John1:1 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” God descended to us in the person of the Savior, Redeemer, in order to become history. Only in the flesh, not in the bare spirit, can history come into being. God the Speaker, reveals the fullness of His being, Speaker and Spoken are one in the love of the Holy Spirit. According to the Bible He who speaks the Word is known as Father and the Word is named Son. The Holy Spirit is given promising names of Consoler, Sustainer, for He will see to it that the brothers and sisters in Christ are not left orphans by His death. Through the Holy Spirit the Redeemer came to us from the heart of the Heavenly Father. The Omniscient God foresaw that man, after his creation would sin, and require a Savior, who ultimately came as the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world, Revelation13:8. In that dateless past Love drew salvation’s plan, and in the “fullness of time” Jesus came as the foreordained sacrificial Lamb, Galatians4:4.
The prophecies and promises of the coming of Christ as the Redeemer-Messiah are the main theme in the Old Testament Scriptures from the first promise of Him given to Adam Genesis3:15 to the last promise of His ultimate glory as the “Son of Righteousness”, Malachi4:2. In the centuries before Christ, the Jewish mind was prepared for the Messiah who would combine all the requirements of prophet, priest and king. The forecast of a Messianic Kingdom, breaking the bounds of Jewish nationalism, and extending through the whole earth, and embracing all the people prepared the way for the appearance of God’s King, Daniel 2:44.
The first promise given to man is fulfilled, and Jesus was born as “the seed of the woman” Genesis3:15. Jesus Christ is the only babe the world has ever known who did not have a human father. He was divinely conceived in the womb of the virgin Mary, the Holy Spirit becoming the love-knot between our Lord’s two natures. In such a conception deity and humanity were fused together and Jesus came forth as the God-Man, Luke1:35. The babe born in Bethlehem was a human being with human brain and limbs and heart and soul, and He was God. His life was to manifest the will of the Father: to proclaim the good tidings, to stir mankind with the power of God, to establish the Covenant, and shoulder the sin of the world, conquering it with love and leading mankind through His sacrifice and the victory of His Resurrection, into a new existence of grace.
When Jesus left the bosom of His Father, He voluntarily chose the path of humiliation. The sovereign choice of love, as well as man’s need of a Savior, led Him to turn His back upon heaven’s glory for a cross of shame. Throughout His life there was the conscious restraint of many of His divine powers, that He might be seen as a true “Man of Sorrows”. Although rich, for our sakes He became poor, that through His self-imposed poverty we might be rich. As the Eternal Word, He could not empty Himself either of His deity or His attributes. What He divested Himself of was the constant, outward and visible manifestation of His Godhead. Jesus Christ did not surrender deity-He gained humanity.
Jesus developed normally and healthily from childhood to manhood. The grace of God was upon Him, Luke2:40. He followed the trade of the home and became a carpenter, Mark6:3. Scripture also bears witness to the fact that the gentleness and grace of the character of Jesus endeared Him to all who knew Him, Luke2:52.
The unity of the Godhead was displayed on the day God anointed Jesus with the Holy Spirit for His brief years of ministry, Matthew3:13-17. Emerging from the water, while still praying, the heavens were opened and the Spirit like a dove came upon Him. Baptized in water, He is now baptized with the Spirit. Jordan meant Christ’s dedication of Himself to His calling for which He received the spiritual equipment necessary for the accomplishment of a divine task and He went forward with the seal of heaven’s acknowledgement upon Him.
Jesus went from Jordan into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil Mark1:12,13. Before He could deliver the multitudes from the power of the devil, He must experience the full weight and strength of the enemy Himself. Jesus was alone in the wilderness with the devil. The period of intense struggle lasted for forty days, during which Jesus neither ate nor drank; wild beasts surrounded Him and the tempter and temptations were real. There were three stages of satanic approach-each on its own a trial of the spirit of obedience, Matthew4:2,4,7. The threefold temptation typifies the whole round of satanic assault on man through body, mind and spirit. In the wilderness, He triumphed gloriously over all three temptations, and went forth the Conqueror over all further hellish designs to thwart His mighty work. By faith His triumph becomes ours. An aspect of Christ’s temptation that must not be forgotten is the fact that in Him there was nothing the devil could appeal to. He was born without sin. We were “born in sin and shapen in iniquity,” and because of the possession of an evil nature as the result of original sin, the devil has a foothold in everyone born into the world. When Christ enters a life, the devil quite naturally contests every inch of ground surrendered to the One who mastered him in the wilderness and at Calvary.
Born Holy, Jesus remained holy He was able to successfully resist every enticement of the devil who had nothing in Him to fight out from, John14:30. Always, and in all things, He pleased His Father. In order to redeem man from sin, He had to be free from any evil taint of humanity. The Bible is emphatic in its witness to the fact that Christ was perfect in thought and deed. In Him was no sin, 1John3:5. To Christ, temptation was stronger and the conflict with sin was more intense than with any other of the human race. His knowledge of the human heart made it harder for Him to have the least sympathy with the least semblance of sin. His unstained holiness gave saving cleansing to the blood He shed for sinners. Sinless He can save from all sin. Only as the Sinless One could He atone for the sins of others. It is because Christ remained the highest embodiment of human character that He is our Great Example. His own life so passionately surrendered to the will of God, though this involved the death of the cross, gives Him the right to make imperative spiritual and ethical demands on those who take up their cross to follow him.
