Resting In Him
August 7th, 2005, 03:13 AM
THE LORD JESUS CHRIST
As Creator and Sustainer
Before the creation of time and space, before His humiliation here on earth, He existed in glory.
And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began. John 17:5.
The Father does nothing directly, but all through His Son and by His Spirit.
For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. Colossians 1: 16, 17.
God... has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also he made the universe, who being the brightness of God's glory and the express image of [the Father's] person, and upholding all things by the word of His power... Hebrews 1: 2, 3.
He has re-created those who believe, in a new and different way--as new-creation Christians.
For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:10.
His Life on Earth
"It is of prime importance in considering the earthly ministry of Jesus to understand that it was not aimed at the Gentile (non-Jewish) world, but at the covenant nation of Israel as their Messiah. His ministry took place during the dispensation of law (Galatians 4:4). Its purpose was to call the lost sheep of the house of Israel back into a right relationship to God through a water baptism symbolizing repentance for the remission of their sins.
"Matthew 4:23 and 10:5-8 give the content of the Lord Jesus' earthly ministry:
Jesus went throughout Galilee teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people.
These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: "Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel. As you go, preach this message: 'The kingdom of heaven is near.' Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give."
John the Baptist has introduced the Lord Jesus' ministry with the message...
Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near. Matthew 3:2
And Luke tells us that John...
went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
One of the great errors of preaching in the church has been to give to Gentile sinners the message that John the Baptist and the Lord Jesus preached to covenant Israel, thus holding out hope that they would be saved by confessing their sins and submitting to water baptism.
It should be noted that there is not one word in the Gospel that was preached by John and the Lord Jesus of faith in a crucified and risen Savior. Instead, we are told that when the Lord Jesus did mention his impending death,
The disciples did not understand any of this. Its meaning was hidden from them, and they did not know what he was talking about. Luke 18:34
Not only was the earthly ministry a message of repentance, it was an announcement that the kingdom of heaven was at hand. The kingdom of heaven is not a kingdom in heaven, but a kingdom originating from the heavens and ruling over the earth. Accompanying this message of the kingdom of the heavens was a ministry of physical healing and restoring of physical life, which was in keeping with God's promise for that coming time of millennial blessing.
Peter, in offering this kingdom to Israel after the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus, spoke of it as the time...
...for God to restore everything, as he promised long ago through his holy prophets. Acts 3:21
Those Old Testament prophets knew nothing of the Church. The writer of Hebrews speaks of these miracles of healing as tasting of the powers of the coming age (Hebrews 6:4) (i.e. the Millennial age)."
Nevertheless, it is the Christian's privilege to behold Him, via the written Word, in His earthly walk and work. As we read and contemplate Him, we see his firm yet loving attitudes. We witness His restfulness during times of crisis; his compassion and humility.
And we, who with unveiled faces all contemplate the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. 2 Corinthians 3:18
His Life in Glory
The Holy Spirit will not allow us to be content with only knowing the earthly life of the Lord Jesus. With His resurrection and ascension, and the Holy Spirit's leading, a new level of intimacy is available to new-creation Christians. We are told,
Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. Colossians 3:1-3
The above admonishment is the spiritual 'stargate' to the fulfillment of the Lord Jesus' prayer.
Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me... John 17:24
I have revealed you to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be theirs and that I myself may be in them. John 17:26
We are to know Him as He is, where He is, and always by means of the written Word. We cannot turn back because,
... from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. 2 Corinthians 5:16
As we behold Him, and study to know Him better in His glory, we begin to have the assurance that Paul's prayer for us is slowly being answered.
I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know Him better... the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which He has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints. (Ephesians 1:17,18)
With the passage of time, we can say with confidence like the earlier believers,
And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. 1 John 1:3
His Place as Head of the Body
The Lord Jesus Christ is the Last Adam, the Second Man, the Firstborn of a new race.
