not become a human being until He was conceived in Mary. Jesus became a human being in order to identify with us in our struggles (Hebrews 2:17) and, more importantly, so that He could die on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins (Philippians 2:5-11). In summary, the hypostatic union teaches that Jesus is both fully human and fully divine, that there is no mixture or dilution of either nature, and that He is one united Person, forever.”

"To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him?" (Isaiah 40:18)

"No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him" (John 1:18).

"Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature" (Colossians 1:15).

"Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen" (I Timothy 6:16).

"Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have" (Luke 24:39).

Now, to “Save” or “liberate” mankind, being the reason for this hypostatic union there has to be a connection between the spirit of man and God. In the old testament (and even today in our 21st century, as man tries to help himself in every other way apart from God), the type of propitiation was (and is) only able to cover sins; but the Son took away the sin (John 1:29) and accomplished the purification of sins once for all. So He sat down for ever (Hebrews 10:10,12)

Propitiation - This is Jesus meeting the demands of the Father, to appease His wrath, so that humanity could be redeemed to God (Man being reconciled to God). Thankfully, Jesus paid the price for our sins. Eternal life is a free gift, paid for by Christ’s own physical blood. This gift can only be received by faith alone in Christ. All you have to do is admit to God that you’re a guilty sinner and believe upon the name of Jesus for forgiveness.
 “To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins” (Acts 10:43).

So, as:

"God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth" (John 4:24).


                                                       

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Man is made up of BODY, SOUL, and SPIRIT; these three elements of man each have their own distinct level of supremacy; The spirit is highest in supremacy and the body is lowest, in other words, our SPIRIT, God-consciousness (as represented by the functions of our conscience, intuition and communion) This reconciliation with Godactually takes place through empowerment from God that takes place through The curtain (see Ex. 26:31-33; Mark 15:38; Heb. 9:8-14; 10:19-20). The curtain of the temple that separated the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place. The tearing of the curtain (like the Lord's physical body) when the Son of God was crucified at Calvary indicated that Christ, The Son of God had entered heaven itself for us so that we too may now enter God’s very presence. (See Eph. 1:20-23; 2: 4-7; 13-16; Col. 2:13-15; Rev. 1:18; Heb. 1:4; 2:9-10; 4:14 –16; 9:24). These curtain is the connection from God to the spirit of man.


SPIRIT OF MAN

The principle of conscious life; the vital principle in humans, animating the body or mediating between body and soul; Excellent disposition or attitude in terms of vigour, courage, firmness of intent, etc.; mettle: That's the spirit; The incorporeal part of humans: present in spirit though absent in body. Our spirit comprises of our:

Conscience:
The inner sense of what is right or wrong in one's conduct or motives, impelling one toward right action: to follow the dictates of conscience: The complex of ethical and moral principles that controls or inhibits the actions or thoughts of an individual: An inhibiting sense of what is prudent: I'd eat another piece of pie but my conscience would bother me: Knowledge shows what is right or wrong, but it is the conscience that approves of what is right and disapproves of what is contrary to it.
Compare with: Deut. 2:30; Psa. 34:18; Psa. 51:10; John 13:21; Acts 17:16; Rom. 8:16; 1 Cor. 5:3; 2 Cor. 2:13; 2 Tim. 1:7

Intuition:
Direct perception of truth, fact, etc., independent of any reasoning process; immediate apprehension: A fact, truth, etc., perceived in this way: A keen and quick insight: The quality or ability of having such direct perception or quick insight: An immediate cognition of an object not inferred or determined by a previous cognition of the same object; any object or truth so discerned; pure, untaught, non-inferential knowledge: The ability of the native speaker to make linguistic judgments, as of the grammaticality, ambiguity, equivalence, or non-equivalence of sentences, deriving from the speaker's native-language competence.
Compare with: Matt. 26:41; Mark 2:8; Mark 8:12; John 11:33; Acts 18:5; Acts 18:25; Acts 20:22; 1 Cor. 2:11; I Cor. 16:18; 2 Cor. 7:13

Communion:
Interchange or sharing of thoughts or emotions; intimate communication: communion with nature: The act of sharing, or holding in common; participation: Worship
Compare with: Luke 1:47; John 4:23; Rom. 1:9; Rom. 7:6; Rom. 8:15; Rom. 8:16; I Cor. 6:17; 1 Cor. 14:15; I Cor. 14:16; Rev. 21:10.

It is this curtain that connects man to God through His Son the Vine. We will be looking at this comprehensively in another post.

In the scheme of things regarding the “the eternal purpose of the Master planner” our almighty, all powerful God, His Son Jesus Christ have been and will be the centre of focus. In the Gospels of Christ who lived on the earth and on the cross for the accomplishment of redemption. Witness Lee, in his new testament commentaries outlines this focus for us:

In the acts of the Apostles is the resurrected and ascended Son of God propagated and ministered to the world. In Romans as we are now doing, is the Son of God, who is our righteousness for justification and our life for sanctification, transformation, glorification and building up. In Galatians is the Son of God who enables us to live a life that is versus the law, religions, traditions and forms. In Philippians is the Son of God who live out of His members. I Ephesians and Colossians is the Son of God who is the life, the content and the Head of the Body, the Church. In 1 and 2 Corinthians is the Son of God, who is everything in the practical Church life. In 1 and 2 Thessalonians is the Son of God, who is our holiness for His coming back. In 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus is the Son of God who is God’s economy, enabling us to know how to conduct ourselves in the house of God.

In Hebrews, He is the Son of God , the present Christ, who is now in the heavens as our Minister and our High Priest, ministering to us the heavenly life, grace, authority, power; and sustaining us to live a heavenly life on earth. He is the Son of God, Christ now, the Christ today, and the Christ on the throne in the heavens, who is our daily salvation and moment-by moment supply. In the Epistles of Peter is the Son of God, who enables us to take God’s governmental dealings administered through sufferings. In the Epistles of John is the Son of God who is the life and the fellowship of the children of God in God’s family. In Revelation is the Son of God, who is walking amongst the Churches in this age, ruling over the world in the coming age and expressing God in full glory in the new heaven and new earth for eternity.

Jesus during His ministry here on earth made statements that suggested and confirmed who He is; statements that pointed to Him as The Son of God, Some of these are:

“I and my Father are one.” (John 10:30).

“Believest thou not that I am IN THE FATHER, and the FATHER IN ME.? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works' sake.” (John 14:10-11).

“Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are” (John 17:11).

“Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; That they all may be ONE; as THOU, FATHER, ART IN ME, and I IN THEE, that they also may be ONE IN US: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be ONE, even as WE ARE ONE” (John 17:20-22).

His reaction to those who see Him as blaspheming by making these claims:

“If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken; Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God? If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not” (John 10:35-37; see also John 11:4)

There were those who (like is prevalent today) Challenged His claim of being the Son of God:

“And the high priest arose, and said unto him, Answerest thou nothing? what is it which these witness against thee? But Jesus held his peace, And the high priest answered and said unto him, I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God. Jesus saith unto him, Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven” (Matthew 26:62-64; see also Matth. 27:40,43; Luke 22:70; John 19:7)

Even before He came into this world as a man (His incarnation), Prophet Daniel saw this:

“Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonished, and rose up in haste, and spake, and said unto his counsellors, Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, O king. He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God. Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace, and spake, and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, ye servants of the most high God, come forth, and come hither. Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, came forth of the midst of the fire“ (Daniel 3:24-26).

The devil also acknowledged this in His bid to tempt Jesus before the start of His ministry:

“Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungered. And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread” (Matthew 4:1-3, 6; see also Luke 4:3,9)

God the Father also confirmed these statements:

“Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias. While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him. And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their face, and were sore afraid” (Matthew 17:4-6; see also Mark 9:6-8; Luke 9:34-36; 2 Peter 1:16-18).

Angel Gabriel confirmed to Jesus’ mother that her son would be the Son of God:

“Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? And 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. And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren” (Luke 1:34-36).

Even the unclean spirits know that He is the Son of God:

“And when he was come to the other side into the country of the Gergesenes, there met him two possessed with devils, coming out of the tombs, exceeding fierce, so that no man might pass by that way. And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time? And there was a good way off from them an herd of many swine feeding” (Matthew 8:28-30; see also Mark 3:11; Luke 8:28).

The testimonies of those who were close to Him confirmed it:

“The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God; As it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight” (Mark 1:1-3; see also John 1:34, 49; 1 John 5:20).

The testimonies of those who came in contact with the power inherent in His being the Son of God:

“And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased. Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God. And when they were gone over, they came into the land of Gennesaret” (Matthew 14:32-34; see also Luke 4:41; john 11:27).

Even at His death on the cross at Calvary, the centurion confirmed it:

“And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many. Now when the centurion, and they that were with him, watching Jesus, saw the earthquake, and those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying, Truly this was the Son of God. And many women were there beholding afar off, which followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering unto him” (Matthew 27:53-55; see also Mark 15:39).

The consequences of not believing in Him:

“For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil” (John 3:17-19; see also 1 John 5:10,12).

Gains for believing in Him:

“Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live. For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself” (John 5:24-26).

“And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name” (John 20:30-31; see also Romans 1:4; Galatians 2:20; Hebrews 4:14; 1 John 3:8; 4:15; 5:5,13).

Consequences of Knowing Him and then Falling away (Backsliding):

“And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame. For the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, receiveth blessing from God” (Hebrews 6:5-7; see also 10:28-30)

If you believe; what next?

“And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized? And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him” (Acts 8:36-38; see also 2 Corinthians 1:19; Ephesians 4:12-14).

In our next post we shall be looking at the Question -   IS JESUS EQUAL WITH GOD ? meanwhile:

Prayer:

Our Father, we pray as we bow before this blessed One, Your blessed son, that the eyes of our understanding may be opened, that we may realise that here is One who stands supreme in the midst of those thousands and tens of thousands in Revelation who cry, "Worthy is the Lamb to be praised, to receive honour and glory and blessing. Worthy is this One who is slain and is dead, and is alive, and lives forevermore." “Your Son, who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire, and his feet are like fine brass” We thank you for this revelation, and pray that our hearts may echo these words, "Lord, here am l; I am nothing but a human being, nothing but a man, a woman, a boy, a girl, but Lord, here I am. Take me. Send me. Use me." In Jesus name, Amen.

You might (still) say – "how do I; and Why do I have to know and experience this Jesus you are going on about" Here is why, when and how you can get to know Him.

Admit your spiritual need.

We all are sinners: nobody likes that title “SINNER”, but the bible says in Romans 3:23 that “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God”.

What is the result of sin?

In Romans 6:23 we read “The wages of sin is death…” in other words, every sin is another step towards death. One thing that we need to remember is that God never sends anyone to hell; one can send himself there by rejecting the truth.

Since we can never measure up to God’s standards by our own strength; God has reached out to mankind.

John 3:16-17. In Romans 5:8 we read, “God demonstrates His own love towards us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us”. It is Jesus, after all, who is the source of life and light.

What must a person do to accept this gift?

Simply receive it! Matthew 11:28 states – “come to me, all you who labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me…for my yoke is easy and my burden is light”.

Revelation 3:20 says, “Behold I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with me” Jesus stands at the door of your heart and knocks, seeking entrance into your life to give you peace, change you for the best. John 1:12 says: “For as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become the children of God”.

If you haven't already received Christ as your Saviour, don't put it off another day! Take time right now to invite Him into your life. Confess your sins. Receive His forgiveness and the gift of eternal life. You might pray something like this:

Dear Jesus, I know that I am a sinner in need of a Saviour. Thank You for dying on the cross for my sins. Thank You for giving me eternal life. Help me to live my life in a way that pleases You, for whatever time You give me here on earth. I look forward to living forever in Heaven with You. Amen.

FORESIGHT OF THE MASTER PLANNER - First Begotten Son is God Part 3

THE NATURE OF JESUS CHRIST

IS JESUS MORE THAN MAN? Part II The Son of man

Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God, (Which he had promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures,) Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh; And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead: By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name: Among whom are ye also the called of Jesus Christ: To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. (Romans 1:1-7)

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God”. .

In our last post we concluded that If Melchizedek who is “but made like unto the Son of God;” is “Without father, without mother, without descent,” (human father and mother are inferred here) Being eternal, The Son of God has no genealogy (John 1:1). But as the Son of man Christ does have a genealogy (Matt. 1:1-17; Luke 3:23-38). In this post we shall be looking at the second part this first of three questions asked to see if Jesus is the “Saviour” and “liberator” of mankind - in other words take a look at common questions like; if He called Himself Son of man, how is He then able liberate man from sin? Or if God is Spirit, how can He have a Son?

