BEHOLD THE LAMB OF GOD
(Part III)
It is mission critical
that we believers stretch toward a deeper comprehension and appreciation of THE
PERSON AND WORK OF JESUS CHRIST. During this Passion Week, we will
prayerfully commemorate the vicarious suffering and death of Jesus Christ as we
prepare ourselves to celebrate His victorious resurrection.
Above all else, Jesus Christ is the revelation of God,
graciously provided in a means and manner that we humans can relate to and
understand. According to the Apostle Paul, “in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.”
(Colossians 2:9) This is a very significant and powerful truth.
Philip, one of the
twelve disciples, asked Jesus for a deeper revelation of God: “Lord, show us
the Father and it is sufficient for us.” Jesus’ response was crystal clear:
“Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father;
so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father?’ Do you not believe that I am in
the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not
speak of My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works.”
(John 14:8-10) Wow!
The Apostle John
records a similar testimonial concerning Jesus, The Christ [The Anointed One]
of God, set forth by John the Baptist, His forerunner and cousin:
John 1:15-18 (NKJV)
15 John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, “This was
He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was
before me.’”
16 And of His fullness we have all received,
and grace for grace.
17 For the law was given through Moses, but grace
and truth came through Jesus Christ.
18 No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who
is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.
Indeed, Jesus Christ represents the “due
time” fulfillment of God’s eternal and “precious promises.” (Romans 5:6 and II
Peter 1:4) That is, Jesus
Christ is The Living
Word that was present with (and in) THE FATHER since eternity past, and HE is the Incarnation of God Who reveals
God’s gracious character and glory while bringing salvation to mankind. “And
the Word became 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 1:1-2 and
John 1:14)
The fact that Jesus Christ becomes the bodily
representation of The Godhead (The Trinity) is further evident in His
promises concerning The Holy Spirit. In the words of Jesus, “the Spirit of truth dwells with you and will
be in you.” (John 14:17) Since Jesus Christ IS “the way, the truth and the life,” the Word
teaches us that The Holy Spirit (or Holy Ghost) is fundamentally (and
actually) the Spirit of Christ. (John
14:6) Further proof is provided in Christ’s assurance of this spiritual
endowment to His disciples. Jesus
Christ simply says “I will
not leave you orphans; I
WILL COME TO YOU.” (John 14:18)
The indwelling of this
spiritual endowment, this Spirit
embodiment of Jesus Christ, empowers
believers for effective ministry service, thus magnifying the finished work of
the cross via multiplied millions of earthly ambassadors who represent Him
across the ages. (Acts 1:8) This is the phenomenal result that Jesus
referred to when He advised His disciples that they would be positioned to do
“greater works…because I go to My Father.” (John 14:12) The Holy Spirit
enables and empowers these greater works (quantitatively
greater, not qualitatively greater), through a vast army of divinely commissioned
witnesses. (Matthew 28:19-20)
In closing, Jesus
Christ IS the fullness of the Godhead bodily, “and of His fullness we have all
received, and grace for grace. For the law was given through Moses, but
grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” (John 1:16-17) According to Dr.
Luke, “the law and the prophets were until John. Since that time, the
Kingdom of God has been preached, and everyone is pressing into it.” (Luke
16:16) As the very embodiment of The Godhead, and the Supreme Teacher
concerning The Kingdom of God, Jesus Christ is “the author and finisher of our
faith.” (Hebrews 12:2) And we walk with unshakable “confidence” that “HE
who has begun a good work” in us “will complete it until the day of JESUS CHRIST.” (Hebrews 10:35 –
Philippians 1:6)
Stay tuned…more to come tomorrow!
Sisters and brothers, be continually blessed, and please
(above all else) MAKE SURE YOU ARE READY TO MEET OUR SOON COMING KING. Maranatha!
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