...He is the Head of the Body, the church; He is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything He might have supremacy. Colossians 1:18
Figuratively, He is our Head and we (Christians collectively) are His body on earth. Since He is sovereign over the entire universe, it is fitting we acknowledge Him as Lord of our personal lives.
And God placed all things under his feet and appointed Him to be head over everything for the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills everything in every way. Ephesians 1:22,23
To extend the metaphor, Christendom suffers from a spinal cord injury having lost connection with the Head and the life of the First Adam is primarily resident.
He [the unspiritual minded] has lost connection with the Head [Christ Jesus], from whom the whole Body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow. Colossians 2:19
But genuine believers, having been co-resurrected and co-ascended, are privileged to set their hearts and minds on...
...things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Colossians 3:1,2
His Role as Our Personal Intercessor
As a believer, you have the finest legal representation before the Father; and since it has been all by grace, it cost you nothing!
Therefore He is able to save completely those who come to God through Him [the Lord Jesus Christ], because He always lives to intercede for them. Hebrews 7:25
Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died--more than that, who was raised to life--is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Romans 8:33, 34
"When the Christian sins, his relationship to the Father is not affected, but his fellowship with Him is impaired. When we fail to confess our sins [to Him], or to judge ourselves in the matter of sin, we must be chastened. When our Father's child-training is applied, it is always well deserved and for our good."
No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. Hebrews 12:11
"There are many Christians who feel that confession of sin is unnecessary. They reason that if their sins are already fully forgiven [in Christ's atoning work at Calvary], why bother to confess them? It is true that we need not ask for forgiveness when we sin; rather, we are free to thank Him for that forgiveness provided at Calvary and received in Christ. But it is necessary to honestly confess our sins [to God directly], thus siding with Him against ourselves, else how can we enjoy true fellowship with the One who is holy and hates sin perfectly?"
Think for a moment of someone who experiences a loved one sinning against him. Wounded, but ever loving, he forgives and says nothing. Meanwhile the loved one, although knowing there is forgiveness, does not confess his the sin. Forgiveness is there, love is waiting. But now where is the fellowship and integrity of this relationship?" MJS
God is Light; in Him there is no [immoral] darkness at all. 1 John 1:5
But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another [and Him], and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from every sin. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves [not Him], and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:7-9
Keep in mind, that Christ's blood answers only to sins. It is Christ's death UNTO the principal of sin or sin nature [the Cross and our co-crucifixion] that addresses the root problem, our polluted life inherited from the First Adam.
Christ - The Christian's Life
...the Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. Genesis 2:7
The first man, Adam [first Adam] was created and animated directly by God. As the representative head of the human race, God's infusion of life was a one time event. Subsequently, this life became corrupted, and death and decay found entrance into the universe and mankind.
Adam...had a son in his own likeness, in his own image; and he named him Seth. Genesis 5:3
...sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men... Romans 5:12
Adam congenitally transmitted his life [the corrupted life which animated his being] to his descendants--even to you and me. God's answer for this problem is NEW LIFE flowing from a new source of life -- a new representative man, a Last Adam. And God has provided such a One.
For God so loved the world that He gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal Life. John 3:16
I am the Resurrection and the Life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies... John 11:25
And God's answer for the Christian is to exchange the old life [which flows from the first Adam] for a new life which is the Lord Jesus Christ--God's Last Adam.
...just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness [Christ's death at Calvary and subsequent resurrection] was justification that brings LIFE... Romans 5:18
For new-creation Christians, the Lord of glory is our Life. Christian living is not attempting to follow a code of conduct, which is doomed to failure. It is NEW LIFE finding expression in us, supplanting the life force which continues to flow from the first Adam. Not change -- but exchange!
I have been crucified with Christ and I [the individual animated by the first Adam] no longer live, but Christ lives in me [the new-creation Christian]. The life [which flows from the Last Adam--the True Vine] I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. Galatians 2:20
MJS
http://withchrist.org/knowhim.htm
As Creator and Sustainer
Before the creation of time and space, before His humiliation here on earth, He existed in glory.