Son of Man

GENEALOGY OF JESUS CHRIST (Human)

"The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. Abraham begat Isaac; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat Judas and his brethren; And Judas begat Phares and Zara of Thamar; and Phares begat Esrom; and Esrom begat Aram; And Aram begat Aminadab; and Aminadab begat Naasson; and Naasson begat Salmon; And Salmon begat Booz of Rachab; and Booz begat Obed of Ruth; and Obed begat Jesse; And Jesse begat David the king; and David the king begat Solomon of her that had been the wife of Urias; And Solomon begat Roboam; and Roboam begat Abia; and Abia begat Asa; And Asa begat Josaphat; and Josaphat begat Joram; and Joram begat Ozias; And Ozias begat Joatham; and Joatham begat Achaz; and Achaz begat Ezekias; And Ezekias begat Manasses; and Manasses begat Amon; and Amon begat Josias; And Josias begat Jechonias and his brethren, about the time they were carried away to Babylon: And after they were brought to Babylon, Jechonias begat Salathiel; and Salathiel begat Zorobabel; And Zorobabel begat Abiud; and Abiud begat Eliakim; and Eliakim begat Azor; And Azor begat Sadoc; and Sadoc begat Achim; and Achim begat Eliud; And Eliud begat Eleazar; and Eleazar begat Matthan; and Matthan begat Jacob; And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ. So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David until the carrying away into Babylon are fourteen generations; and from the carrying away into Babylon unto Christ are fourteen generations. Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost” (Matthew 1:1-18).

The term, Son of Man is used in the Bible to express different points (generally with reference to the weakness of humanity); some of these are:

The ordinariness; the inherent physical, spiritual and moral weaknesses in humanity that leads to difficulty in resisting temptation or avoiding wrongdoing (character flaws).

“What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?” (Psalms 8:4).

“Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help. His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish. Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the LORD his God.” (Psalms 146:3-5; see also Job 25:6; Psalm144:3; Isaiah 51:12 etc)

It is used 93 times in the old testament probably to remind prophet Ezekiel of his own frailties.

“And it came to pass at the end of seven days, that the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me. When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand“ (Ezekiel 3:16-18).

The phrase Son of Man is used in the old testament to uniquely show characteristics of Jesus Christ as the Saviour Son in capial "S":

“I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.“ (Daniel 7:13-14; see also Psalm 80:17).

In the new testament, The phrase Son of Man is used 43 times and uniquely show the characteristics of Jesus Christ as the Saviour.

Firstly the use of this phrase in the new testament concerning lord Jesus illustrates His humanity and God’s infinite wisdom with regards His (Jesus’) incarnation in the project that is to deliver, save or liberate man from sin.

Incarnation is the manifestation of God or a god's or spirit's appearance in human form.

“Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage“ (Hebrews 2:14, 15).

To further illustrate these two perspectives of Jesus as “Son if man; It is recorded that even after His death and resurrection, Jesus showed Himself to the people around him

“And they rose up the same hour, and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven gathered together, and them that were with them, Saying, The Lord is risen indeed, and hath appeared to Simon. And they told what things were done in the way, and how he was known of them in breaking of bread. And as they thus spake, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a spirit. And he said unto them, Why are ye troubled? and why do thoughts arise in your hearts? Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have. And when he had thus spoken, he shewed them his hands and his feet” (Luke 24:33-40).

It is for this reason that John commanded that we should test every spirit and the one test suggested is:

“Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world” (1 John 4:1-3).

Another instance of the phrase Son of man being used in the Bible was when He was called the Son of David:

The Messiah being the “Saviour“ or “Liberator“ “the Anointed One”.
King David like other kings, prophets and priests of his days, (see 1 Samuel 10:1; Exodus 40:15; Leviticus 21:10; 2 Kings 19:16) was anointed to be the saviour of the Children of Israel. And:

David testifies of Jesus being “Anointed”

“Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: the sceptre of thy kingdom is a right sceptre. Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness: therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows” (Psalms:45:6,7; see also Hebrews 1:8-10).

As prophet Isaiah puts it, Jesus like David in the office of the office of the Prophet:

“The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified” (Isaiah 61:1-3; see also Luke 4:18)

David also testifies of the superiority of Jesus as a priest - “the original, superior Priest”

"The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool. The LORD shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion: rule thou in the midst of thine enemies. Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power, in the beauties of holiness from the womb of the morning: thou hast the dew of thy youth. The LORD hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek" (Psalms 110:1-4).

At this point I would like to make one or two statements about our modern day evangelistic crusades; it is now a common phenomenon that a lot of these crusades are preceded by high power expensive advertising (and sometimes heavy marketing) and who do we see on these bill boards, postal or TV and radio adverts? The preacher (or in most cases these days, the motivational speaker). Wouldn’t it be better to have (instead of the preacher), the image of JESUS on this postal and advertisements, so that the people are prepared for who they are going there to meet when they come to these crusades.

Now, in our introduction to THE NATURE OF JESUS CHRIST We touched on the fact that:

one would have thought that the public debate in Israel during the days of Jesus Christ on earth (may be their “Question Time” as we have it here in England) would have been focused on most of the verses of the Torah that touched on the prophecies about the coming messiah; as there was so much agitation for the messiah that would save them from Roman oppression. While they waited in anticipation for this “emperor-like” fellow to show up, they must have neglected the faithfulness of the God of their Father Abraham, in bringing to pass some of these prophecies while Jesus was among them. If they had marked the fulfilment of each prophecy as it came to pass, they would have been led to thank and praise God for being true to His word, hence this colossal unbelief (that marvelled even Jesus Christ Himself) wouldn’t have set in.

