Johan Malan, Mossel Bay, South Africa (September 2011)
All Scripture quotations are from the New King James Version (NKJV), unless otherwise indicated. References from the King James Version are designated KJV, from the Modern King James Version MKJV, from the New International Version NIV, from the Living Bible LB, and from the Amplified Bible AB.
Other Abbreviations:
NT : New Testament
OT : Old Testament
Eng. : English
Heb. : Hebrew
Gr. : Greek
Research documents on the deity and sonship of the Lord Jesus were kindly supplied to the author by Bernard Reeves of London, while very fruitful discussions were also conducted with him during his visits to South Africa in the late 1990’s.
A Jewish Publisher in Jerusalem, Victor Smadja, kindly presented author with a copy of a book by Risto Santala (1992), which contains a thorough examination of Messianic prophecies in the original Hebrew text of the Old Testament. At the time, the Hebrew version of this book was already in its 5th edition. The author found the information especially valuable from the viewpoint of the fulfilment of Old Testament prophecies regarding the coming of the Messiah.
The author would like to thank Nonna Gordon for editing this manuscript.
For a wide range of the author’s Christian articles and books in various languages please access his website at www.bibleguidance.co.za.
Prof. Malan may be contacted at johan@bibleguidance.co.za.
Foreword
1. God Incarnate
2. The Sonship and Deity of the Lord Jesus
3. The Atoning Death of the Lamb of God
4. The Centre of our Existence
5. Love as a Principle of Life
6. Commands and Promises
7. Our Life in Christ
8. The King who Comes Again
9. Marriage of the Lamb
10. Excellence of the Messiah
References
About the author
This book was compiled from a number of articles which, during the course of several years, were made available on the author’s website, www.bibleguidance.co.za. The motivation for this present publication is to offer a systematic, evangelical doctrine on the Person and works of the Lord Jesus Christ. The first aim with the book is to bring honour to the Name above all names; secondly, to help believers, with the advantage of improved knowledge, to offer resistance against the rising tide of theological deception on who Jesus Christ really is; and thirdly, to help people meet the true Christ of the Scriptures, to receive Him as their Saviour and develop a more intimate relationship with Him.
Like Paul, we should endeavour to say: “But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. But indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, ... and [to] be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, ... that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death” (Phil. 3:7-10).
What important discovery Paul had made! The excellence of the knowledge of Christ is so profound that nothing can be compared to it – no earthly treasures, no form of self-righteousness, and no moral justification based upon law-observance. He discovered the secret that we should accept the remission offered to us by Christ and, with Him, die to the world and to sin, so we can share in His resurrection life. The more we die to the old life, the more we will be able to identify with the life of Christ and become conformed to it.
There is no other secret for a successful Christian life. We must daily glory in the cross of Christ, reckon ourselves to be dead indeed to sin (Rom. 6:11), and also consciously put on His holy and overcoming life. If we surrender ourselves like this, the Holy Spirit will guide us into all truth (John 16:13-14); He will glorify Jesus Christ and make Him a greater reality in our lives.
If there is one important discovery which I have made after studying the Bible for many years, it is that all biblical doctrines are linked to the knowledge of Jesus Christ. The more clarity we have on His Person and works, the better we will understand all other matters of faith. In His light we see the light. But when He is no longer the central focus of our spiritual life and ministry, we lose a great deal of discernment, are inclined to raise minor issues to the level of major issues, and do not arrive at prudent and lasting solutions to the spiritual problems of individuals or nations.
Presenting topical studies has become a very popular approach in many Christian ministries, particularly also on the Internet. These people occupy themselves almost exclusively with discernment type ministries in order to investigate and expose certain forms of spiritual deception, but they seem to have hardly any success in changing the minds of deceived people. Why? Because they give more attention to the lie than to the truth.
We indeed have a problem if we produce more reading-matter on the Antichrist than on Christ, more on sin than on righteousness, more on a humanistic new world order than on Christ’s kingdom, more on the church fathers and their doctrines than on the Head of the church and His doctrine, more on religious rituals and ecstatic experiences than on rebirth and walking in the Spirit, more on law-observing than on a life of holiness and liberty in the Lord Jesus, and also more on Israel and their restoration to the land than on the consequences of their severed relationship with the Messiah. Some of the ministries among Israel have decided, in the interest of good relations with orthodox Jews, to not even mention that Jesus is the Messiah and King of Israel and the whole world. This approach is a cul-de-sac as it does not lead to the only biblical solution of Israel’s problems, i.e. to become a truly Messianic people.
Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the life. If we proclaim Him with greater dedication, all forms of deception will be clearly revealed in the light of His truth: “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. ... Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed” (John 8:32, 36).
When the truth about Christ and His doctrine is proclaimed to its full extent, everything which is at variance with it will be clearly exposed as deception. The basic truths about Him, as the Word that became flesh, have a liberating power and will reveal and counter all misconceptions about Him.
In our reflection on Jesus Christ we should also focus on the spiritual life of His followers, as they are the work of His hands who are described as the members of His body. Paul says to the church: “Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually” (1 Cor. 12:27; cf. Rom. 12:5). Under the guidance of Jesus Christ, His Spirit and His Word, it is our duty and calling to promote the proper functioning of this body to the glory of the Lord and the “equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ” (Eph. 4:12). That will only happen if He is always our highest and first love.
The love of the Lord Jesus urges us to love Him with all our heart, and also our neighbour as ourselves. Do we really care enough about other Christians? We should minister to one another and build others up spiritually: “As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God” (1 Pet. 4:10).
May you experience the reading of this book as a journey to spiritual fulfilment in Christ Jesus. If we sincerely love Him for the sake of Himself and His everlasting kingdom, great value will be added to our Christian life and witness.
Johan Malan