And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began. John 17:5.
The Father does nothing directly, but all through His Son and by His Spirit.
For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. Colossians 1: 16, 17.
God... has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also he made the universe, who being the brightness of God's glory and the express image of [the Father's] person, and upholding all things by the word of His power... Hebrews 1: 2, 3.
He has re-created those who believe, in a new and different way--as new-creation Christians.
For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:10.
His Life on Earth
"It is of prime importance in considering the earthly ministry of Jesus to understand that it was not aimed at the Gentile (non-Jewish) world, but at the covenant nation of Israel as their Messiah. His ministry took place during the dispensation of law (Galatians 4:4). Its purpose was to call the lost sheep of the house of Israel back into a right relationship to God through a water baptism symbolizing repentance for the remission of their sins.
"Matthew 4:23 and 10:5-8 give the content of the Lord Jesus' earthly ministry:
Jesus went throughout Galilee teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people.
These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: "Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel. As you go, preach this message: 'The kingdom of heaven is near.' Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give."
John the Baptist has introduced the Lord Jesus' ministry with the message...
Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near. Matthew 3:2
And Luke tells us that John...
went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
One of the great errors of preaching in the church has been to give to Gentile sinners the message that John the Baptist and the Lord Jesus preached to covenant Israel, thus holding out hope that they would be saved by confessing their sins and submitting to water baptism.
It should be noted that there is not one word in the Gospel that was preached by John and the Lord Jesus of faith in a crucified and risen Savior. Instead, we are told that when the Lord Jesus did mention his impending death,
The disciples did not understand any of this. Its meaning was hidden from them, and they did not know what he was talking about. Luke 18:34
Not only was the earthly ministry a message of repentance, it was an announcement that the kingdom of heaven was at hand. The kingdom of heaven is not a kingdom in heaven, but a kingdom originating from the heavens and ruling over the earth. Accompanying this message of the kingdom of the heavens was a ministry of physical healing and restoring of physical life, which was in keeping with God's promise for that coming time of millennial blessing.
Peter, in offering this kingdom to Israel after the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus, spoke of it as the time...
...for God to restore everything, as he promised long ago through his holy prophets. Acts 3:21
Those Old Testament prophets knew nothing of the Church. The writer of Hebrews speaks of these miracles of healing as tasting of the powers of the coming age (Hebrews 6:4) (i.e. the Millennial age)."
Nevertheless, it is the Christian's privilege to behold Him, via the written Word, in His earthly walk and work. As we read and contemplate Him, we see his firm yet loving attitudes. We witness His restfulness during times of crisis; his compassion and humility.
And we, who with unveiled faces all contemplate the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. 2 Corinthians 3:18
His Life in Glory
The Holy Spirit will not allow us to be content with only knowing the earthly life of the Lord Jesus. With His resurrection and ascension, and the Holy Spirit's leading, a new level of intimacy is available to new-creation Christians. We are told,
Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. Colossians 3:1-3
The above admonishment is the spiritual 'stargate' to the fulfillment of the Lord Jesus' prayer.
Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me... John 17:24
I have revealed you to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be theirs and that I myself may be in them. John 17:26
We are to know Him as He is, where He is, and always by means of the written Word. We cannot turn back because,
... from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. 2 Corinthians 5:16
As we behold Him, and study to know Him better in His glory, we begin to have the assurance that Paul's prayer for us is slowly being answered.
I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know Him better... the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which He has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints. (Ephesians 1:17,18)
With the passage of time, we can say with confidence like the earlier believers,
And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. 1 John 1:3
His Place as Head of the Body
The Lord Jesus Christ is the Last Adam, the Second Man, the Firstborn of a new race.