“And he could there do no mighty work, save that he laid his hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them"

One could be led to think that these few sick folks that got healed could have believed but still have some doubts, because the passage tells us that unbelief was the cause of Him not doing mighty works in their midst. Not to forget that this was as I said earlier, a time that the Jews were going through oppression from the Romans and were eagerly anticipating the arrival of this ‘messiah’. These religious leaders, in instigating the people against Him, instead of actually pointing the people to what the Torah says about the coming messiah and leaving the people to make their own judgements with regards to who He really is; have a share in the blame for the people’s unbelief . As unbelief is a sin, they should have heeded Jesus' warning:

“AND [Jesus] said to His disciples, Temptations (snares, traps set to entice to sin) are sure to come, but woe to him by or through whom they come! It would be more profitable for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were hurled into the sea than that he should cause to sin or be a snare to one of these little ones [[a]lowly in rank or influence]”. Luke 17:1-2 (Amp)

Then something happened in the next chapter of Luke’s Gospel:

“And it came to pass, that as he was come nigh unto Jericho, a certain blind man sat by the way side begging: And hearing the multitude pass by, he asked what it meant. And they told him, that Jesus of Nazareth passeth by. And he cried, saying, Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me. And they which went before rebuked him, that he should hold his peace: but he cried so much the more, Thou Son of David, have mercy on me. And Jesus stood, and commanded him to be brought unto him: and when he was come near, he asked him, Saying, What wilt thou that I shall do unto thee? And he said, Lord, that I may receive my sight. And Jesus said unto him, Receive thy sight: thy faith hath saved thee. And immediately he received his sight, and followed him, glorifying God: and all the people, when they saw it, gave praise unto God“ (Luke 18:35-43).

Mark actually tells us the name of this blind man:

“And they came to Jericho: and as he went out of Jericho with his disciples and a great number of people, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the highway side begging” (Mark 10:46).

Blind Bartimaeus must have been one exception to these doubting believers. In this gathering around Jesus on this day (just like at any crusade we could have today) would be people who had different reasons to be there ; The Pharisees and Sadducees would be there (with their stones in their pockets) in case the opportunity arises for them to stone Him (Jesus) to death for blasphemy; the party guys would be there in case He declares an endless buffet like He had done with the fish and bread, you know - the guy who fed five thousand people in the desert (prosperity hunters); His disciples whom He had only just rebuked for inordinate concern with position and respectability; those who have heard of His profile as “just the son of Joseph the carpenter” and have come "just" to curiously see “how He does it“; and also there were people like blind Bartimaeus, who although is blind may not have seen (the equivalent in their days) of TV adverts; the poor, may not be able to afford (the equivalent in their days) of a radio - generally cut off from the mainstream of the society but in one way or the other must have heard, gotten hold of and continuously meditated on some verses of the torah like:

“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counseller, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this” (Isaiah 9:6,7).

He might also have been meditating on:

“The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified” (Isaiah 61:1-3; see also Luke 4:18; see also).

And who is in the best position to make this claim of restoration in Zion?

"The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool. The LORD shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion: rule thou in the midst of thine enemies. Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power, in the beauties of holiness from the womb of the morning: thou hast the dew of thy youth. The LORD hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek" (Psalms 110:1-4).

JESUS

While He (Blind Bartimaeus) must have listened to many of preachers or teachers in his days and this time out of Curiosity,

“And hearing the multitude pass by, he asked what it meant. And they told him, that Jesus of Nazareth passeth by“.

It must be said that this crowd that were around Him (Jesus) must known Him for His human name which is attached to His works, be it compassion (Matthew 9:36); great teachings (Matthews chapters 5-7) etc which gave them great relieve from the tyranny of the Pharisees and Sadducees (who were at the beck and call of the Roman oppressors); But blind Bartimaeus, must have seen with the eyes of his heart beyond the human name “Jesus” into the eternal weight that name carries - he must have seen Him (Jesus) as David saw Him in Psalms 110:1-4 and also as prophet Isaiah did:

"Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed? For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken. And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth. Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors" (Isaiah 53:1-12).

Then he was able with the deepest convictions to see Jesus as the:

“Saviour“ or “Liberator“ and “the Anointed One” - The Son of David

The crowd especially the ones that had told Him to shut up would have been so astonished at Jesus reaction to their silencing of Blind Bartimaeus; because just has they have failed to see beyond Jesus the man (human), they have also failed to see the deep spirituality that motivated Blind Bartimaeus to express Jesus as the Son of David, thus holding Him in the position of the Messiah.

So, just as today, so many know Jesus of Nazareth as the miracle worker, great preacher but have been denied or are denying themselves the opportunity of that life-saving faith that comes from seeing Him as “Christ Crucified” How rewarding can it be if we can live  our lives:
“Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God“ (Hebrews 12:2)

In our next post we will be looking at the last part of IS JESUS MORE THAN MAN? The Son of God. meanwhile


Prayer:

Our Father, we thank you for the truth in this mighty declaration that Jesus Christ is indeed Lord, that you have exalted him and give him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. We pray that any who have never come to know this One as Lord may now open their life and cry out to him as these men and women in His time did: "What shall we do?" and hear this delivering word to repent and to believe, and thus receive the promised Spirit, who is available to all. We thank you in Jesus' name, Amen.

Prayer by Ray Stedman

You might say – "how do I; and Why do I have to know and experience this Jesus you are going on about" Here is why, when and how you can get to know Him.

Admit your spiritual need.

We all are sinners: nobody likes that title “SINNER”, but the bible says in Romans 3:23 that “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God”.

What is the result of sin?

In Romans 6:23 we read “The wages of sin is death…” in other words, every sin is another step towards death. One thing that we need to remember is that God never sends anyone to hell; one can send himself there by rejecting the truth.


Since we can never measure up to God’s standards by our own strength; God has reached out to mankind.

John 3:16-17. In Romans 5:8 we read, “God demonstrates His own love towards us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us”. It is Jesus, after all, who is the source of life and light.

What must a person do to accept this gift?

Simply receive it! Matthew 11:28 states – “come to me, all you who labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me…for my yoke is easy and my burden is light”.

Revelation 3:20 says, “Behold I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with me” Jesus stands at the door of your heart and knocks, seeking entrance into your life to give you peace, change you for the best. John 1:12 says: “For as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become the children of God”.

If you haven't already received Christ as your Saviour, don't put it off another day! Take time right now to invite Him into your life. Confess your sins. Receive His forgiveness and the gift of eternal life. You might pray something like this:

Dear Jesus, I know that I am a sinner in need of a Savior. Thank You for dying on the cross for my sins. Thank You for giving me eternal life. Help me to live my life in a way that pleases You, for whatever time You give me here on earth. I look forward to living forever in Heaven with You. Amen.

FORESIGHT OF THE MASTER PLANNER - First Begotten Son is God Part 3

THE NATURE OF JESUS CHRIST 

 IS JESUS MORE THAN MAN? (Part 1)

 Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God, (Which he had promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures,) Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh; And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead: By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name: Among whom are ye also the called of Jesus Christ: To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. (Romans 1:1-7)“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God”.


