Coming One

And when John had heard in prison about the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples and said to Him, "Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?"
Matthew 11:2,3

The writings of Moses and the prophets included hundreds of prophesies concerning the Messiah that was to come. Centuries had passed since these promises were given and then another four hundred years with no message from God at all. Yet the faithful to God still awaited the “Coming One.”

Then, on the day his son was born, old Zacharias the priest prophesied concerning the Dayspring from on High that was coming. Roughly six months later both the honorable and just Simeon from the temple and the prophetess Ana testified that they saw the Lord’s Christ while He was a baby coming to be dedicated in the house of God.

John the Baptist lived his whole life set apart for the work of God and when he baptized Jesus, he saw the heavens opened and the voice of God Himself declare the Savior as the beloved Son of God. John had strong affirmation that day that He was commissioned to be the voice crying in the wilderness to prepare the way of the Lord. He was convinced that the Coming One had finally arrived.

Yet circumstances and solitude have a way of raising doubts and compromising firm decisions. So when John was thrown in prison and the Messiah, the Son of David, didn’t come to liberate him, he sent two disciples to affirm his faith in the Messiah.

John had indeed perceived correctly and the Coming One had in fact come. Two thousand years later, Christ is still the Coming One because He promised His followers that He would return. That’s a long time to wait, so just like the first time, some believers have started to wonder, “Where is the promise of His Coming?” (2 Peter 3:4).

The good news is that He is on His way and He’s right on schedule. The signs of His coming laid down in Matthew 24 all check out, so any time now we’ll get to see the Coming One.

  

The Name (Ha-shem)

Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name.
Philippians 2:9

The Hebrew name for God appears over 6,000 times in the Old Testament. It is four consonants without vowels (roughly equivalent to the English letters YHWH or possibly JHVH), so it is unpronounceable.

Christian Bible scholars who wish to give utterance to the name of God pronounce it Yahweh or Jehovah. Devout Jews, however, consider the tetragrammaton (those four Hebrew letters) as too holy to even say. When they come to it during the Sabbath Torah reading in the Synagogue, the word Adonai (the Lord) or Ha-shem (the Name) is substituted in its place.

This is even seen in scripture. In Leviticus twenty-four there is the story of the son of an Egyptian man who cursed the LORD. Verse eleven reads “And the Israelite woman’s son blasphemed the name of the LORD and cursed; and so they brought Him to Moses….” Then in verse sixteen it goes on to say, “And whoever blasphemes the name of the LORD shall surely be put to death. All the congregation shall certainly stone him, the stranger as well as him who is born in the land. When he blasphemes the name of the LORD, He shall be put to death.”

The reason for examining these verses is to note that the phrase "of the LORD" is in italics, which means that it is not there in the original. In Hebrew, this section reads that he “blasphemed the name and cursed.” To blaspheme Ha-shem is to take the sacred name of God in vain.

To the unsaved world the name of Jesus Christ isn’t sacred, holy, or blessed. They use it as a curse. Our society doesn’t stone people for blasphemy anymore and most Christians just tune it out or accept the disrespect as normal. The problem is that when believers aren’t offended, God is. The least that a Christian could do is say to the offender, “Please don’t say that; it bothers me” or “Please stop that; you’re cursing the name I love.” The church should never forget that God has given Jesus the name that is above every name. 

Elect One

"Behold! My Servant whom I uphold, My Elect One in whom My soul delights! I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the Gentiles.”
Isaiah 42:1

This Old Testament title is obviously a Messianic prophesy, so we’re able to examine a pre-incarnate name of Christ. The plan of redemption was already in play 700 years before the Baby Jesus was born in Bethlehem and the Servant of God was chosen for the job.

The position of Savior of the World is not something someone chooses for Himself; actually, it’s an elected office. Qualifications for the job included sinless perfection and the attributes of God. It’s safe to say that no one ran against Him in this election. Besides, who would have wanted the position anyway? The job required being mocked, jeered at, spit upon, beaten, nailed to a cross, and abandoned by one’s closest friends.

This Elect One wasn’t chosen by the people He came to save. Frankly, they (we) rejected Him. He was elected by God and the surprising thing was,  He accepted!

