The Person of the Lord Jesus Christ!
John D. LaVier
In reading any book it is good to know
the author and the Bible is no exception. The Author of the Book is God and in
it He has revealed Himself so that we may know Him. This knowledge is
imperative and essential. In His great high-priestly prayer Jesus said,
"And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God,
and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent" (John 17:3). Dr. Bullinger has
written an article on "The Christian's Greatest Need." In it he
states that our greatest need is to know God, and God can only be known through
His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ Himself said, "Neither knoweth any
man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal
him" (Matthew 11:27). Coming to Christ and putting our trust in Him and in
the work He accomplished for us at Calvary we are saved by the grace of God and
born into God's family. As newborn babes we are then to desire the sincere milk
of the Word so that we may grow thereby. The child of God should be growing in
grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. This is
accomplished by feeding on the Word, going from the milk to the meat, and
becoming strong, mature and stalwart in the Christian life. Sadly, many never
get off the milk diet, never develop, and remain spiritual babies. This must
surely be a heartbreak to their heavenly Father.
It is fitting that our first lessons
should deal with the Person of God's Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. It
is God's desire tllatHe should have the pre-eminence in all things and it is
certainly our desire that He should be preeminent in these lessons; that every
eye should see Him and hearts set aflame with love for Him. He is the great and
grand subject of Scripture and it is important that we have proper thoughts of
Him. Newell writes: "There are two great truths you must hold fast; the
truth about our Lord's Person and the truth about His Work." Jesus asked
the question, "What think ye of Christ?" and we ought to be certain
we have the right answer. John Newton has well written:
"What think ye of Christ? " is
the test To try both your state and your scheme'
You cannot be right in the rest, Unless
you think rightly of Him.
The Bible clearly teaches that the Babe
born at Bethlehem, who lived among men as Jesus of Nazareth, was indeed
Almighty God in human form.The prophet Micah, foretelling His birth, said,
"Whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting" (5:2).
The gospel of John, which presents the Divinity and Deity of Jesus, opens with
this tremendous statement: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word
was with God, and the Word was God." The One referred to in this verse as
"the Word" is none other than the Lord Jesus. This will also be His
name at His second coming, for we read, "And he was
clothed with a vesture dipped in blood; and his name is called The Word of
God" (Revelation 19: 13). There are three things to be noted in John 1: 1:
He was in the beginning. In I John 1:1 we
also read of a beginning and there it refers to the beginning of Christ's
earthly ministry. In Genesis 1:1 the reference is to the beginning of the
creation. Here in John 1:1 we are taken back to ages past. This is really a
beginning without a beginning. The Word (Gr. Logos) is the eternally existing
Christ.
He was with God. He was with God the
Father and with God the Holy Ghost, for as God the Son He was a member of the
Holy Trinity. Genesis 1:26 reads: "And God said, let us make man in our
image, after our likeness. "The plural pronouns in this verse indicate the
three Persons of the Godhead.
3) He was God. Words could not be plainer
in expressing the Deity of the Lord Jesus Christ. "And without controversy
great is the mystery of godliness; God was manifest in the flesh" (l Tim.
3:16).
The Lord Jesus, who was the Eternal Word,
was truly God and the Creator as well. In the third verse of this first chapter
of John's gospel is written: "All things were made by Him; and without Him
was not anything made that was made." It was the Trinity which said,
"Let us ... make," but God the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, was the
active agent in creation. There are many Scriptures which state this, such as
Colossians 1:16, "For by Him were all things created, that are in heaven,
and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or
dominions, or principalities, or powers; all things were created by Him, and
for Him." Also, Hebrews 1:2 affirms that "God ... hath in these last
days spoken unto us (Hebrews) by His Son, whom He hath appointed heir of all
things, by whom also He made the worlds." Christ is the Great God and
Mighty Maker of all things. He is the Eternal One. He is "the high and
lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy" (Isaiah 57: 15).
On the isle of Patmos He introduced Himself to John with the words "1 am
Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and
which was, and which is to come, the Almighty" (Revelation 1:8).
There is a precious statement made in
Hebrews 13:8, where we read: "Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today,
and for ever." It is good to know that midst all the changing scenes
around there is One who is unchanging. He proved to His people of old that,
regardless of their changing attitudes, He was ever the same faithful and
dependable God. He proves today also that amid the vicissitudes of life He is
the same steadfast, loving, forgiving Saviour who merits our full trust, love
and confidence. He will be forever the same. He can say, "For I am the
Lord, I change not" (Malachi 3:6). But now we would ask the question: Does
the fact that Christ is ever the same as to His person, pathos, and power mean
that His dealings with mankind are always the same? The answer is no. We should
give heed to the different ways in which Christ is viewed and to the dissimilar
programs for His people. It is interesting that Hebrews 13: 8 is followed by
these words: "Be not carried about with divers and strange
doctrines." There are those with divers and strange doctrines who quote
the 8th verse to support their fancied healing programs. They say that when
Jesus was here on earth He healed all who were brought to Him, and since He is
always the same He heals today in the same way. Jesus Christ is indeed ever the
same, but they fail to see that in His dealings with mankind He does not always
act in the same way. He was not acting in the same capacity when here in the
flesh in the form of a servant as He was in eternity past when in the form of
God. He will not be acting in the same capacity in the future when speaking to
the nations in His wrath as He is today when speaking to them in mercy and
grace. And His instructions or marching orders for His people do change with
the changing times.
