Passage of the Day: Colossians 1: 15b NIV … [see highlight verse in bold/underlined in the context of the entire passage] … 15 The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For in Him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through Him and for Him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And 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 the supremacy. 19 For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him, 20 and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through His blood, shed on the cross.
My Journal for Today: Today’s verse, again from Colossians 1, tells us much about the preeminence of Christ as the God-Man. Paul was writing to the Church about heretics in his day who wanted to deny Christ’s deity, much like the Jehovah-Witness cult would today, using today’s verse as support for their beliefs, saying that the reference to “firstborn” would indicate that Jesus of Nazareth, being a firstborn human, could not therefore be the eternal God.
However, as MacArthur indicates in his Strength for Today entry for this date, such an interpretation and/or translation of Col. 1: 15b, ignores the Greek meaning for the term “firstborn,” which is “prototokos.” This term can, as Jehovah’s Witnesses contend, mean the firstborn in a family, whether human or animal. However, when it refers to royalty or positional authority, in this case referring to Christ’s position in and over creation, it takes on a broader, more encompassing connotation. In the latter case it refers to ranking by inheritance or position; and here Paul is referring to Christ’s ranking as THE ONE with the right of inheritance over all creation.
If any rational person were to study Col. 1: 15 – 17, he/she would see that the context clearly argues against any who would say that Christ couldn’t be God because of His human birth. Rather, we can declare from this text, with Paul, that Christ, though born a human, was, is, and always will be The One from Whom all creation emanates.
You know, … if you’re a golf fan, many times when a prominent golfer tees off in a tournament on TV, you’ll hear somebody yell, “You ‘da man!!” in the background. Well, when it comes to Jesus, we should be shouting out loudly, “YOU are THE Man, dear Jesus!!” And all should hear from our lips and see in our lives the truth of divinity in this man, Jesus, the Son of God, for Whom we should live our lives in worship.
I don’t know about you, but this study in Christology this month, with the help of God’s Spirit and John MacArthur has been most edifying, reminding me of Who Christ is and what He has done for all mankind in His incarnation, life, death, resurrection, ascension, glorification, and intercession. Just a few more days; but stay tuned for a bit more about our Lord; and learning anything more about The Christ is worth the effort.
My Prayer Today: You are THE ONE, Lord! Amen
Showing posts with label God-Man. Show all posts
Showing posts with label God-Man. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Friday, December 09, 2011
December 9, 2011 … Christ’s Outward Appearance
Passage of the Day: Philippians 2: 8a [ NIV - see highlight passage in bold/underlined] … 5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross!
My Journal for Today: The most important question anyone will ever confront and answer in this life is “Who is this Man, Jesus?” At one point, as documented in Matt. 16: 15-16, Jesus even asked His inner core of disciples this pointed question, "Who do you say I am;” to which Peter got the pop quiz right by intellectually responding, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” But Jesus knew that Peter, even though he answered with the true answer, he and the Disciples had not yet internalized that truth; and they would later fall in disbelief several times before Jesus died on the cross.
For years I was a fool and pretended the answer to Jesus’ question was unimportant. But finally I came to recognize the ultimate importance of answering that question correctly; and I was brought to a place by God so that I could see Him for Whom He really was and is … and that is Jesus, The Messiah and the Son of the living God.
Today’s verse in the Phil. 2 passage (i.e., verse 8a), in the context of the verse immediately proceeding, i.e., verse 7, shows the degree to which Christ was willing to experience the humiliation of humanity to reveal His deity in a way that mankind could identify and see Who He really is. But having been one of those blinded to His deity, I now wonder how mankind, including myself, could not see Christ as King of kings and Lord of lords, … the Savior of all mankind. The “fools” of Christ’s day, even most of the ones who saw Him physically, even as He performed wondrous miracles, saw only Jesus’ “appearance” as a man. That word “appearance” in today’s verse is the Greek term “schema,” from which we get our word, “scheme.” It means the “outer form” of anything … that which we can see or perceive with our senses.
In other words, as Christ walked the earth, even doing incredible miracles that only God could do, most of those around Him only chose to only see His “schema,” … His humanity; and most could not – or would not – see God in the God-Man. That even included the twelve chosen disciples who were closest to our Lord during His three years of earthly ministry. As I said above, I was that way for 39 years of my life. I would have been like those in John 6: 42 or 8: 48, rejecting Jesus for Whom He really was/is. Our human, selfish logic often only allows us to see the outer “schema” of a person, not being willing or able to see inside to perceive the real person – or in the case of Jesus, being blind to His deity. Though I must admit that it’s tough for me to see how his twelve disciples, who had seen Jesus feed thousands from a few fishes and loaves and who saw Him walk on water, could bolt and run when he was taken by the Romans and Jews to be crucified. But truth be told, had I been one of His inner circle, I probably would have been one of the cowards myself.
