Getting to know Jesus Christ - An Overview

Hebrews 12:2-3 states - " ² fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.  ³ For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

As we look at the above passage, we are struck by the fact that the only way to anchor one's Christian walk is to intentionally focus upon the person and work of Jesus Christ. In this next series of blogs, my aim is to do that very thing - getting to know Jesus Christ.

UNDERSTANDING WHAT IS MEANT BY THE STUDY OF CHRISTAnytime we aim to know the Person and Work of Jesus Christ we refer to the term "Christology".  Christology is simply the study of Jesus Christ.  Throughout Church history two approaches have been done when beginning to think on the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ.  The approaches stem from the two central truths of the Study of Christ - that Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man. 

TWO SUGGESTIONS OF WHERE TO BEGIN - CHRIST'S HUMANITY OR DEITYThe approaches go something like this: We must begin with Jesus the man and work our way through his virgin birth, sinless life, substitutionary death on the cross, burial, resurrection and ascension to final consideration of His full Deity.  The second approach is to begin with His exalted Deity as One with the Father, Creator, Redeemer and then end with consideration of His humanity.  The first approach is called "Christology from below", since it begins with Christ's humanity and ends with His Deity.  The second approach is called "Christology from above" due to the fact it begins with Christ's Deity and ends with His humanity.

THE BIBLE FOCUSES ON BOTH HIS DEITY AND HUMANITYWhen we look at the New Testament records, we frankly find support for either approach.  Matthew, Mark and Luke begin with Christ's humanity and gradually bring into view His undiminished Deity.  John's Gospel begins with Christ's Deity, as the Word who was with God in Eternity, and gradually brings into view his full humanity.  The Bible does not present Jesus Christ as half man, half God - rather He is presented as 100% man and 100% God. 
Passages such as Philippians 2:5-11 and 1 Timothy 3:15-16 both begin with Jesus Christ, the Divine Son of God, who came into this world and became man.  The wonderful book of Hebrews in Hebrews 1:1-7 and 10:4-5 also takes the same approach.  However in Hebrews 2 we see the focus shift to considering Jesus the man sharing in humanity and living a sinless life. 
Revelation advocates both approaches.  In Revelation 1 we see a magnificent "Christology from above", with reference to  40 Divine names for the Savior.  However when we come to Revelation 5 we clearly see Jesus Christ's full humanity as the "Lamb who was slain".  Tomorrow we will continue exploring further the magnificent person and work of Jesus Christ.  May God richly bless you dear reader as you fix your eyes upon Jesus Christ. 

Knowing God's Will for Your Life - P3

How You Can Know God's Will for Your Life

 

Two helpful concepts: Logos and RhemaWe now come to the point where we ask about God's will for your life?  How does one know it?  Proverbs 22:17-18 states: "¹⁷Bow down thine ear, and hear the words of the wise, and apply thine heart unto my knowledge. ¹⁸For it is a pleasant thing if thou keep them within thee; they shall withal be fitted in thy lips."  In these two verses we see two aspects of God's voice speaking to us from the scriptures: God's word in general, or logos (written word applicable to all people, at all places at all times) and God's specific word, or rhema (a specific insight from scripture that is applicable to a specific person, at a particular place at a particular time). 

 

Even when God gives you an insight (a rhema) throughout the day, that undoubtedly came as a result of your prior meditation and reading of the scripture (that is, the logos).  Remember, a true rhema never conflicts nor replaces the objective logos of the scriptures.  When Jesus was speaking for to the disciples in Luke 24, He was giving them the Logos or general word of the law and prophets of things concerning Himself.  By God's grace their eyes were opened, they heard what Jesus was saying and they were given a specific word (a rhema) that the one speaking to them was Christ.  They saw that those words had immediate application to them. 

 

With these thoughts in mind, I want to lay out principles that I have found helpful in discerning God's will for my own life.  The first principle acts as the reference point for the other three.  My prayer is that you will find these principles to be helpful as well.

 

1. God's Will is Discovered from the scriptures. 

-Psalm 119:105 "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path."

-2 Timothy 3:16-17 "¹⁶All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:  ¹⁷That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works."

