Jesus, both human and divine

Colossians 1:15-17 (NLT)

Christ is the visible image of the invisible God.  He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation for through Him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth.  He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see—such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world.  Everything was created through Him and for Him.  He existed before anything else, and He holds all creation together.

I admit that my finite brain cannot comprehend what this passage is saying.  How can any finite human being comprehend what it means to exist before anything was created?  How can any human being comprehend the claim that through Jesus Christ God created everything in the heavens and earth?  Who can understand things we cannot see such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers and authorities in an unseen world?  What is Paul writing about?  What in the world does it mean that Jesus holds all creation together? 

If I don’t know what Paul is writing about here, how can I write anything further?  Well, I am simply going to write about what I do understand.  First, Christ is the visible image of the invisible God.  Jesus said in John 14:9 that “He who has seen Me has seen the Father also”.  God the Father came to the earth in the form of a human being who was/is Jesus Christ.  This is a key belief of Christianity, that God the Father and Jesus the Son are the same person.  Maybe a bad analogy, but it’s like saying that a man is a father and also a son or a woman a mother and also a daughter.

Paul wrote in Philippians 2:6-8 that (and I’m paraphrasing) Jesus was God, but emptied Himself from being God to take the form of being human.  The Message Bible says: “When the time came, he set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human!  Having become human, he stayed human.  It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn't claim special privileges. Instead, he lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death—and the worst kind of death at that—a crucifixion.”  So I can understand that God became visible to all mankind through Jesus Christ coming to the earth to live for 33 years just like any other human being although He committed no sin and was willing to die a sacrificial and very horrible death to save all sinful people from eternal death.

Second, while I cannot comprehend how He existed before anything was created, I can accept that Jesus is eternal.  Since humanity and all of earth are temporal we don’t know what eternal means, but we can accept it since we are not God.  If you reject this claim, you have no basis other than you choose to be arrogant in your intellectual limitations and cannot accept anything based on faith alone. 

Third, I can accept the claim, without needing to understand, that if Jesus is God, He created all things.  The creation story in Genesis 1 is very familiar to followers of God.  Yet how many have carefully read what Genesis 1:26 says---“The God said, ‘Let us make human beings in our image…”.  Did you notice that the pronouns are plural?  God is not speaking of Himself alone.  He also is not speaking of Himself in a third person way.  He also spoke using plural pronouns in Genesis 3:22, Genesis 11:7, and Isaiah 6:8.  Who is He including?  He is including Himself, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit.  So if Jesus was involved in the creation of human beings, He also was involved in the creation of all things. 

No, I nor anyone else can explain these claims about Jesus’ divinity and humanity.  All we can do is believe them based on our faith that the Word of God is true.  Do you have such faith?  If your answer is “yes”, you are blessed.  If your answer is “no”, you have a choice of never believing or continuing to pray and seek the God and the faith He can give you through His Word imparted by His Spirit into your spirit (prayerfully study Romans 8).

Rewards in heaven

I Corinthians 3:13-15 (NASB)

Each man's work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man's work.  If any man's work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. If any man's work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.  

Salvation is based on faith (Ephesians 2:8-9), but on judgment day every Christian will be judged on his/her works as a Christian.  Notice that the word “work” (‘ergo’ in Greek; in physics, an erg is a unit of work or energy) is stated four times in these three verses.  Just as James 2:26 says that faith without works is dead, this passage clearly says that the type and extent of work defines the quality of faith that each Christian performed while on earth.  All professing Christians are saved (read the last verse again although some do argue that it is possible for a Christian to lose his/her salvation), but not all Christians will be rewarded on judgment day. 

Fire is used as the judgment tool that will test the quality of each Christian’s work.  We know that fire both destroys and purifies.  We use fire in our daily lives to cook, to keep us warm, to get rid of what we don’t need anymore.  Biblically, fire has a purging and cleansing effect just as fire will refine precious metals.  God used fire to destroy the evil Sodom and Gommorah (Genesis 19:24).  He will use fire to destroy earth someday (II Peter 3:8).  On judgment day our works will be judged by fire.  Good works will survive the fire and worthless works will be burned up.  Each Christian will be rewarded for good works and suffer great loss for worthless works. 

What kind of works (wood, hay, straw in verse 12) will be destroyed by God’s fire?  Works based on wrong motives, works resulting in selfish gain, evil conduct, refusing to serve and help others, what the Word of God teaches against.