Take it from one who knows; … it’s so easy to humanize God or to rationalize the truth concerning Jesus, rather than to deal with Christ or His word personally. Jesus and His truth demands that we accept Him for Whom He is … in faith. Jesus of Nazareth was/is God! And His Gospel is truth, the real message of the Advent Season in which we find ourselves at this time of the year! We must accept it and deal with it … from the inside out – totally – not just the outer skin.
I pray that we’ve all done that … but stay tuned … we will get to know this Jesus even further during the rest of this month. >>>
My Prayer Today: Lord Jesus, You are my King and my Lord! Amen
My Journal for Today: The most important question anyone will ever confront and answer in this life is “Who is this Man, Jesus?” At one point, as documented in Matt. 16: 15-16, Jesus even asked His inner core of disciples this pointed question, "Who do you say I am;” to which Peter got the pop quiz right by intellectually responding, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” But Jesus knew that Peter, even though he answered with the true answer, he and the Disciples had not yet internalized that truth; and they would later fall in disbelief several times before Jesus died on the cross.
For years I was a fool and pretended the answer to Jesus’ question was unimportant. But finally I came to recognize the ultimate importance of answering that question correctly; and I was brought to a place by God so that I could see Him for Whom He really was and is … and that is Jesus, The Messiah and the Son of the living God.
Today’s verse in the Phil. 2 passage (i.e., verse 8a), in the context of the verse immediately proceeding, i.e., verse 7, shows the degree to which Christ was willing to experience the humiliation of humanity to reveal His deity in a way that mankind could identify and see Who He really is. But having been one of those blinded to His deity, I now wonder how mankind, including myself, could not see Christ as King of kings and Lord of lords, … the Savior of all mankind. The “fools” of Christ’s day, even most of the ones who saw Him physically, even as He performed wondrous miracles, saw only Jesus’ “appearance” as a man. That word “appearance” in today’s verse is the Greek term “schema,” from which we get our word, “scheme.” It means the “outer form” of anything … that which we can see or perceive with our senses.
In other words, as Christ walked the earth, even doing incredible miracles that only God could do, most of those around Him only chose to only see His “schema,” … His humanity; and most could not – or would not – see God in the God-Man. That even included the twelve chosen disciples who were closest to our Lord during His three years of earthly ministry. As I said above, I was that way for 39 years of my life. I would have been like those in John 6: 42 or 8: 48, rejecting Jesus for Whom He really was/is. Our human, selfish logic often only allows us to see the outer “schema” of a person, not being willing or able to see inside to perceive the real person – or in the case of Jesus, being blind to His deity. Though I must admit that it’s tough for me to see how his twelve disciples, who had seen Jesus feed thousands from a few fishes and loaves and who saw Him walk on water, could bolt and run when he was taken by the Romans and Jews to be crucified. But truth be told, had I been one of His inner circle, I probably would have been one of the cowards myself.
Take it from one who knows; … it’s so easy to humanize God or to rationalize the truth concerning Jesus, rather than to deal with Christ or His word personally. Jesus and His truth demands that we accept Him for Whom He is … in faith. Jesus of Nazareth was/is God! And His Gospel is truth, the real message of the Advent Season in which we find ourselves at this time of the year! We must accept it and deal with it … from the inside out – totally – not just the outer skin.
I pray that we’ve all done that … but stay tuned … we will get to know this Jesus even further during the rest of this month. >>>
My Prayer Today: Lord Jesus, You are my King and my Lord! Amen
Thursday, December 08, 2011
December 8, 2011 … Christ’s Identification With Sinners
Passage of the Day: Philippians 2: 7c [ NIV - see highlight passage in bold/underlined] … 5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross!
Journal for Today: About today’s highlight phrase in Phil. 2: 7c, in his Strength for Today devotional on this date (BTW, my fleshly birthday), John MacArthur quotes from a book entitled Systematic Theology by Charles Hodge, who wrote, “The Scriptures teach that Christ had a … true body and a rational soul … a material body which in everything essential was like the bodies of ordinary men. ... He thought, reasoned and felt [as a man].” MacArthur totally agrees with Hodge, as do I. However, as MacArthur points out, Jesus was more than God in a body. He was The God-Man, born as a babe, Who developed into a man, and was a man Who experienced the effects of man’s fall into sin. No, He didn’t sin; but he experienced, as a human, the temptations and the effects of sin upon mankind. He suffered sorrow, pain, thirst, hunger, and yes, … even death, all of which resulted because of the sin of man in the garden.