...He is the Head of the Body, the church; He is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything He might have supremacy. Colossians 1:18
Figuratively, He is our Head and we (Christians collectively) are His body on earth. Since He is sovereign over the entire universe, it is fitting we acknowledge Him as Lord of our personal lives.
And God placed all things under his feet and appointed Him to be head over everything for the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills everything in every way. Ephesians 1:22,23
To extend the metaphor, Christendom suffers from a spinal cord injury having lost connection with the Head and the life of the First Adam is primarily resident.
He [the unspiritual minded] has lost connection with the Head [Christ Jesus], from whom the whole Body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow. Colossians 2:19
But genuine believers, having been co-resurrected and co-ascended, are privileged to set their hearts and minds on...
...things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Colossians 3:1,2
His Role as Our Personal Intercessor
As a believer, you have the finest legal representation before the Father; and since it has been all by grace, it cost you nothing!
Therefore He is able to save completely those who come to God through Him [the Lord Jesus Christ], because He always lives to intercede for them. Hebrews 7:25
Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died--more than that, who was raised to life--is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Romans 8:33, 34
"When the Christian sins, his relationship to the Father is not affected, but his fellowship with Him is impaired. When we fail to confess our sins [to Him], or to judge ourselves in the matter of sin, we must be chastened. When our Father's child-training is applied, it is always well deserved and for our good."
No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. Hebrews 12:11
"There are many Christians who feel that confession of sin is unnecessary. They reason that if their sins are already fully forgiven [in Christ's atoning work at Calvary], why bother to confess them? It is true that we need not ask for forgiveness when we sin; rather, we are free to thank Him for that forgiveness provided at Calvary and received in Christ. But it is necessary to honestly confess our sins [to God directly], thus siding with Him against ourselves, else how can we enjoy true fellowship with the One who is holy and hates sin perfectly?"
Think for a moment of someone who experiences a loved one sinning against him. Wounded, but ever loving, he forgives and says nothing. Meanwhile the loved one, although knowing there is forgiveness, does not confess his the sin. Forgiveness is there, love is waiting. But now where is the fellowship and integrity of this relationship?" MJS
God is Light; in Him there is no [immoral] darkness at all. 1 John 1:5
But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another [and Him], and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from every sin. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves [not Him], and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:7-9
Keep in mind, that Christ's blood answers only to sins. It is Christ's death UNTO the principal of sin or sin nature [the Cross and our co-crucifixion] that addresses the root problem, our polluted life inherited from the First Adam.
Christ - The Christian's Life
...the Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. Genesis 2:7
The first man, Adam [first Adam] was created and animated directly by God. As the representative head of the human race, God's infusion of life was a one time event. Subsequently, this life became corrupted, and death and decay found entrance into the universe and mankind.
Adam...had a son in his own likeness, in his own image; and he named him Seth. Genesis 5:3
...sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men... Romans 5:12
Adam congenitally transmitted his life [the corrupted life which animated his being] to his descendants--even to you and me. God's answer for this problem is NEW LIFE flowing from a new source of life -- a new representative man, a Last Adam. And God has provided such a One.
For God so loved the world that He gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal Life. John 3:16
I am the Resurrection and the Life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies... John 11:25
And God's answer for the Christian is to exchange the old life [which flows from the first Adam] for a new life which is the Lord Jesus Christ--God's Last Adam.
...just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness [Christ's death at Calvary and subsequent resurrection] was justification that brings LIFE... Romans 5:18
For new-creation Christians, the Lord of glory is our Life. Christian living is not attempting to follow a code of conduct, which is doomed to failure. It is NEW LIFE finding expression in us, supplanting the life force which continues to flow from the first Adam. Not change -- but exchange!
I have been crucified with Christ and I [the individual animated by the first Adam] no longer live, but Christ lives in me [the new-creation Christian]. The life [which flows from the Last Adam--the True Vine] I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. Galatians 2:20
MJS
http://withchrist.org/knowhim.htm