In our last post we saw what the dictionary describes a “messiah” to be; that being a “saviour or liberator” : somebody regarded as or claiming to be a saviour or liberator of a country, people, or the world.

We saw that to be a “Saviour” is: To rescue somebody or something from harm or danger: To conserve something or avoid wasting something or using something unnecessarily; protect or keep back, set aside something for later: To collect items for later: to collect anything usually in order to do something with them later: To spare somebody from something or from a situation or activity: To preserve or treat something carefully or stop using it in order to keep it from being used up or worn out: To redeem or free somebody from the consequences of sin. (John 1:28-29; John 15:12-13; Romans 5:8). And

To be a “Liberator” is: To set free or release a person, group, population, or country from political or military control or from severe physical (also spiritual) constraint: To set free or release a person, group, population, or country from traditional socially (also spiritual) imposed constraints such as those arising from stereotyping by race, sex, economic status, age etc. ( Isaiah 53:12; Jeremiah 31:31; Hebrews 8:6-10)

We also observed that for Jesus to be man’s “saviour or liberator” we needed to have some answers to the following questions:

a) IS JESUS MORE THAN MAN?
b) IS JESUS EQUAL WITH GOD ?
c) IS JESUS EXISTING AS GOD ?

In this post we will be looking at the first of the qualifications of Jesus to be the “saviour or liberator” of man that being:

IS JESUS MORE THAN MAN?

To save or liberate mankind He (Jesus) has to be at least greater in strength than man and the power that holds man in bondage, (bondage to the gods of our age, ages past and ages to come if He tarries) and, at least be equal to the power that created man in the first place. So many in our world today, even some professing “Christians” still inhabit doubts about the claim by Jesus and His disciples in the early Church and modern day disciples that He (Jesus) fits this bill of “Saviour or Liberator”.

Jesus during His ministry here on earth made statements to this effect, statements that pointed to Him as God thus greater than man, Some of these are:

“I and my Father are one.” (John 10:30).

“Believest thou not that I am IN THE FATHER, and the FATHER IN ME.? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works' sake.” (John 14:10-11). 

“Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are” (John 17:11).

“Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; That they all may be ONE; as THOU, FATHER, ART IN ME, and I IN THEE, that they also may be ONE IN US: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be ONE, even as WE ARE ONE” (John 17:20-22).

These claims have been refuted in ages past, is vehemently in so our age and that will be the case until the end comes. C.S. Lewis in his book Mere Christianity writes the following:

“I am trying here to prevent anyone from saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him [Jesus Christ]: 'I'm ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don't accept his claim to be God.' That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic—on a level with a man who says he is a poached egg—or else he would be the Devil of hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon; or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God. But let us not come up with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that option open to us. He did not intend to.”

There really is no half way in-between; either believe he is the Son of God or not.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God”.

The same was in the beginning with God.

All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

In him was life; and the life was the light of men (John 1:1-4)

“The Word” - LogosThe dictionary tells us that “The Word” means:
Divine reason: in Christian theology, the divine rational principle as epitomized by Jesus Christ
Christian holy scriptures: in Christianity, the Bible or Scriptures, considered as revealing divine truth

Dictionary definitions for “Logos” (Greek, "word,""reason,""ratio"):
Jesus Christ as divine wisdom: Jesus Christ, so named in St John's Gospel, as the word of God, the personification of the wisdom of God, and divine wisdom as the means for human salvation
Word of God: the divine wisdom of the word of God

The reason why Apostle John used the phrase “The Word” to illustrate his point in this Gospel is the fact that God declares His eternal divine wisdom, intensions and purpose through His Word.

Right from the beginning of creation of the earth where the first utterance was - “And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.” (Genesis 1:3); the psalmist said of this act of God -“For he spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast.” (Psalms 33:9):

God's Word is sometimes spoken of metaphorically - “He sent his word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions.” (Psa. 107:20) ( see also Psa. 147:15, 18):

God's Word is active, dynamic, achieving its intended results - “Who is among you that feareth the LORD, that obeyeth the voice of his servant, that walketh in darkness, and hath no light? let him trust in the name of the LORD, and stay upon his God. Behold, all ye that kindle a fire, that compass yourselves about with sparks: walk in the light of your fire, and in the sparks that ye have kindled. This shall ye have of mine hand; ye shall lie down in sorrow.” (Isa. 50:10-11):

His Wisdom God is personified in His Word, Wisdom tells us of His work in creation - “The LORD possessed me in the beginning of his way, before his works of old.” (Proverb:8:22): The Angel of the Lord is sometimes spoken of as God, sometimes as distinct - “And an angel of the LORD came up from Gilgal to Bochim, and said, I made you to go up out of Egypt, and have brought you unto the land which I sware unto your fathers; and I said, I will never break my covenant with you.” (Judges 2:1):

His Name is sometimes spoken of metaphorically - “Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared. Beware of him, and obey his voice, provoke him not; for he will not pardon your transgressions: for my name is in him. But if thou shalt indeed obey his voice, and do all that I speak; then I will be an enemy unto thine enemies, and an adversary unto thine adversaries.” (Ex. 23:20-22).

The Word is the definition, explanation and expression of God; it is God defined, explained and expressed. The Word is not separate from God; this is not a situation or condition where the “Word is the Word” and “God is God” meaning that the are separate from each other . Rather, the two are one, as can be seen in John1:1, after the statement “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God“ the phrase that follows is “and the Word was God”.

In one of our previous posts, He alone is God; And He is God alone. Parts 1 & 2: In which we looked at the attributes of God, we saw that God is Love – God’s love for us is just as and backed up by His attribute of being immutable (and His other numerous attributes) and cannot be wholly comprehended by man except through His Son Jesus Christ by the Holy Spirit. If God’s love cannot be comprehended by man except through Jesus then there is a capacity in Jesus that is greater than man. A.W. Tozer in “I talk back to the devil” in describing to us, the connection between God’s love and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, gives a pointer to this capacity in Jesus that is greater than man when he said:

“Brethren, it is well for us to remember that as human beings we can never know all of the Godhead. If we were capable of knowing all of the Godhead perfectly, we would be equal to the Godhead. For illustration, we know that we cannot pour an entire quart of water into a vessel which has a capacity of less than a quart. So you could never pour all of the Godhead into the experience of any being who is less than God Himself.