This brings us to why this title is so important. A willing sacrifice had to be offered as a substitute for a rebellious creation who willfully sinned. If an unwilling sacrifice was forced to suffer and die for mankind’s sin there would be neither justice nor propitiation. Only willful obedience could atone for willful disobedience.

Of the 23 times the terms elect or election are used in the New Testament, only once does it refer to Christ. "Behold, I lay in Zion A chief cornerstone, elect, precious, And he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame" (1 Peter 2:6). The idea here is that believers respond in faith to the Elect One.

Most of the other verses refer to Christians who were chosen by God, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and without blame before Him in love (Ephesians 1:4). As God’s elect, we’re asked to be obedient to our calling and follow the example of the Elect One.

Samaritan

Then the Jews answered and said to Him, "Do we not say rightly that You are a Samaritan and have a demon?"
John 8:48

Samaritan – the word doesn’t bring up any emotional response or gut reaction in our day and age, but at the time it was given, it was a put down of the basest sort. Jewish people looked down on their neighbors to the north because they were foreign transplants to the land of promise and even after centuries of living there, were still unwelcome.

The term also had connotations of being a heretic, because although the Samaritans wanted to worship Yahweh, they did so at the wrong mountain and in the wrong manner. By equating Jesus to those undesirables, the Jewish leaders could switch from discussing issues with the Master and just dismiss any argument He could give, because He was beneath them.

The main problem of trying to insult Christ with racial slurs is that He loved everyone, including the Samaritans. He purposely traveled through Samaria to reach out to a wayward woman and then later preached to her village where later he was hailed as “the Christ, the Savior of the world” (John 4:42). In Jesus’ parable of “the Good Samaritan,” the Samaritan was portrayed as the good guy and the Jewish leaders as hypocrites. Finally, when the Lord healed ten lepers, only the Samaritan in the group came back to give thanks. Jesus commended him and told him “Your faith has made you well” (Luke 17:19).

The Lord Jesus wears all His titles well, even the derogatory ones. Bigoted men and women appear in every age and culture. They would try to ignore Christ, because they feel He is unworthy of their time and effort. He still loves them all the same and wants them to break through their hate and prejudice so they can approach Him in faith as Savior of the World.

  

Fullness of the Godhead

For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power. 
Colossians 2:9,10

          Not 10%, not 50%, not even 90% but the fullness of the Godhead belonged to Christ. What does that mean exactly? It means that all that is God (i.e. His power, His majesty, His holiness, His character) was bound up in the body of Jesus. Nothing was missing. He wasn’t a condensed form of deity; He was the real deal.

Having the fullness of the Godhead in bodily form took nothing away from the Father, but allowed the Creator to touch and redeem His creation in ways He couldn’t do as a distant deity. “For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross” (Colossians 1:19,20).

True faith in the Savior includes and concludes that He is God. He always was and always will be. There is only one True God and the Lord Jesus is the manifestation of that Supreme Being. The Son of God isn’t inferior to God the Father and never took away anything from the Father. “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God” (Philippians 2:5,6).

The realization that Jesus is the fullness of the Godhead should shake people up. It certainly did in the first century. Many of those who shouted “Crucify Him!” or jeered at Him or spit on His face later fell down on their knees with fear and repentance when they realized they allowed the Prince of Life to be put to death.

Today, most people just don’t get it. They either don’t know that Jesus is the fullness of the Godhead or they really don’t understand what that means. To form an opinion about Christ that views Him as less than God is demeaning and rejects his sovereignty and control over their lives.

Christ knows all, sees all, and has existed for all eternity. When He lived and walked on earth, in His body was the Fullness of the Godhead. 

Most High God

This girl followed Paul and us, and cried out, saying, "These men are the servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us the way of salvation."
Acts 16:17

The Apostle Paul and his evangelistic team were led by the Holy Spirit to take their message to Europe and they began preaching in Philippi, one of the chief cities in Greece. This was a whole new territory and the satanic opposition was evident. Almost from the very beginning of their time there, a girl who was possessed by a demon followed them and became very distracting. In her spirit affected voice, she announced the missionaries to be “Servants of the Most High God.” Paul cast the demon out and the opposition just intensified.

