It is fitting to praise the Messiah, to exalt His Name, to proclaim the excellence of His redemptive work, to show gratitude for His loving care, and to look forward to the glory which He has promised to His faithful disciples in the future revelation of His kingdom. Jesus Christ should be exalted above our chief joy. Our thoughts on Him should invigorate a strong sense of hope in our hearts to cause us, even during the darkest hours of our earthly pilgrimage, to look up to the Bright Morning Star who announces the coming of a bright new day.
Our faith in this wonderful Saviour should be strengthened by systematic Bible study, as that will spur us on towards creative thinking and greater dedication to Him. We should gain new insights into His infinite love and grace, and also on the righteousness of His judgements: “Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgements and His ways past finding out!” (Rom. 11:33). The mysteries of the gospel were revealed in the Bible to enable us to comprehend fully with all the saints what is the height and depth of Christ’s love which passes knowledge, that we may be filled with all the fullness of God (Eph. 3:17-19).
An unshakable faith in Jesus Christ will make you soar with eagle’s wings to the sanctuaries of the Lord where you can experience His presence in your spirit. You will have the desire, like David, to inquire of the Lord, to know Him in all your ways, and to ever walk in His presence. In this way alone you will be able to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ” (2 Pet. 3:18), and to always rejoice in the Lord.
The virtues of our Saviour are like the many facets of a diamond which reflect the radiance of His glory. When we wish to know Him better we should always begin with a study on His deity and eternal self-existence, then we will never be followers of those who try to relegate Him to nothing more than a mere mortal human being. Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, all the biblical prophets had the correct perspective on the Messiah.
Micah looked beyond Israel’s long history to the timeless past when he said of the Messiah who would be born in Bethlehem: “[His] goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting” (Mic. 5:2). The scribes should certainly have known about this prophecy and should have expected that a very special, divine person would be born in Bethlehem. This was not such a strange idea, as Isaiah had already said: “For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward, even forever” (Isa. 9:6-7). The title “Everlasting Father” is not here used in a begetting sense but in a creatorial sense, referring to the Messiah as the Father (i.e. Originator) of creation, the One who made everything (John 1:10; cf. Reeves, 2011a&b). When He is revealed as King, there will be no end to His kingdom of righteousness since it will continue forever on the new earth and in the New Jerusalem.
Why were the religious leaders so surprised when the Lord Jesus said that He and the Father are one, and also told them that He already existed long before Abraham, the founding father of Israel, was born? (John 8:58). In Zechariah 13:7, before His incarnation, He was described by the Lord of hosts, as “My Shepherd, ... the Man who is My companion” (MKJV), thereby further proving that He was an etenal divine Person before He became a human being at His incarnation and will remain so for ever. Duane Lindsey (1985:1569) says: “In Zechariah 13:7 the Lord is claiming identity of nature or unity of essence with His Shepherd, thus strongly affirming the Messiah’s deity.”
But the Jewish scribes could not comprehend the fact of the Messiah’s deity and eternal self-existence, so He asked them: “What do you think about the Christ? Whose Son is He? They said to Him, The son of David. He said to them, How then does David in the Spirit call Him Lord? ... If David then calls Him Lord, how is He his Son? And no one was able to answer Him a word” (Matt. 22:41-46). In Psalm 45:6-7, the Messiah-King of Israel is also called “God”.
Even Jesus’ own disciples were slow to understand that He was not only their teacher but also their God who is one with the Father (John 14:9-10). They beheld all His amazing miracles, that He had power over life and death, and still they did not realise who He truly was. To their utter amazement, even the powers of nature were subject to Him: “Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!” (Mark 4:41).
Only after the ascension of the Lord Jesus and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit did His disciples fully understand that He is also Lord and God. Peter said, “We did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eye-witnesses of His majesty” (2 Pet. 1:16). Peter undoubtedly thought of the transfiguration on the mount, where he and two of the other disciples beheld Jesus in His majesty (Matt. 17:1-8). A week before this event the Lord Jesus said to His disciples: “Assuredly, I say to you, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom” (Matt. 16:28). On the seventh day after He had said this, three disciples had a preview of Christ’s future revelation in glory:
“Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, brought them up on a high mountain by themselves and was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light. And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him” (Matt. 17:1-3).
This statement is prophetically significant, because in the “week” of the divine history of humanity there are seven days of about one thousand years each – two thousand years from Adam to Abraham, two thousand years between Abraham and Jesus, followed by about two thousand years of church history before the dawning of the Millennium. At the beginning of the seventh millennium, Jesus Christ will be revealed in glory as King of kings and institute His reign of peace on earth.