A similar kind of illustration was used long ago by ancient fathers in the church as they argued for the trinity of the Godhead. They pointed out that God the eternal Father is an infinite God, and He is love. The very nature of love is to give itself but the Father could not give His love fully to anyone not fully equal to Himself. Thus we have the revelation of the Son Who is equal to the Father and of the eternal Father pouring out His love into the son, who could contain it, because the Son is equal with the Father. Further, these ancient wise men reasoned, if the Father were to pour out His love into the Son, a medium of communication equal to both the Father and the Son would be required, and this was the Holy Ghost. So we have their concept of the Trinity –the ancient Father in the fullness of His love pouring Himself through the Holy Ghost who is in being equal to Him, into the Son who is in being equal to the Spirit and the Father”

We can see that the "Word is God" implies that God in His person is not made up of or having only one part or element, He is triune. Not God the Son only but a Triune God. There might be a man named John. And John might be with the man named Kennedy, and John might also be Kennedy because John is the son of Kennedy, and Kennedy is the family name. Yet they are two separate persons.

“The same was in the beginning with God“.

"In the beginning", that is, from eternity past, the Word was with God. Contrary to what is supposed by some, it is not that Christ was not with God and was not God from eternity past, and that at a certain time Christ became God and was with God. Jesus Christ’ deity is eternal and absolute. From eternity past to eternity future. He is with God and He is God.

Speaking of Melchizedek, who Abraham met and who blessed (Genesis 14:17-24), Apostle Paul gives another clue to the immortality and eternal existence of Jesus Christ when he described Melchizedek as:

“Without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life; but made like unto the Son of God; abideth a priest continually“.(Hebrews 7:3).

“but made like unto the Son of God;” If Melchizedek who is “but made like unto the Son of God;” is “Without father, without mother, without descent,” (human father and mother are inferred here) Being eternal, The Son of God has no genealogy (John 1:1). But as the Son of man Christ does have a genealogy (Matt. 1:1-17; Luke 3:23-38).

Genealogy -

A study of history of families and the line of descent from their ancestors. It shows a pedigree or line of descent that can be traced directly from an ancestor or earlier form, especially that of a specific person or family: it can be in the shape of a chart or table that shows the line of descent from an ancestor or earlier form, especially that of a specific person or family.

“having neither beginning of days, nor end of life;” - Then Jesus Christ being a point of reference for Melchizedek’s immortality ( to elevate a  person certain to die eventually to the state of divinity or bestow eternal life on him/her) and eternal existence; must have existed and will exist eternally.

In our next post we shall be looking at the second part of this first of three questions asked to see if Jesus is the “Saviour” and “liberator” of mankind - IS JESUS MORE THAN MAN? Meanwhile:


Prayer:

Our Father, you know the many idols in this our ever increasingly self centred world that loom before us each day - the gods of pleasure, selfishness, self-centredness, We pray that You deliver us from these gods, these false gods that will rob us of our faith, of our love for humanity. Make us fall more truly in love with the Lord Jesus who alone is the only true God, who has come to give us an understanding of ourselves and the world around us, and has come to teach us righteousness and how to love with a heart that is self-giving instead of self-serving. These things we ask, Lord, in this 21st century hour, knowing that we are exposed to the same dangers that they were in the first century, and so desperately needing your power. We ask it in Jesus' name, Amen.

You might say – "how do I; and Why do I have to know and experience this Jesus you are going on about" Here is why, when and how you can get to know Him.

Admit your spiritual need.

We all are sinners: nobody likes that title “SINNER”, but the bible says in Romans 3:23 that “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God”.What is the result of sin?

In Romans 6:23 we read “The wages of sin is death…” in other words, every sin is another step towards death. One thing that we need to remember is that God never sends anyone to hell; one can send himself there by rejecting the truth.

Since we can never measure up to God’s standards by our own strength; God has reached out to mankind.

John 3:16-17. In Romans 5:8 we read, “God demonstrates His own love towards us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us”. It is Jesus, after all, who is the source of life and light.

What must a person do to accept this gift?

Simply receive it! Matthew 11:28 states – “come to me, all you who labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me…for my yoke is easy and my burden is light”.
Revelation 3:20 says, “Behold I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with me” Jesus stands at the door of your heart and knocks, seeking entrance into your life to give you peace, change you for the best. John 1:12 says: “For as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become the children of God”.

If you haven't already received Christ as your Saviour, don't put it off another day! Take time right now to invite Him into your life. Confess your sins. Receive His forgiveness and the gift of eternal life. You might pray something like this:

Dear Jesus, I know that I am a sinner in need of a Savior. Thank You for dying on the cross for my sins. Thank You for giving me eternal life. Help me to live my life in a way that pleases You, for whatever time You give me here on earth. I look forward to living forever in Heaven with You. Amen.

THE NATURE OF JESUS CHRIST

FORESIGHT OF THE MASTER PLANNER - First Begotten Son is God Part 3

THE NATURE OF JESUS CHRIST

Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God, (Which he had promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures,) Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh; And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead: By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name: Among whom are ye also the called of Jesus Christ: To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. (Romans 1:1-7)

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God”. John1:1.

I will first of all thank our Father in Heaven and our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ for restoring unto me, the unction to carry on with this work. We will in this post have a look at the first in our classifications of who Jesus Christ is with regards to His Nature, His Pre-Existence and how He fits into the eternal purpose of the Master Planner.

THE NATURE OF JESUS CHRIST

In looking at the nature of Christ, we will be looking later on at what our society in this 21st century is saying about Him and obviously, but firstly in the past from when he lived here on earth. One of the joys of reading through the Gospels  is the theatrics (comical in a sense) they present, most especially when Jesus Christ is perceived to be blasphemous whenever He makes statements that point to His nature and His pre-existence; one would not be wrong to guess that some of the Pharisees and Sadducees of His time actually left their house to the synagogues with stones in their pockets with the strong anticipation that there would surely be an opportunity for them to use the stones when (to them) Jesus “blasphemes” by claiming that He is God.