It is a very curious thing to note that this title of Christ actually came through demonic channeling. Demons are nothing more than the fallen angels who were cast out of heaven by the Lord of Glory, so they know who He is. When Jesus approached the demoniac in the county of the Gadarenes, the man fell down before the Lord and the voices inside him also recognized Christ as “Jesus, Son of the Most High God” (Luke 8:28). This was no profession of faith on the part of the evil spirits but an acknowledgement that He was their God and one day He would condemn them to go into the abyss.

The Apostle James makes this point when he wrote: “You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe --- and tremble!” (James 2:19). Actually, the dark host has a better response to the Savior than the stiff-necked human race does. Demons acknowledge Christ’s deity, bow down before Him, and believe that their punishment is sure. They, however, rebelled willfully against their creator, so the grace of God was never extended to them and their doom is a sure thing.

People on the other hand, were deceived into sinning, so God provided a way to escape through the blood of the Crucified One. Salvation is extended to those who approach Christ in faith, confessing their sin, and acknowledging Him as the Most High God. 

Yeshua

She will give birth to a son, and you are to name him Yeshua, [which means ‘Adonai saves,’] because he will save his people from their sins.”
Matthew 1:21 CJB

Although I have no clear memory of it, shortly after I was born, my legal name became Richard Khol.  I know that because my birth certificate says so, although through the years I’ve been given other names.  As a kid, everyone called me Rickey and my baby brother called me “Racoo”. When I got to High School, I chose to call myself “Rick” and that’s who I consider I am.

My name in South America was “don Ricardo”.  That’s not who I was, but it worked for Spanish speakers and I was alright with it. While there, I became close with an Ecuadorian pastor who expressed his friendship by always addressing me as “Rrrreek”. He didn’t pronounce it right, but at least he tried and I appreciated it.

When Christ was born in Bethlehem His legal name was probably "Yehoshua", which we pronounce today as “Joshua”.  In Hebrew it means “God-saves” and was a common name in the first century. This four syllable word was shortened to three in the name “Yeshua” which translates "Salvation".

English speakers are usually clueless to both the meaning and pronunciation of the Lord’s name. When the New Testament was written in Greek, the Savior’s name, Yeshua, was transliterated to "ee-ay-soos", since there weren’t equivalent letters in both languages. Then, in the 5^th century the New Testament was translated into Latin and for a thousand years His personal name was “IESVS”.  

The Tyndale, Geneva, and early King James versions all used the Latin spelling of the name. It wasn’t until 1630 that the “J” was added and pronounced "Yeh". Later, the “Yeh” sound was finally dropped and the "Jeh" sound substituted.

“Jesus”, then, is a transliteration of the Latin, which is a transliteration of the Greek, which is a transliteration of the Hebrew.

O Lord Yeshua, please have patience with us!  We’ll get your name right in heaven!

Power of God

But to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
1 Corinthians 1:24

Many of the classic paintings of Christ from the Middle Ages and Renaissance show an emaciated man with a pale face, scrawny arms, and ribs showing through His skin. The idea was to show the horrors of the crucifixion, but the Lord looks pathetic. It would make one think, “How could this skinny guy be ‘Savior of the World’ much less the ‘Power of God?’”

Certainly “the weakness of God is stronger than men” (1 Corinthians 1:25), but people tend to miss the strength of God even when it’s obvious. Jesus was no weakling. He walked through the middle of an angry mob that was wanting to kill Him in His home town of Nazareth and then the crowd just melted away at His boldness (Luke 4:28-30). He called the Jewish religious leaders hypocrites to their faces (Matthew 23:13-15) and threw the buyers and sellers out of the temple – twice! (John 2:14-15; Matthew 21:12-13). He stood up to Judas and his army of thugs and impressed Pontius Pilate with His self-control at His trial. If He wanted or felt He needed them, He could have summoned twelve legions of angels at any time, but this powerful man had everything under control. He was the Power of God on earth.

As Creator, He made both visible and invisible worlds by the power of His Word and is, in fact, the force that holds the universe together (Colossians 1:16-17). He is the commander-in-chief of all the good angels and has disarmed all the principalities and powers of Satan and his demoniac host (Colossians 2:15).

Immanuel is God with us, man’s very present connection to the Almighty. Christ Jesus is the source of all energy, the force behind the universe, the Power of God.