 

2. God's Will is Clarified through Godly Counsel

-Proverbs 15:22 ^"Without counsel purposes are disappointed: but in the multitude of counsellors they are established."

-Proverbs 24:6 "⁶For by wise counsel thou shalt make thy war: and in multitude of counsellors there is safety."

 

3. God's Will is confirmed with peace by the Holy Spirit

-The Holy Spirit may say "no" as in Acts 16:6

-The Holy Spirit may say "yes" and give you confident assurance about a particular direction as in Acts 16:10

 

4. God's Will uses circumstances to steer in a certain direction

-Acts 17:16 ¹⁶Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was stirred in him, when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry.

 

May God bless you dear reader, as you aim to not only know, but do His will. 

Knowing God's Will for you life - P2

How God's Will helps you understand the purpose and meaning of life
In my last blog I wrote on Operating within God's will, with particular focus on His Revealed and Unrevealed Will. We were concerned with the areas of responsibility we have in doing those things that He has revealed to us. In today's blog we're going to briefly trace out the various distinctions that exist within God's will as God excercises His Sovereign will in the lives of people in general and Christians in particular.

When we refer to God's Sovereignty, we are referring to - "His Comprehensive Reign over all people, places and events". Ephesians 1:11 gives us a very clear understanding of God's Sovereign Will: " 11In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will". It is by this Sovereign Will that God excercises His rule and reign in history and salvation. God's will is mentioned some 40 times in the scriptures, and it is a theme that is helpful in understanding life's purpose and meaning.

With this big picture idea, how then does God work forth His will in your life? The Apostle Paul gives us the story of how God worked His will in his own life in Galatians 1:13-16. As you look at his statements, note the distinctions he brings out concerning God's will operating in His own life. My prayer is that this will help you to understand how God's Sovereign Will typically will function in your own life. So how does the Rule of God's will work in your life? Please note the following distinctions:

1. God's Permissive Will, Galatians 1:13-14 "For ye have heard of my conversation in time past in the Jews' religion, how that beyond measure I persecuted the church of God, and wasted it: 14And profited in the Jews' religion above many my equals in mine own nation, being more exceedingly zealous of the traditions of my fathers."

Why was Paul, who was called before his conversion "Saul", able to persecute the church? Furthermore, how could he perpetrate such evil without being immediately destroyed? Was it God's will for him to do this? Clearly God's permitted Paul to do this, for in Acts 8 we read that such persecutions caused the church to scatter throughout the world and spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ. God permits what he hates in order to accomplish His own good purposes. Romans 8:28 tells us this: "28And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." Truly what Paul (Saul) meant for evil, God was using for his ultimate good.

2. God's Will of Decree, Galatians 1:15 "But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb, and called me by his grace"

Did Paul choose Christ, or did God have His purposes set on calling Paul? Paul reveals here that God had decreed to call Paul to His service. In fact, God had Paul picked out before He was born. God desired for the Gospel to be spread among the Gentiles, and Paul was to be his chief instrument. We know from passages such as Jeremiah 1:5, 2 Timothy 1:9 and Titus 1:2 that God's will of decree extends all the way back before creation. Despite Paul's sinfulness, God had chosen to set His affection and purpose on calling this persecutor of the church to be the church's great apostle.

3. God's Intentional Will, Galatians 1:16a "To reveal his Son in me..."

That word "to" speaks of intention on God's part. God had intended a particular purpose, namely to reveal Christ in Paul's life. The chief aim of God's intentional will is to reveal something about His heart and character. Whenever we speak of God's intentional will, we must make sure we include the other aspects of His will. God had intended to reveal Christ in Paul, but He also permitted Paul to first persecute the church, and He had decreed to call Paul prior to his birth. These first three aspects interrelate with one another. Many times in your own life, you'll will not always see how they relate. Think of an expensive Persian rug. If you flip it over on its back, the threads appear to be woven together in a hap-hazard manner. However, when you flip it over on its front, the rug has a beautiful and orderly design. God's permissive will, will of decree and intentional will function in much the same way. Whenever we flip the rug of His Sovereign will to the front, we discover a fourth aspect of His will.