But the ignorance on the Lord Jesus largely still prevails. It is a perplexing phenomenon that many of the modern scribes among Israel and the nations still maintain that Jesus was only an ordinary human being who was erroneously declared to be God by His disciples and other followers. These theologians do so in spite of the fact that they have the full revelation of the deity of Jesus Christ in His Word, as well as a cloud of historical and contemporary witnesses who all testify to these truths. All agnostic arguments, from God’s point of view, only render people fools. Paul, a theologian who later gained new insights and repented, confronts these deluded academics on who Christ really is:
“Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?” (1 Cor. 1:20; NIV). He then adds that these scholars, through their worldly wisdom, did not know God. In terms of their humanistic rationalising the message of the crucifixion of Christ is foolishness because they cannot, or will not, understand it. The Jews were looking for a mighty King to liberate them by military means from the Roman domination, while the Greeks were looking for a learned philosopher who could reveal new knowledge of the glorification and further development of humanity. “But”, says Paul, “we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling-block and to the Greeks foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God” (1 Cor. 1:23-24).
All people are called to share in the wisdom and glory of the Lord (Acts 17:30; Col. 2:2-3), but the way to His salvation leads to Golgotha where the perfect Lamb of God paid the price for our sins. The origin of a magnificent new life is only in Him, but to agnostic and self-justifying scholars this divine life is an illusion and an elusive dream which is only pursued by fools. But to those who believe, Jesus Christ becomes “wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption” (1 Cor. 1:30).
The agape love of God is a major topic in the Bible. Because God is love and also loved us in our sinful state, He gave His Son to die for us so we can be saved: “He has delivered us from the power of darkness and translated us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins” (Col. 1:13-14).
Jesus Christ is the manifestation of God’s love and grace towards sinful humanity. He enables us to have faith in God and gives us hope, both for this life and the life hereafter. Our lives should be a living testimony of divine love; we should be rooted and grounded in the love of God; we must grow up in it, and its influence must be seen in our character and in all our conduct. Yes, we must become perfect in love (1 John 2:5).
How do you experience this love which is poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit? (Rom. 5:5). We should be able “to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height ... of the love of Christ” (Eph. 3:18-19). The love of God is not only infinite, it is also indestructible. “Love is as strong as death ... . Its flames are flames of fire, a most vehement flame. Many waters cannot quench love, nor can the floods drown it” (S. of S. 8:6-7). It is indestructible and endures forever. Neither death nor life, nor tribulation or distress, can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus (Rom. 8:35-39).
The flame of love is unquenchable, and even a flood of hatred and negative emotions cannot destroy it. This bond of love is so strong that not even death can overcome it: “Greater love has no one than this, to lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13). Paul said: “But God demonstrates His own love, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8).
The love of God that was imparted to us by the Messiah never fails (1 Cor. 13:8). It is the only lasting thing in a perishing world in which everything slowly but surely ages and suffers destruction. If this love is in our hearts, we will survive this relentless process all around us: “The world is passing away, and the lust of it: but he who does the will of God abides for ever” (1 John 2:17).
During the earthly ministry of the Lord Jesus there were, like there are today, theologians who only had a form of godliness. They had formulated for themselves a doctrine of justification in which the Messiah does not specifically feature. They based their doctrine on the covenant which God concluded with Abraham, as well as covenant signs and law-observance, rather than approaching the Lord for the forgiveness of sins. But their biased knowledge of Scripture was a stumbling-block to them as they did not realise that all the sacrifices and covenants were fulfilled in the new covenant of the Messiah. He said to them: “You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life ... . But I know you, that you do not have the love of God in you” (John 5:39-42).
The disciples of Jesus received a clear command to abide in His love: “As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love” (John 15:9). That was the New Testament law of love which they had to observe, as do all of us today. Love for Jesus Christ embodies deep gratitude for the great sacrifice He had made on behalf of us, and also willingness to render service of love in His kingdom. It also gives rise to a new bond of love towards our fellow brothers and sisters in the Lord – they are fellow members of the body of Christ, and together we have the obligation to evangelise the world. It further arouses a love for the lost world. We should intercede for the lost and also evangelise them, so that many of them can come over from the darkness of sin to the marvellous light of the Messiah’s kingdom.