Priest Forever

….You are a Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.

Hebrews 5:6*

Talk about job security; forever is a long time. As priest, Christ has offered the sacrifice, atoned for the sins of God’s people, and interceded on our behalf to God. The perfect priest offered the perfect sacrifice, so that part of His service is over; “It is finished” (John 19:30). The intercession aspect of His ministry is ongoing.

The Lord Jesus pleads our case before God when we sin, fail to see his revealed will, or are unthankful. He’s also there to instruct and encourage us as well as set us apart for God’s service. These are wonderful and necessary things He does, but He won’t be doing them forever.

When the saints of God are called up to glory, our old sinful nature will finally be destroyed and entering heaven we will be holy, just as He is holy, never to sin again. We’ll be with Him; we’ll be like Him. At that point, we won’t need an intercessor.

Every time the title “Priest Forever” appears in scripture it’s always followed by the phrase, “according to the order of Melchizedek.” This added information is also very important or it wouldn’t occur in the Bible five times.

Melchizedek was the Priest/King of Salem that greeted Abraham after his victory over the four mighty kings of the east. He blessed the Patriarch and received tithes from Him. He was God’s representative to Abraham and demonstrated power and authority.

Since the Savior is a Priest forever according to the order of Melchizadek, He will bless God’s people throughout all eternity. As the King/Priest of the universe He will reign over everything with justice and raise up the banner of holiness

*see also Hebrews 6:20, 7:17 and 21; all quoting from Psalm 110:4

Prince of Peace

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  […..] Prince of Peace.
Isaiah 9:6

Of all the single verse names of Christ, Prince of Peace is probably the best known. It’s seen frequently on Christmas cards, heard in Handel’s Messiah and always found in lists of the titles of the Lord Jesus. Most Americans have heard the title but not everyone understands what it means.

All around us are wars, rumors of wars, terrorism, and even Christians tortured and killed for their faith. If you look at history it gets worse. World history is nothing but a series of wars, oppression, revolution, and civil unrest; church history focuses on the persecution of the church and divisions between those who call themselves Christians. An honest man would have to ask himself, “So where’s the peace?”

On the global scale, the peace hasn’t come yet. Our planet is the battleground between the forces of holiness and the forces of evil; between God’s people and Satan’s. They don’t peacefully co-exist. Jesus tried to explain this: “Do you suppose that I came to give peace on earth? I tell you, not at all, but rather division. For from now on five in one house will be divided: three against two, and two against three” (Luke 12:51,52).

However, on a personal level, things are totally different. Christ told His followers: “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John 14:27). The world’s definition of peace is the absence of conflict. How the Prince of Peace defines it is calmness and the absence of fear in the midst of conflict.

When people get tired and desperate from the consequences of sin and fighting against God, life seems hopeless even when things seem to be going well. They want the peace that passes understanding which only comes from the Prince of Peace. 

Him Who is Able to Keep you from Stumbling

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 Savior, Who alone is wise, Be glory and majesty, Dominion and power, Both now and forever. Amen.
Jude 24 and 25

It’s very clear in scripture that grace is the power of God that saves us. The same grace that saves also sanctifies and protects the believer in his walk of faith. Since Jesus is the channel through which grace reaches humanity, Christ is our Savior, Sanctifier, and “He who is able to keep you from stumbling.”

The very short book of Jude serves as a warning to Christians that apostates (defectors from the faith) will try to throw spiritual road blocks in their path. He urges the saints to be strong and contend earnestly for the faith.

Progress in the Christian life is compared to walking or running. Anything thrown on the path, not just false doctrine, can cause a believer to stumble. Believers can fall into sin, get tripped up by doubts, or be sidelined by fears and depression. Going to the Lord Jesus in moments like these, not only can keep a follower of Christ from stumbling but also presents him faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy.

Through the years, I have counseled many struggling believers. Although their problems might be about doubts, fears, finances, or relationships, sin is usually at its core. Drug addiction, alcoholism, and pornography have huge holds on people and rarely does generic advice and a simple prayer ever work.