There were concerted efforts by the authorities of His days and even more astonishingly, the religious leaders of His people to quash His significance; some of these instances were before He died on the cross (example in John chapter 9) and just after He died when the fruits of His death at the cross of Calvary began to be manifested in His disciples:

“And it came to pass on the morrow, that their rulers, and elders, and scribes, And Annas the high priest, and Caiaphas, and John, and Alexander, and as many as were of the kindred of the high priest, were gathered together at Jerusalem. And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, By what power, or by what name, have ye done this? Then Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, said unto them, Ye rulers of the people, and elders of Israel, If we this day be examined of the good deed done to the impotent man, by what means he is made whole; Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole. This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus. And beholding the man which was healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it”. Act 4:5-14

The religious leaders, in their hypocrisy decided that the trend must be stopped:

“But when they had commanded them to go aside out of the council, they conferred among themselves, Saying, What shall we do to these men? for that indeed a notable miracle hath been done by them is manifest to all them that dwell in Jerusalem; and we cannot deny it. But that it spread no further among the people, let us straitly threaten them, that they speak henceforth to no man in this name. And they called them, and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered and said unto them, Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard. when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding nothing how they might punish them, because of the people: for all men glorified God for that which was done”. Act 4:15-21

Jesus Christ, during His life here on earth had to constantly tell and remind the people who He was despite all the signs and wonders that He did at the time. One would have taught that while He did all the miracles and preached the powerful word of God all over the provinces around His home town, His own people would have realised who He was but they seemed to have more doubt about Him than the outsiders:

“And when he was come into his own country, he taught them in their synagogue, insomuch that they were astonished, and said, Whence hath this man this wisdom, and these mighty works? Is not this the carpenter's son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas? And his sisters, are they not all with us? Whence then hath this man all these things? And they were offended in him. But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country, and in his own house. And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief”. (Matt. 13:54-58)

“And they were offended in him” how did they become offended in Him? Matthew Henry commented:

Another thing they upbraided him with, was, the meanness of his relations; "He is the son of Mary; his brethren and sisters are here with us; we know his family and kindred;" and therefore, though they were astonished at his doctrine (v. 2), yet they were offended at his person (v. 3), were prejudiced against him, and looked upon him with contempt; and for that reason would not receive his doctrine, though ever so well recommended. May we think that if they had not known his pedigree, but he had dropped among them from the clouds, without father, without mother, and without descent, they would have entertained him with any more respect? Truly, no; for in Judea, where this was not know, that was made an objection against him (Jn. 9:29); As for this fellow, we know not from whence he is. Obstinate unbelief will never want excuses.

Mark describes how He felt about the same incidence

“And he could there do no mighty work, save that he laid his hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them. And he marvelled because of their unbelief. And he went round about the villages, teaching”. Mark 6:5-6

Insomuch that they were astonished, and said, "Whence hath this man this wisdom, and these mighty works?" Though astonished, they doubted His source; they doubted His source because they did not realise what the prophets had foretold them with regards to what the life of the coming Messiah would be like. If the ordinary people were not learned enough to realise this, the religious leaders definitely did as they must have seen it in the following passages of the Torah (old testament of the bible):
Genesis 3:15; Genesis 12:3; Genesis 17:19; Numbers 24:17; Genesis 49:10; Isaiah 11:10; Jeremiah 23:5-6; Ezekiel 37:24; Isaiah 9:7; Psalm 45:6-7; Psalm 102:25-27; Micah 5:2; Daniel 9:25; Isaiah 7:14; Psalm 72:9; 72:10, 15; Isaiah 60:3; Jeremiah 31:15; Hosea 11:1; Isaiah 40:3-5; Malachi 3:1; ;Malachi 4:5-6; Psalm 2:7; Proverbs 30:4; Isaiah 9:1-2; Psalm 78:2-4; Isaiah 56:7; Jeremiah 7:11; Psalm 69:9; Deuteronomy 18:15; Isaiah 29:18; Isaiah 35:5-6; Isaiah 42:2-3; Isaiah 53:7; Isaiah 42:1; Isaiah 49:1; Isaiah 61:1-2; Isaiah 53:12; Isaiah 59:16; Isaiah 63:14; Jeremiah 6:16; Isaiah 53:3; Isaiah 8:14; Isaiah 28:16; Psalm 118:22; Psalm 110:4; Zechariah 9:9; Malachi 3:1; Psalm 8:2; Isaiah 53:1; Zechariah 13:7; Psalm 41:9; Psalm 55:12-13; Zechariah 13:6; Zechariah 11:12; Zechariah 11:13; Psalm 35:11; Isaiah 53:7; Isaiah 50:6; Isaiah 53:5; Psalm 35:19; Isaiah 53:5; Isaiah 53:12; Zechariah 12:10; Psalm 22:16; Psalm 22:7-8;Psalm 69:9;Psalm 109:25; Psalm 69:21; Psalm 109:4; Isaiah 53:12; Psalm 22:17-18; Psalm 22:1; Psalm 31:5; Psalm 38:11; Psalm 34:20; Zechariah 12:10; Amos 8:9; Isaiah 53:9; Psalm 16:10; Psalm 30:3; Psalm 49:15; Psalm 118:17l; Isaiah 44:3l Joel 2:28; Isaiah 55:3-4; Jeremiah 31:31; Psalm 68:18; Psalm 110:1; Isaiah 9:2; Isaiah 11:10; Isaiah 65:1

Please see Prophecies of Jesus Christ as Messiah for A comprehensive write-up on these prophecies and their fulfilment.

One would have thought that the public debate in Israel during the days of Jesus Christ on earth (may be their “Question Time” as we have it here in England) would have been focused on most of these verses of the Torah that touched on the prophecies about the coming messiah; as there was so much agitation for the messiah that would save them from Roman oppression. While they waited in anticipation for this “emperor-like” fellow to show up, they must have neglected the faithfulness of the God of their Father Abraham, in bringing to pass some of these prophecies while Jesus was among them. If they had marked the fulfilment of each prophecy as it came to pass, they would have been led to thank and praise God for being true to His word, hence this colossal unbelief (that marvelled even Jesus Christ Himself) wouldn’t have set in.

“And he could there do no mighty work, save that he laid his hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them"

One could be led to think that these few sick folks that got healed could have believed but still have some doubts, because the passage tells us that unbelief was the cause of Him not doing mighty works in their midst. Not to forget that this was as I said earlier, a time that the Jews were going through oppression from the Romans and were eagerly anticipating the arrival of this ‘messiah’. These religious leaders, in instigating the people against Him, instead of actually pointing the people to what the Torah says about the coming messiah and leaving the people to make their own judgements with regards to who He really is; have a share in the blame for the people’s unbelief . As unbelief is a sin, they should have heeded Jesus' warning:

“AND [Jesus] said to His disciples, Temptations (snares, traps set to entice to sin) are sure to come, but woe to him by or through whom they come! It would be more profitable for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were hurled into the sea than that he should cause to sin or be a snare to one of these little ones [[a]lowly in rank or influence]”. Luke 17:1-2 (Amp)

I want now, to go on to take a look at some of these pointers as to what the nature of the expected Messiah is and how Jesus is the Messiah. And to do this we will try to see if He fit into what a messiah should be.