We owe the love of Christ to all around us, and we should express it vocally and also by our lives. “Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament, and those who turn many to righteousness like the stars for ever and ever” (Dan. 12:3).
We are eagerly expecting the second coming of the Lord Jesus, who said: “I make all things new. ... I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts” (Rev. 21:5-6). Have you approached Him with your spiritual thirst? His invitation still stands: “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water. But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive” (John 7:37-39).
It is important that, during this time of great falling away, each of us will confess the Lord Jesus before people in all His uniqueness, deity, and glory:
· I believe that, as man, Jesus Christ was conceived by the Holy Spirit in the womb of the virgin Mary (Matt. 1:20); consequently, He is both the Son of God and the Son of Man. The angel Gabriel told Mary that the Child who would be born would be great and would be called the Son of the Highest (Luke 1:32). During His birth in the royal lineage of David He only temporarily laid down His heavenly glory, but did not relinquish His essential deity (Col. 2:9). After His ascension He was highly exalted and given a name which is above every name (Phil. 2:9-11). During His second coming He will be revealed in power and majesty as the King of kings and Lord of lords (Rev. 19:6), and also be recognised as such.
· I believe that Jesus is Lord and God. Every tongue will confess that He is Lord (Phil. 2:11). John says that He is “the true God and eternal life” (1 John 5:20). Paul says He is “our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ” (Tit. 2:13), and Thomas exclaimed in awe: “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28). He is truly Immanuel – God with us.
· I believe that the Lord Jesus, as God, is eternal and self-existent. It was only at His incarnation that He emptied Himself and took the form of a servant (Phil. 2:7-8). As God He exists from all eternity, so He could say: “Before Abraham was, I AM” (John 8:58). He is the eternal I AM (Ex. 3:14), who also said to the Jews: “If you do not believe that I AM, you shall die in your sins” (John 8:24; MKJV).
· I believe that Jesus Christ is one with the Father and the Holy Spirit. He Himself said: “I and My Father are one” (John 10:30). John said, “For there are three who bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one” (1 John 5:7). I believe that Jesus is the Word who is both God and man. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God ... . And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:1, 14).
· I believe that the Lord Jesus, the Word, is the glorious Creator who, together with the Father and the Holy Spirit, created “the worlds”, i.e. the universe (Heb. 1:2). “All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made” (John 1:3). Paul says, “He is the image of the invisible God ... . For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth” (Col. 1:15-16).
· I believe that the Lord Jesus is also the re-creator as He spiritually quickens and regenerates all lost sinners who receive Him as their Saviour. We are alive to God through Christ Jesus our Lord (Rom. 6:11). At His coming for the faithful church He will give all believers immortal resurrection bodies (1 Cor. 15:22; Phil. 3:20-21). After the final judgement He will create a new heaven and a new earth; and in view of that He says: “Behold, I make all things new” (Rev. 21:5).
· I believe that the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross is a ransom for the sins of all humanity, i.e. all tribes, tongues, peoples, and nations on earth, and that it offers the only possibility of reconciliation with God (John 1:29; Eph. 1:7). Only those who accept the offer of salvation in faith become participants of the new life in Christ. There is no other way of salvation, “for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). I also believe that Jesus Christ, after His death on the cross, arose from the dead and ascended into heaven to intercede for us and also to prepare a place for us in His Father’s house (John 14:2-3; Heb. 7:25).
· I believe that the Lord Jesus will come again to take us to heaven and introduce us to the eternal glory of His kingdom. At the marriage supper of the Lamb we will have holy communion with Him in remembrance of His death on the cross, and bring praise and honour to Him for saving us by grace. If we follow Christ now on the way of the cross by denying ourselves, taking up our cross and following Him in a hostile world, we will eventually reign with Him (Rom. 8:17; 2 Tim. 2:12). The battle will then be over, and the faithful witnesses of Christ will share in His triumphant revelation.
If we fail to acknowledge and confess Christ in this way now, we run the risk of lowering His status by making Him one of many messiahs of human origin, to deny His deity, to despise the significance of His crucifixion, and ultimately to be deceived to accept a false christ in His place (John 5:43). In the emerging new world order in which all faiths are to be regarded as equal, the deity and unique position of the Lord Jesus are denied. Through these false beliefs, people are giving the god of this age, Satan, the opportunity to blind their minds, “lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them” (2 Cor. 4:4).