And if you read and meditate on Hebrews 2: 14 – 17 (quoted below), you will see why He had to do all of this.
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Hebrews 2: 14 -17 … 14 Since the children have flesh and blood, He too shared in their humanity so that by His death He might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— 15 and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. 16 For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham's descendants. 17 For this reason He had to be made like His brothers in every way, in order that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that He might make atonement for the sins of the people.
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No, Jesus, The Christ, didn’t sin; but He experienced, even with more intensity than man, the pain and anguish of temptation of sin out in the wilderness, confronting Satan (see Matt. 4 and/or Luke 4). And He experienced all of humanity as He walked the earth in his ministry years as well as in the Garden of Gethsemane, and, of course, on the cross. And as the passage from Hebrews above (and in Heb. 4: 17), we see that Jesus, the God-Man, becoming fully human allowed for Christ to become MY High-Priest and MY Savior. Yours too, … IF … you have received and declared His saving grace by faith [see Rom. 10: 9 – 13]. Oh, right now, how I pray you have done that!
Without being fully man, but sinless, Christ could not have shed His perfect blood as the Lamb of God, for my (our) sin. So, we must remember and celebrate (at least in our Eucharist worship) Christ’s sacrifice of His spotless body and perfect blood so that He could be our Redeemer and so that we can have everlasting life in our faith in that very human, but God-ordained, sacrifice on my (our) behalf. And now we have a Savior, who has been re-coronated and re-glorified into the Godhead, … One Who intercedes for us as born-again believers … and One Who has sent His Spirit to minister to our every need.
Is that not good stuff! But there’s more! Stay tuned!
My Prayer Today: On my birthday [who's counting!], Lord, I declare, “HALLELUJAH!!” Oh, how you know the depths of my being as well as my gratitude for making my re-birthday possible. Amen
Journal for Today: About today’s highlight phrase in Phil. 2: 7c, in his Strength for Today devotional on this date (BTW, my fleshly birthday), John MacArthur quotes from a book entitled Systematic Theology by Charles Hodge, who wrote, “The Scriptures teach that Christ had a … true body and a rational soul … a material body which in everything essential was like the bodies of ordinary men. ... He thought, reasoned and felt [as a man].” MacArthur totally agrees with Hodge, as do I. However, as MacArthur points out, Jesus was more than God in a body. He was The God-Man, born as a babe, Who developed into a man, and was a man Who experienced the effects of man’s fall into sin. No, He didn’t sin; but he experienced, as a human, the temptations and the effects of sin upon mankind. He suffered sorrow, pain, thirst, hunger, and yes, … even death, all of which resulted because of the sin of man in the garden.
And if you read and meditate on Hebrews 2: 14 – 17 (quoted below), you will see why He had to do all of this.
--------------
Hebrews 2: 14 -17 … 14 Since the children have flesh and blood, He too shared in their humanity so that by His death He might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— 15 and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. 16 For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham's descendants. 17 For this reason He had to be made like His brothers in every way, in order that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that He might make atonement for the sins of the people.
--------------
No, Jesus, The Christ, didn’t sin; but He experienced, even with more intensity than man, the pain and anguish of temptation of sin out in the wilderness, confronting Satan (see Matt. 4 and/or Luke 4). And He experienced all of humanity as He walked the earth in his ministry years as well as in the Garden of Gethsemane, and, of course, on the cross. And as the passage from Hebrews above (and in Heb. 4: 17), we see that Jesus, the God-Man, becoming fully human allowed for Christ to become MY High-Priest and MY Savior. Yours too, … IF … you have received and declared His saving grace by faith [see Rom. 10: 9 – 13]. Oh, right now, how I pray you have done that!
Without being fully man, but sinless, Christ could not have shed His perfect blood as the Lamb of God, for my (our) sin. So, we must remember and celebrate (at least in our Eucharist worship) Christ’s sacrifice of His spotless body and perfect blood so that He could be our Redeemer and so that we can have everlasting life in our faith in that very human, but God-ordained, sacrifice on my (our) behalf. And now we have a Savior, who has been re-coronated and re-glorified into the Godhead, … One Who intercedes for us as born-again believers … and One Who has sent His Spirit to minister to our every need.
Is that not good stuff! But there’s more! Stay tuned!
My Prayer Today: On my birthday [who's counting!], Lord, I declare, “HALLELUJAH!!” Oh, how you know the depths of my being as well as my gratitude for making my re-birthday possible. Amen
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