4. God's Ultimate Will, Galatians 1:16b .."that I might preach him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood:"

Did God have an ultimate purpose in putting Paul through the trials and triumphs that accompany Christian life and ministry? Notice the underlined word "that". "That" is a word which speaks of purpose. God indeed has an ultimate will. At times we may see what His ultimate will is for a given situation in this life. Then there are those situations where the purpose is not realized until after we have passed off the scene. Joseph was able to testify of god's ultimate will in His life in Genesis 50:20 - "20But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive." However, God's ultimate will for Abraham was not realized until after his death, as we see in Hebrews 11:13 "13These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth."

Dear friend, whatever your situation is in life, remember, God's rule is at work. Let me close with these words from Jeremiah 29:11 "11For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end." That is the joy of God's rule in your life.

Knowing God's Will for your Life - P1

God's will is not a game of "hot and cold"Do you remember the game you used to play as a kid called: "Hot and Cold"? It was a game where you would have to find a person or an object in a room. Depending upon your proximity to that hidden person or object, another individual would cry out the words "hot" or "cold" or the in-between phrases: "you're getting hotter" or "you're getting warmer".

Unfortunately many Christians conceive of God's will in this fashion. Many operate under the assumption that God is playing a cruel game of "hot and cold" with Christians, and that the will of God is a lost item, needing to be found. In today's blog, and over the course of the next few blogs, we will be aiming to encourage you as a Christian that it is not only possible, but certain that you can operate knowing what God's will is for your life.

Why Christians are so concerned about "God's will for their lives"Whenever we engage in discussions about the will of God, people immediately sense that there are areas of responsibility. At what points am I responsible to God for certain areas and what areas does God not hold me responsible? So many Christians approach the will of God with more fear than faith. God is the only One whom I'm to fear. Whenever we are operating with God's will, we are to fear Him, that is, we are to live our lives in such a way as to not have broken fellowship and intimacy with Him. It is in the midst of our circumstances that we are to proceed in faith (2 Corinthians 5:7).

God's Unrevealed and Revealed WillIf I were to point a believer to one passage in God's word which speaks to guiding them in the area of God's will, and their level of responsibility, I would refer them to Deuteronomy 29:29. Moses writes there: "The secret things belong unto the Lord our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law."

Two of the most fundamental aspects of God's will are described here: namely His Unrevealed and Revealed will. Clearly His revealed will entails areas that only man can know form the Bible. His unrevealed will cannot be ever discovered by human beings. The revealed will of God is that which is meant to be known, discovered and lived. Notice where the revealed will of God is discovered here in this passage: "that we may do all the words of this law."

So then whatever God has revealed to me in His word, that is what I am responsible to do. Proverbs 25:2 states: "It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honour of kings is to search out a matter." According to Ephesians 2:6, the Christian is seated positionally with Christ in the heavenly realms, thus making him or her a person that operates with delegated authority from Jesus Christ. It is within the realm of God's revealed will that I operate and proceed.

This we know - there is no conflict within God's willEven though there are aspects of God will that may be unrevealed, we do know this: that if God can be trusted in the areas He has revealed (the scriptures, illumination from the scriptures), then He can also be trusted in the areas He has not revealed (details about the future for example). The Bible tells us in passages such as Psalm 136:1- "O Give thanks unto the Lord; for He is good: for His mercy endureth forever." Because God is a Good God, I can trust Him, in both the areas I know, as well as the unknown.

Therefore this gives us an absolute foundation for the Christian's journey of operating in God's will. More lessons will follow as we begin to understand the distinctions that exist within His will that will aid us in attaining greater confidence towards knowing and doing His will.

A Bird's Eye View of the Bible - P4 - Exile and Anticipation

As we round out our survey of the Old Testament today, my prayer is that not only have you gained new information, but that you'll see how this porition of God's word can bring about transformation.  The Old Testament comrpises some 77% of the Bible.  Imagine going on a long trip, and getting emails or letters from your family - but only reading 23% of them!  As Christians, we have words written to us from our Heavenly Father, pointing us to Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit.  I would encourage the reader to look over the previous blogs, and to use these to share what you learned with others.  God's word is too valuable to be kept bottled up!