If we remain true to the Source of our life and keep on walking in the light of His Word, we need not fear deception of this kind. “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it” (John 1:4-5). If we remain ever close to Him, His presence will illuminate our way. All those who do not walk in the light, are in danger of getting lost in deceptive pathways: “The path of the just is like the shining sun, that shines ever brighter unto the perfect day. The way of the wicked is like darkness; they do not know what makes them stumble” (Prov. 4:18-19).
Let us always remember that Jesus Christ came into the world to form for Himself a church, comprising Christians from every nation. He loves the whole world and opened the door to all people to enter into His kingdom. Because of this invitation, there will eventually be an innumerable multitude from every people, tongue, tribe and nation who will form part of this heavenly kingdom. Christ will “be glorified in His saints”, which are the fruit of His re-creating grace, and He will be “admired among all those who believe” (2 Thess. 1:10). We should exalt His Name and proclaim His praises.
Although Christianity is worldwide in its extent, the Lord Jesus maintains a personal relationship with each of us through His Holy Spirit. This intimate relationship is fittingly expressed in a hymn: “On the Jericho road there’s room for just two; just Jesus and you”. He is the Good Samaritan who had mercy on you after you had been fatally attacked by the great Robber (Satan) and left along the wayside to die. After Christ had raised you up, you resumed your journey in His company – He even carries you and supplies all your needs according to the riches of His grace.
It is wonderful to know that there are millions of people all over the world who can also testify of a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus. With them we constitute the body of Christ, and together we reach out with a life-giving message to a lost world. In the same way that Christ had mercy on us, we should also have the desire that other people who are without hope and without God in the world (Eph. 2:12), will also experience the wonder of rebirth and the beginning of a new life.
The gospel is destined for all people, since it is crucially important to every person on earth to be informed about Jesus Christ and His redemptive work. Accepting the gospel in faith by receiving Christ as your Saviour, transforms you into a Christian, i.e. someone who belongs to Christ. The word Christian occurs three times in the New Testament, and is used beside other names such as disciples, believers, saints, and members of the body of Christ. The three references to Christians are focusing on different aspects of being a Christian:
In Acts we read: “And the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch” (Acts 11:26). The local community recognised them as followers of Jesus Christ, thereby clearly distinguishing them from the Judaists and the adherents of all other faiths. Can people see in your life that you belong to Jesus Christ because you heartily and openly follow and serve Him? Apart from what we say, our life should also be a “letter” of Christ to the world, which has been written by the Holy Spirit on the tablets of our hearts (2 Cor. 3:2-3). This “letter” must be read by all people who behold our behaviour and listen to our conversations.
We also read about the name Christian in a statement made by a king who heard the gospel, but to whom the cost of surrendering himself to Christ was too high: “Then Agrippa said to Paul, you almost persuade me to become a Christian” (Acts 26:28). He preferred rather to be known as a king and an esteemed member of the Roman Empire, than being a Christian who had to forsake his sins to become a follower of the Lord Jesus in His hidden kingdom. Many people, also today, seriously consider repenting to become Christians, but are not fully prepared to confess and forsake their sins in order to enter in through the narrow gate (Luke 13:24).
A third reference to Christian is found in Peter’s first Epistle: “Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this matter” (1 Pet. 4:16). Christ walked the way of suffering and rejection, and warned that His followers should expect the same treatment (John 15:19-20; Acts 14:22; Phil. 1:29; 1 Pet. 4:12-13). But if we prevail over rejection and still persevere on the way of the Lord, we will be able, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, to do works that have value for eternity.
We should examine ourselves as to whether we are in the faith (2 Cor. 13:5). Can the personality and works of Jesus Christ be seen in our lives? If society can see Jesus in our lives, then we have succeeded in being exemplary followers and worthy representatives of Him. If we are also actively engaged in His works, we will be successful witnesses of Christ who will one day appear before Him with confidence.
We should be able to echo the following words of Christ: “I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work” (John 9:4). There will be an end to everything. The public ministry of the Lord Jesus ended with His crucifixion. After that, the command was given to His disciples to proclaim the gospel message everywhere on earth. But the time of grace will also pass for the world when the time of reckoning dawns and the judgements of God will be poured out upon the wicked.
In the meantime, we should confidently proceed with our mission: “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works” (Heb. 10:23-24). That is the disposition which faithful disciples of Jesus Christ should demonstrate while they daily look up to Him for strength, help and protection: “Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, to God our Saviour, who alone is wise, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever” (Jude v. 24-25).