What kind of works will not be burned up (gold, silver, precious stones) and will result in rewards?  Any work that was based on the foundation of Jesus Christ (see verse 11).  Any work based on hospitality, humble love, honesty, patience, putting others before yourself.  Works that built others up (see verse 10), works that planted seeds for others’ salvation, works that emphasized right motives toward Christ, service to Him and others.  God will judge you on the basis of what He has given you and what you have done with His gifts. 

This passage (and others) strongly suggests that people are not going to enjoy heaven to the same degree.  Charles Stanley has taught that rewards will be related to position, privilege, and pleasure in heaven.  What is the quality of your works so far?  What can you do to improve and increase the quality of your works?  Ask God for His forgiveness and His help as you seek Him and His ways to build up treasures in heaven and eventual rewards for good works that can endure the test of fire on judgment day.  Be thankful that you realize these truths now before it’s too late.

Standing in the gap

Ezekiel 22:30-31 (NLT)

“I looked for someone who might rebuild the wall of righteousness that guards the land. I searched for someone to stand in the gap in the wall so I wouldn’t have to destroy the land, but I found no one.  So now I will pour out My fury on them, consuming them with the fire of My anger. I will heap on their heads the full penalty for all their sins. I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken!”

Ezekiel 22 describes the sins of people--spiritual leaders (prophets and priests), government leaders (princes) and all Israeli people--- that had become so great that God Himself had begun the effort to find a person who would intercede for these sinful people.  Verse 30 says that He “found no one”.  The person God was looking for was someone who could “stand in the gap” in the wall of righteousness that guards the land.  Because He could find no one who could fulfill this need, He had to proceed to punish the people for their sins.  That punishment was the fall of Jerusalem and nearly all the Jewish people exiled to other lands. 

Standing in the gap has several meanings.  Think of a bridge without which you could not go from one side to the other.  Standing in the gap bridges right against wrong.  Who is standing up against rampant immorality that is increasing in our nation?  All you have to do is think about what you can watch on TV today versus what was allowed in past years to be reminded of how much our society has fallen away from God’s moral standards.  Someday God is going to punish America just like He punished Israel/Judah unless He can find individuals willing to stand in the gap and put a stop to rampant immorality.  Frankly, does anyone believe that our nation will reverse this downward trend?  Yet, nothing is impossible with God if He should see people standing in the gap.  The question is, will He?   

Standing in the gap allows someone to take that next major step in his/her life.  Who has stood the gap for you in your Christian walk?  Who has helped you grow from a Christian baby to a Christian adult?  Or, are you still someone who cannot yet stand on your own spiritually?  You need someone to stand in the gap for you until you can on your own. 

Standing in the gap is to come alongside a person in need, praying for them, prayerfully helping them make needed changes in their life, and sharing your time and effort with them.  Who has been willing to stand for you when you could not yet stand for yourself?  Are you now standing in the gap for someone else who cannot help themselves?  Who are you influencing spiritually these days?  For whom has God called you to pray and intercede?

God is constantly “roaming the earth” (II Chronicles 16:9) to find people “whose heart is completely His”.  There are plenty of gaps in ministry, missions work, schools, neighborhoods, even businesses that need people—God’s people—to stand in those gaps.  God is always looking for men and women to fulfill His purposes on the earth, to stand in the gap.  Are you someone He would call to respond to Him, to make a difference in others’ lives, to fulfill a calling to represent Him on the earth?  Where might there be gaps that you believe He is calling you to stand and be the bridge in that gap? 

Babbie Mason wrote and sang these words:

“I heard that you were hurting, that you were suffering pain. 

But I didn't dare just turn my head and look the other way. 

For when your heart is aching, my heart is aching too. 

Let me help you bear your burden, that's the least that I can do. 

I'll be standing in the gap for you.

Just remember someone, somewhere is praying for you. 

Calling out your name. 

Praying for your strength. 

      I'll be standing in the gap for you.”

Search the Scriptures every day

Acts 17:11-12 (NLT)

And the people of Berea were more open-minded than those in Thessalonica, and they listened eagerly to Paul’s message. They searched the Scriptures day after day to see if Paul and Silas were teaching the truth. As a result, many Jews believed, as did many of the prominent Greek women and men. 

The key phrase here is “they searched the Scriptures day after day……..”.  The people of Berea serve as great examples for all Christians today.  Christians are bombarded with all kinds of false teaching, hopefully not within their local church, although that can happen, but certainly what we hear in the world everyday.  Like the Bereans, Christians today must be firmly grounded in the Word of God so that you are not so easily led astray by world and individual philosophies that are contrary to biblical truth.