Theme Nine: Exile

We touched a little upon this theme yesterday when discussing the theme of Divided Kingdom.  God's people, having chosen to reject God and His word and His prophets, were sent into Exile.  The Kingdom of Israel to the North came to an end in 722 b.c when the Assyrian Empire conquered Israel and carried her people away.  As a people the ten tribes of the North remained scattered.  For those who did return years later, they had intermarried with the Assyrians and thus became what is known in the New Testament as the Samaritans.

The Kingdom to the South, Judah, went into exile for 70 years in Babylon. Through the prophets Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Daniel, the people of God were sustained.  God purged them of their idolatry and in the books of Ezra, Nehemiah, Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi we see the return from Babylon.  God chose to use this portion of God's people to bring about the humanity of Jesus Christ and demonstrated His faithfulness to them. 

As God's people today, we have to remember that God is fair in all His dealings with His people.  He had warned Israel centuries before in Deuteronomy 28-29 of exile if they did not heed His word.  Despite repeated warnings in her history, God's people grieved God enough to where His Holy character could no longer stand their repeated testings of His patience.  Even then, God gave the most glorious promises of restoration in the prophets, reminding us that He who begins a good work in His people will bring it unto completion to the day of Christ. (Philippians 1:6)

Theme Ten: Anticipation

For years preachers have made this observation: “The Old Testament is the New Testament concealed, with the New Testament being the Old Testament revealed”.  How much of what is revealed in the New Testament anticipated in the Old Testament?  With this theme, issues such as Christ’s death, burial and resurrection, the Second coming, the New Covenant Ministry of the Holy Spirit and other key doctrine were predicted and portrayed in the Old Testament. In the 400 years between the close of the Old Testament and beginning of the New, the Jews wrote scores of writings that looked forward to the fulfillment of God's promises.  It is fascinating and necessary to see how much this theme of anticipation helps us to comprehend the Old Testament’s relevance to 21^st century life.   

May God bless you dear reader today as you walk with Him

Bird's Eye View of the Bible p3 - The United and Divided Kingdoms

We continue today with our journey through the Bible's major themes.  In this "bird's-eye" overview we come to that period of time wherein Israel the nation went from being administrated by Judges to that of Kings.  It is also during this time that God raises up prophets, beginning with Samuel and increasingly brings His prophetic word to bear upon the nation.  Historically, this period of time in the Bible begins in 1 Samuel and ends with Nehemiah.  This time-frame includes all of the poetical books (written mostly by Kings David and Solomon) and also all 17 prophetic books (Isaiah through Malachi). 

For the Christian believer, observing the period of the Kings teaches us valuable lessons on how God deals with us, matters of the heart, the need for Godly character and the triumph and tragedies involved in our responses to God's word. 

More importantly, we see the establishment of the offices of prophet and king, both of which foreshadow the person and work of Jesus Christ.  He as our Prophet is God in human flesh revealing God at work on humanity's behalf.  As The King, Christ rules over His church and will be returning soon in bodily form to set up His Kingdom.  Below are summaries of the two themes comprising this crucial period of the biblical record - The United and Divided Kingdoms.

Theme Seven: United Kingdom

After refusing to acknowledge God as their true king, God in His permissive will grants the people’s request for a human king.  In the books of Samuel and the first part of 1 Kings God focuses our attention upon 3 kings: Saul, David and Solomon.  Among them David ranks as the first in importance.  Whenever you see this theme, you know that we will be focusing upon one or all three of these Kings.

Theme Eight: Divided Kingdom

Following the death of Solomon, Israel become divided into two kingdoms: Israel to the North and Judah to the South.  The Northern Kingdom has 19 kings, spanning a period of 208 years.  Sadly, not one example of a godly king is found in the Northern Kingdom of Samaria (sometimes also called Ephraim or Israel).  The Northern Kingdom became a rival center of worship and spirituality, picturing for us example after example of the battle that the Christian wages against the self and the world.