After the wilderness temptation, Jesus returned to Galilee and the fame of Him spread abroad, Luke4:14. In the short space of just under three years, He lived and labored in such a way as to deeply impress not only those of His own generation but succeeding generations. No certain dwelling place was His. Often He had no place to lay His head. His life was the light of men John1:4. His love, patience, unruffled calm, silence in suffering, majestic bearing, prayerfulness, humility and graciousness impelled others to follow Him. From the “Sermon on the Mount” right on to the “Sermon on the Holy Spirit”, these utterances of Christ contain His teachings for the saints of all ages. His Parables was Christ’s chief method of instruction by which great moral truth was taught. His method, style and themes in teaching were characterized by simplicity, authority, brevity, vividness and picturesqueness. Jesus Christ’s miracles were parables in deeds. All the miracles He performed are not detailed for us, but those specified in the Gospels reveal Him to be the Son of God with power.
The last days before His death at Calvary were loaded with grief and suffering. The betrayal of Judas, the anguish and bloody sweat at Gethsemane, the denial by Peter, the injustice and indignities of His false accusation and trial and the desertion by His disciples. The load of grief He had to bear was enough to break His heart. Then there came the shame, suffering and sacrifice of the cross. Jesus Christ died for our sins; He died for one purpose, to provide a perfect salvation for a sinning race, 1Timothy1:15. His wondrous cross-the main point of Biblical history-presents the climax of love and hate. At Calvary, the heart of God is revealed and at the same time man’s hate is seen in all its horror. On our behalf He endured the humiliation of being buried low in the grave, Isaiah53:9. He Rose again the third day. The Resurrection was evidence that God was satisfied with the death of the cross. It was His seal upon the perfection of Christ’s work. The Resurrection was necessary for man’s salvation. Jesus Christ arose from the dead and is alive forevermore to make the cross actual in our lives. Romans10:9,10. The historic witness of 514 people who witnessed His Resurrection proves beyond a doubt that Jesus Christ Rose from the dead. Jesus arose with a spiritual body. Body and soul were reunited and restored to their original beauty and strength and raised to the highest level, 1Corinthians15:44,45.
The risen Lord gave commandments to His disciples. His presence and ministry amongst them for 40 days proved that He did not disappear; He declared that He would continue to act and speak through the Spirit, as He had done previous to His death, Luke4:14-18. While Jesus was in the act of blessing His disciples on their return from Jerusalem, Luke24:50,52. As His hands were lifted up in priestly benediction, He vanished from their sight. Jesus was uplifted in bodily form from earth to heaven. His disciples witnessed His Ascension, Acts1:10,11. He ascended in a mysterious grandeur He was carried up. Christ’s absence is our greatest gain, John16:7 He is my Advocate in the presence of His Father. He intercedes for us. We now have a friend in the court of the Everlasting King, an Intercessor who ever lives, and a Petitioner who never fails. He pleads our cause. I have my own flesh in heaven, as a sure pledge that He who is the Head will also take me, one of His members, up to Himself, 1John3:1-3. Christ’s Ascension brings us the supreme gift of all. He sends His Spirit, by whose power; I seek those things which are above. As Jesus ascended to His Father, He was highly exalted by Him to a position above all. The name of authority bestowed upon Him was the same one given to Him at His birth, namely Jesus. As the result of His Ascension, He shines in full glory.
Jesus Christ is alive forever, when He left earth for heaven, His ministry did not cease. It continues though in a changed form. His present ministry is based upon His work on earth and is arriving at the completion. After His glorious Ascension, there came the restoration of the glory He possessed before the world was, John17:5. Seated at the right hand of God there came the resumption of the exercise of all His divine attributes. All the self-imposed limitations of humanity ceased when He sat down on high, Matthew28:18,20. Part of His present ministry is the preparation of an abode for His church, John14:2. Entering heaven, Jesus immediately redeemed His promise and sent the Holy Spirit to fashion the Church He said He would build, Matthew16:18. In Christ we are already set in heavenly places and through His Ascension we have the assurance of a place in heaven with Him, John17:24. It is His wish that we should share His glory. Now by the Spirit, the Church is the habitation of God. Soon she is to have an habitation in the divine abode. Jesus Christ not only rules and protects His Church, governing the universe on her behalf; He also intercedes for her on the basis of His completed sacrifice. In Him the Church has her great Intercessor at the throne.
Jesus Christ as the perfect Prophet not only expounded the Word of God-He was the embodiment of that Word. In Him it became flesh, John1:16. He was the inspired interpreter of the Word and will of God, John8:26,28. He continues the eternal revelation of God to the saints in glory. As Priest, Jesus was and is sinless, in heaven He secures all of our temporal and spiritual blessings, Hebrews4:15. As the “King Eternal,” He was born a King; During His earthly sojourn He asserted His Kingship and men recognized His claim, Matthew2:2. As the King He died, and in His Resurrection proved His sovereignty. In heaven He rules as King for the glory of God and for the fulfillment of His purposes, Hebrews1:3. As King He exercises power in upholding and controlling the world, Ephesians1:22. Jesus is going to return in regal power and splendor as the King of Kings, and Lord of Lords, Revelation11:15.
When Jesus returns for His true Church, He is to be glorified in His saints and admired in all them that believe, 2Thessalonians1:10. Then they will behold His majesty and be clothed with it, Isaiah26:10. Then the earth will know that with God is terrible majesty. None will be able to withstand Christ’s majesty as His righteous judgment overtakes a guilty earth. His voice as He rules the earth will be full of majesty and royal grandeur. The crown of glory and honor will rest upon the brow once scarred by the crown of thorns. The godless multitudes will cry to be hidden from the face of Him that sitteth on His judicial throne, Revelation6:16,17. Jesus Christ came to redeem the world. To do this He had to inform us who God is, and what man is in the sight of God; His Gospel of Truth is the only Way for our souls to be converted, and we are given the strength to enter into a new existence.
The essence of Christianity is not an idea, not a system of thought, not a plan of action. The essence of Christianity is a person: Jesus Christ Himself. That which is essential is the One who is essential.