In Philippians 2: 5-7 is the great
passage on the self-humbling of Christ. We read:
"Let this mind be in you, which was
also in Christ Jesus; who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to
be equal with God; but made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the
form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men. "
Here is found the Doctrine of the
Kenosis. This title comes from the Greek in the expression "made Himself
of no reputation" which really means "emptied Himself." This
does not mean He divested Himself of His Deity. Not in the least. He was just
as much God when walking the dusty trails of Galilee as when seated on His
eternal throne and creating all things. Scofield says: "Nothing in this
passage teaches that the Eterna! Word (John 1:I) emptied Himself of either His
divine nature, or His attributes, but only of the outward and visible
manifestation of the Godhead." In the time prior to His birth at Bethlehem
He was in the form of God, and on an equality with God as a member of the
Godhead Three. John 4:24 states that "God is a Spirit" so before His
incarnation Christ had no physical body, but coming into the world He came in
the body prepared for Him in the womb of the virgin. He lived among men in that
body, was put to death in that body, and rose from the dead in bodily form, but
it was now a glorified body no longer subject to natural laws. He ascended in
that body and now there is something new in heaven. There is a Man in the
Glory. "For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ
Jesus" (1 Timothy 2:5). Notice the one mediator is not the woman of the
assumption but the Man of the Ascension, the Man Christ Jesus. And when He
comes again to earth He will come in a body with the marks of Calvary on that
body.
We contemplate with awe this mystery of
godliness, God manifest in the flesh, and we bow in wonder. This is holy ground
and we put off the shoes from our feet. The great Creator humbling Himself,
taking upon Him creature fonn, in order that He might die and atone for the
creature's sins. After one of his sennons a woman came to Dr. McKay and said,
"1 can't accept that." He replied, "You can't accept what?"
"Well," she said, "this idea of God punishing an innocent man
for the misdeeds of the guilty; that isn't right." Dr. McKay said,
"Madam, it is not the case of God punishing an innocent man for guilty
men. On the cross we see the offended God Himself, the One who had been sinned
against, taking our humanity and dying in order that the guilt of His creatures
might be taken away." "But is that right?" "Madam,"
replied he, "It is love." Yes, it was infinite love that brought the Saviour
down from the ivory palaces above and into this world of sin and woe. It was
love that caused Him to live here among men, despised and rejected and hated
without a cause. It was love that led Him to Calvary to suffer and die,
shedding His precious blood for our sins. We can say, "He loved me, and
gave Himself for me." What should be our response to this love? We ought
to love Him in return and to prove our love by living in a way that pleases
Him.
One never tires of reading in the gospels
of the wonderful life lived by the Saviour while here on earth. The Apostle
John had this wonderful life in view when he wrote: "And the Word was made
flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only
begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth" (John 1: 14). We read of
the mighty works He performed, listen to the words of grace that fell from His
lips, see Him ministering to the needs of those around, and we bow in worship
and exclaim, "Truly this was the Son of God." And yet, the life lived
by Jesus, sinless and God-pleasing though it was, could not save us.
"Without the shedding of blood is no remission" (Hebrews 9:22), and
"Except a com of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone; but
if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit" (John 12:24). Sinners are saved,
not by Christ's life, but by His death. The gospel is that Christ died for our
sins and that Christ died for the ungodly. Further, in considering Jesus'
wonderful life, and as much as we may profit from the record of it, we must
recognize that when here in the flesh He was not sent to us Gentiles. He said:
"1 am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel"
(Matthew 15:24). When here as King of the Jews, their Messiall, He confined His
ministry to that people. Paul wrote: "Now 1 say that Jesus Christ was a
minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made
unto the fathers" (Romans 15:8).
The Lord Jesus Christ had come as
Israel's long-awaited Messiah, the one who was to save them from their enemies,
and while here He confined His ministry to that nation. We are not to think,
however, that His life did not concern us Gentiles, for we do have a deep
interest in it. By His sinlessness, as the Lamb without spot or blemish, He
proved that He was competent to deal with our sins and to put them away by the
sacrifice of Himself. Then, too, the fact that He was once here in this
wilderness scene, tested and tried as we, is that which qualifies Him as our
great High Priest, now to appear in the presence of God for us. And because of
His experience, having walked where we walk, He knows and understands, and in
our time of trouble can come alongside and give the help needed. The late Dr.
Hallman has written: "Christ was tempted in all points like as we - sin
excepted. His round of temptations gives Him experiential knowledge of our
conflicts; so his sympathy is not just the pity of an onlooker, but the
compassion of a fellow sufferer." The Scripture says: "For we have
not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities;
but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin" (Hebrews 4:
15). The double negative "not" and "cannot" express a
strong affirmative: "We have a high priest who can be touched with the feeling
of our infirmities."
Because of His experience, akin to ours,
He knows and understands. Stuart Hutchinson tells of a boy who lost his right
hand, and was so humiliated he wanted no one to see him. His father suggested
that a certain minister come and see him, but the boy rebelled against it.
Finally, the father sent for this minister, and when he came the boy saw that
he too had lost his right hand. Then there was an immediate bond of sympathy.
The minister could say: "I know how it feels."
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Les Feldick Ministries
30706 W. Lona Valley Rd.
Kinta, OK 74552
Posted By Cecil and Connie Spivey
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