The dictionary describes a “messiah” as “saviour or liberator” : somebody regarded as or claiming to be a saviour or liberator of a country, people, or the world.

“Saviour” (John 1:28-29; John 15:12-13; Romans 5:8).

To rescue somebody or something from harm or danger.
To conserve something or avoid wasting something or using something unnecessarily; protect or keep back, set aside something for later.
To collect items for later: to collect anything usually in order to do something with them later.
To spare somebody from something or from a situation or activity.
To preserve or treat something carefully or stop using it in order to keep it from being used up or worn out.
To redeem or free somebody from the consequences of sin.

“Liberator” ( Isaiah 53:12; Jeremiah 31:31; Hebrews 8:6-10)

To set free or release a person, group, population, or country from political or military control or from severe physical (also spiritual) constraint.
To set free or release a person, group, population, or country from traditional socially (also spiritual) imposed constraints such as those arising from stereotyping by race, sex, economic status, age etc.

So for Jesus to be the “saviour or liberator” of man we need to have some answers to the following questions:

a) IS JESUS MORE THAN MAN?
b) IS JESUS EQUAL WITH GOD ?
c) IS JESUS EXISTING AS GOD ?

In our next post we be looking to see the answer to the question - IS JESUS MORE THAN MAN?

Prayer:

We remember, Lord Jesus, how many times you said to your disciples, "O ye of little faith." We hear these words again in our own hearts, Lord. Grant to us that we may have the courage to believe and to step out upon what we believe. Stir us up, Lord. Grant to us this ability to act on what we know. In Thy name, Amen.

You might say – "how do I; and Why do I have to know and experience this Jesus you are going on about" Here is why, when and how you can get to know Him.

Admit your spiritual need.

We all are sinners: nobody likes that title “SINNER”, but the bible says in Romans 3:23 that “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God”.

What is the result of sin?

In Romans 6:23 we read “The wages of sin is death…” in other words, every sin is another step towards death. One thing that we need to remember is that God never sends anyone to hell; one can send himself there by rejecting the truth.


Since we can never measure up to God’s standards by our own strength; God has reached out to mankind.

John 3:16-17. In Romans 5:8 we read, “God demonstrates His own love towards us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us”. It is Jesus, after all, who is the source of life and light.

What must a person do to accept this gift?

Simply receive it! Matthew 11:28 states – “come to me, all you who labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me…for my yoke is easy and my burden is light”.

Revelation 3:20 says, “Behold I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with me” Jesus stands at the door of your heart and knocks, seeking entrance into your life to give you peace, change you for the best. John 1:12 says: “For as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become the children of God”.

If you haven't already received Christ as your Saviour, don't put it off another day! Take time right now to invite Him into your life. Confess your sins. Receive His forgiveness and the gift of eternal life. You might pray something like this:

Dear Jesus, I know that I am a sinner in need of a Savior. Thank You for dying on the cross for my sins. Thank You for giving me eternal life. Help me to live my life in a way that pleases You, for whatever time You give me here on earth. I look forward to living forever in Heaven with You. Amen.

Really!!! Can God Be Angry?

With All These Evil In The World … What is His Stance

 The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. Romans 1:18-20

 Romans 1:18-20 contains tree important concepts, which together explain why the wrath of God against men and women is justified. The first is wrath itself. It is being revealed from heaven against the ungodly: The second is suppression of the truth about God by human beings: The third is God’s prior revelation of Himself to those very people who suppress the truth about Him.

 This three really need to be seen in reverse order – revelation, suppression, and then wrath. They teach God has given a revelation of Himself in nature sufficient to lead any right thinking man or woman to seek Him out and worship Him, but that, instead of doing this, people suppress this revelation. They deny it so that they do not have to follow where it leads them. It is because of this willful and immoral suppression of the truth about God by human beings that the wrath of God comes upon them.

 Men and women now like to hide behind the politically correct Phrase “I am aware there is someone out there”; you might even like some theologians ‘Know’ and be so learned about God but not experience him (just like a doctor could have expert knowledge about a disease but have never experienced the disease).

 Wrath, is part of the HOLINESS of God (which also includes His majesty, Will and righteousness), because it is the natural and proper stance of the holy God against all that opposes Him. It means that God takes the business of being God so seriously that he will permit no other to usurp His place

There are two main words for wrath in the bible (new testament). One is ‘thymos’ from the root that means “to rush fiercely” “to be in a heat of violence” or “to breathe violently.” We can capture this idea by the phrase “a panting rage”. The other word is ‘orge’ which means “to grow ripe for something.” It portrays wrath as something that builds up over a long period of time, like water collecting behind a great dam. Do a quick exercise now by having a look at our world today and decide which of these two words is appropriate.

It is easy for a person to try and excuse themselves of the wrath that is being unveiled by claiming not to have an experience or personal knowledge of God; but this passage implies that the politically correct Phrase “I am aware there is someone out there” IS NOT ENOUGH TO SAVE A MAN OR WOMAN FROM THE WRATH BEING UNVEILED; BUT MORE THAN ENOUGH TO CONDEMN HIM OR HER.

Seek to be set free from God’s wrath today:

Admit you spiritual need.
We all are sinners: Romans 3:23 that “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God”. Romans 3:23

What is the result of sin?
The wages of sin is death Romans 6:23. 

Since we can never measure up to God’s standards by our own strength; God has reached out to mankind
“God demonstrates His own love towards us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” Romans 5:8; John 3:16-17 

What must a person do to accept this gift?
Simply receive it! “come to me, all you who labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest” Matthew 11:28.  “Behold I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with me” Revelation 3:20 “For as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become the children of God” John 1:12.

If you haven't already received Christ as your Savior, don't put it off another day! Take time right now to invite Him into your life. Confess your sins. Receive His forgiveness and the gift of eternal life. You might pray something like this:

Dear Jesus, I know that I am a sinner in need of a Saviour. Thank You for dying on the cross for my sins. Thank You for giving me eternal life. Help me to live my life in a way that pleases You, for whatever time You give me here on earth. I look forward to living forever in Heaven with You. Amen.