 

Like the Bereans, Christians today should eagerly listen (receive, welcome) the word of God in their lives and, subsequently search (the original word means to examine or investigate) the Scriptures themselves.  So much false teaching and belief exist in every day life, especially in colleges and universities that human beings are basically good and do not need to believe in Jesus Christ to be saved.  This is contrary to what Scriptures like Ephesians 2:8-9 and Romans 10:9-10 and many other verses teach.  Another example of false teaching common today is that homosexuality is not a sin.  This is contrary to verses like Romans 1:26-27.  Other false teachings include elevating man to be equal to God, belittling God, false prophecies about the end of the world, the prosperity gospel (the better Christian you are, the more God will reward you with material riches), belief in reincarnation, losing your salvation, belief in books like The Da Vinci Code, and countless other examples.

 

Jesus said that you should search the Scriptures (John 5:39).  Every serious Christian should know his/her Bible sufficiently so that when you hear something preached or said that doesn’t quite sound right, you can examine the Scriptures to see what they say.  You also will never be led astray if you have a solid foundation in what the Bible says.  You alone are responsible for what you believe and how you respond to others.  On judgment day you cannot point the finger to someone else and pass on blame for what you did or did not do. 

To know the truth about biblical teaching is a life-long challenge.  It is not easy to discern how a verse or a doctrine needs to be interpreted.  If it were easy, there would not be countless denominations and congregations.  I believe that God intended only one interpretation of His Word although perhaps there are innumerable applications.  The best any of us can do is to spend quality time seeking the truth---reading the Bible, studying as many commentaries and Bible study aids as you can, being part of a sound Bible study group, and be firmly rooted (Ephesians 3:17, Colossians 2:7) in what you believe, backed by God’s Word.

Don't try to be someone you are not

Hebrews 11:24-27 (NLT)

It was by faith that Moses, when he grew up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose to share the oppression of God’s people instead of enjoying the fleeting pleasures of sin. He thought it was better to suffer for the sake of Christ than to own the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking ahead to his great reward. It was by faith that Moses left the land of Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger. He kept right on going because he kept his eyes on the one who is invisible. 

Hebrews 11 is the well-known faith chapter of the Bible.  Verses 1 and 6 are among the most quoted verses of the entire Bible.  Many examples of what faith means are written in this chapter.  One of those examples is Moses, whose faith is described in verses 24-27.     

Moses knew who he was and who he was not.  Leadership begins with understanding yourself.  Leadership does not begin with understanding the people you are trying to lead. You need to know who you are and you need to know who you are not. You need to come to grips with your background.  You need to know your strengths and your weaknesses.  Moses knew that he was imperfect.  In fact, throughout the Bible, God used people with great weaknesses.  He uses people for His purposes in spite of their weaknesses.  If you avail yourself to Him, as Moses did (read again this passage), God will use you in some kind of leadership role.     

A major teaching here is that you are not to try to be someone you are not.  Moses had to choose whether to be the adopted grandson of the most powerful person in the world at that time or be a follower of the Lord.  He chose relative misery and a humble life over fame, fortune, and comfort.  Why?  He chose to be who he really was, the son of a Hebrew slave.  He did not choose to be somebody that he really wasn’t. 

I see this occasionally in my own life and I believe that most people deal with this.  You have a hard time accepting who you are, who God created you to be.  You pretend to be someone else.   Steven Jobs expressed this well in his 2005 commencement speech at Stanford University:  “Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.” 

Bonnie Ware, a palliative care nurse, authored a book entitled The Five Regrets of the Dying (Hay House Publishing, 2012) where the number 1 regret of the dying people she cared for was “I wish I had the courage to live a life true to myself, not a life others expected of me”.[1]

          

Moses chose not to waste his time living someone else’s life.  He knew who he was, he was not a phony.  So don’t you be one either.  Quit trying to be somebody you’re not.  Be yourself.  Be who God created you to be.  How do you do that?  It’s a mindset you develop.  You accept yourself.  You ask God to give you guidance.  Like everything else in the life of a Christian, it’s a faith issue.  Like Moses and all other faithful people listed in Hebrews 11, you choose faith in God and let Him take over your life and guide you.  When you know who you are you can serve God and through faith in Him serve others.  Humility, as Moses’ example demonstrated, comes easily when you know and accept who you really are, who God created you to be.  Otherwise, your life will always be filled with stress because of your phoniness.   Keep you eyes, your mind, your heart on the One who is invisible as Hebrews 11:27 says.  You will find peace and rest for our soul.

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[1] You can look up a summary of the five top regrets of the dying at http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2012/feb/01/top-five-regrets-of-the-dying