The Southern Kingdom (sometimes called Judah) ends up having 20 kings, 8 of which were godly and 3 of those being of exceptional godly character.  It would be through this kingline that God would eventually bring about Christ.  The kingdom of Judah spanned from 930 b.c to 722 b.c, ending in it's captivity into Babylon.  Even though it looked like God was done with that people, He kept sending prophets like Daniel and within 70 years brought the nation back to Jerusalem.  Men such as Ezra, Nehemiah and Malachi were raised up to ministry to these people.  God shows once again that His faithfulness to His promises exceeds the sin and faithlessness of his people.  No other period of time in the Old Testament marks such extremes of spiritual revival and marked rebellion as this period of the Divided Kingdom. 

Tomorrow we will look at two final themes of the Old Testament - Exile and Anticipation.  Understand, dear reader, that God's plan for history provides a pattern for His particular plan for you.  Romans 15:4 gives you the value for studying scriptures such as the ones we just surveyed:  "For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope."

Bird's Eye View of the Bible P2 - Moses, Conquest and Judges

Yesterday we began exploring a bird's eye overview of the Bible by noting its major themes.  We looked at three of them: Creation, Catastrophe and Patriarchs - themes which summarize the first 2200 years or so of biblical history in the book of Genesis.  Today we want to continue, noting three other themes that will cover the time from Moses and the Exodus right up to the time before the reign of the Kings in Israel.  Observe how often books and sections of the Old Testament can give helpful illustrations of truths pertaining to your Christian walk.

Theme Four: Moses

Moses stands at the gateway of what will become the nation of Israel. Truly God’s calling and molding of Moses into a prophet, a statesman, a leader and as a broken man speaks volumes to what it means to walk with God.  Exodus through Deuteronomy, as well a Psalm 90 (and possibly the book of Job) represents the key writings of this remarkable man.  Chief of the events in Moses’ life was how God used him to lead 2 million Israelites across the Red Sea.  This event is mentioned over 25 times in the Old Testament, certifying God’s use of this man in the life and theology of the Old Testament.  The Exodus event, as you will see below, pictures salvation.

Theme Five: Conquest

Following the heels of Moses’ death, Joshua, his faithful aid, becomes the new leader of the mighty nation.  Joshua and the people of God are called to take possession of the land promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.  Utter conquest of 7 Canaanite nations and over 100 cities describe the call of Joshua and the Israelites.  Conquest is a vital theme, since in the Book of Joshua we can learn vital truths pertaining to the overcoming Christian life (please compare the theme of "more than conquerors" in Romans 8:32-39).  If you were to take the Red Sea Crossing in Exodus and the Conquest of Canaan in Joshua, they both represent two essential truths of the Christian life. 

The Exodus pictures for us salvation, conversion, being brought forth from the bondage to sin into the freedom of salvation in Jesus Christ (Paul draws this connection in 1 Corinthians 10 and 2 Corinthians 5:7).  Joshua and the Conquest picture for us the Christian's growth in Christ following salvation - i.e sancitfication.  It is in this book we learn the vital lesson of fighting the good fight of faith and overcoming the enemy through the word of God, the cross and the Spirit's leading.  The writer in Hebrews 3 mentions this connection between Joshua and the Christian life by describing growth in Christ as entering into the "rest of God". 

Theme Six: Judges

What happens when there is no order, no God-ward focus among the people of God?  Judges helps us to understand the results of such a sad and oft repeat reality.  Though the generation under Joshua had for the most part conquered Canaan land, the areas that they refused to conquer came back to bite the next generation.  It would not take long before a cycle of sin and bondage would come to dominate Israel.  Judges and Ruth both give the shocking picture of what takes place when one generation fails to pass on the truth of God’s glory to the next generation. 

These two books also picture for us what occurs when the believer refuses to take "possession of the land of their soul", and allow compromise and self to lead them.  This state, called "carnality" (or worldliness, "getting in the flesh") is something of which the scripture commands us to wage war against.  Passages such as 2 Corinthians 10:4-5 describes such a battle, faught in the area of our thoughtlife, bringing every thought and attitude under the obedience of Jesus Christ. 

Thankfully, despite the people's pattern of "getting stuck in the rut", the God of glory did not give up on them.  As is always the case, 2 Timothy 2:13 gives us the reason why God will not let the Christian remain for long in a such a state:  "If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself."   

Tomorrows Blog will explore more themes as we aim to gain a bird's eye view of the Bible.  May the Lord richly bless you this day, dear reader.