It takes time and a lot of hard work to rebuild trust and dependency on Christ. It’s easy to believe that as Savior, Jesus can keep you out of hell. It takes desire to grow deeper in the spiritual relationship and to trust Him to be your Sanctifier that sets you apart for the Master. Finally, it takes a fresh, new revelation from God to see Christ as Him who is able to keep you from stumbling before you realize He can give you the power to break free from what’s bringing you down.

Apostle (Sent One)

Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Christ Jesus, 
Hebrews 3:1

          Simply speaking, an Apostle is a “sent one.” Although this is the only passage in the Bible that labels Jesus as the Apostle, but several times He referenced Himself as the sent one of the father.

“For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me” (John 6:38).

“Jesus said to them, ‘If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God; nor have I come of Myself, but He sent Me’” (John 8:42).

“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).

“For I have given to them the words which You have given Me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came forth from You; and they have believed that You sent Me” (John 17:8).

“And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world” (1 John 4:14).

It is important to understand that the term "apostle" does not refer to some high position in the ecclesiastical hierarchy, but simply refers to someone sent on a mission. The Lord Jesus had twelve close disciples which He later sent out to every town and village in Judea to teach and heal. It was this act of being sent out, and then, consequently, doing what they were sent to do, that made them Apostles.

Christ was on a mission to do His Father’s will. A plan was in place before the foundation of the world to redeem mankind and define love and grace to the angels that  witnessed Satan’s rebellion and fall. Only God manifested in the flesh could do this, but no person capable of feeling intense pain would come up with the idea of dying on a cross in order to save the world. In Gethsemane the Savior prayed “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done” (Luke 22:42). That’s what an Apostle does.

Image of the Invisible God

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.

Colossians 1:15

How do you describe something that is indescribable? Do you know the answer? Use a genre without words. Art and music can convey thoughts and emotions that verbal communication can't. That's why humans try so many forms of artistic expression. They want to imagine the unimaginable and view the invisible.

Jesus Christ is the Creator's artist masterpiece in which He presents to Mankind the Image of the Invisible God. The Almighty used an art medium that every human being can understand, flesh and blood, and He used it to communicate what can't be understood, the nature of God.

Planets, stars, galaxies, and light energy can be observed so they are proved to exist. However, scientists have studied the gravitatonal forces of the universe and discovered that what we consider to be normal matter and energy is actually less than 5% of the total universe. Some invisible unknown reality is out there and it's really big, making up over 95% of all that exists. This huge, mysterious something is called "dark matter" together with "dark energy". Actually, just going by percentages dark matter should be considered the normal and what we call ordinary matter is really the aberration.

Maybe it’s just me, but when people start speaking about some huge force out there that fills the universe, I think of God. Some people prefer to call Him Dark Matter, rather than Almighty Creator, because they feel that they owe no obligation to a burst of unknown energy, but would be beholden to God, if it was proved that He designed them and gave them life.

Christ came into this world so that ordinary people could know the unknowable and see the Image of the Invisible God. He didn't arrive composed of dark matter but with skin, muscle, and blood. He showed us what the invisible God is like both in character and nature. He also came so that we can be made like Him and be transformed from the mortal to the immortal. 

Wisdom of God

But 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. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
 Corinthians 1:23-25

A really wise chess master will sometimes make a move that seems stupid to his opponent because it results in the loss of a bishop or knight. Then a few moves later, the chess master executes “checkmate” due to the board position he gained from the sacrifice - that is what is happening in these verses.

It doesn’t make sense that the sinless Son of God should be sacrificed on a Roman cross. It seems that Satan and the God-haters of the world had won and all were pleased and proud of how it all played out. Christ is still rejected by the majority of the Jewish people to this day and some intellectuals still laugh at the ludicrousness of the gospel.

The bottom line is that the celestial chess game was never between God and mankind; it was between God and the devil. When Satan and his angels rebelled against God, he seduced the human race to join his cause. Planet Earth became the last piece of turf Lucifer had in the whole universe. If God had just destroyed everything, the Creator would have, in fact, lost the game because God’s plans would have been thwarted and the creation he made in His image would have been cut off from fellowship forever.

Human history is full of wars, plagues, and natural disasters. Chaos seems to dominate and the devil seems to be the undisputed god of this world. Everything, however, changes in the end game. Christ came to destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8). He not only restored mankind to the relationship they had before the fall, but He brought them into the family of God. Very smart move, but Satan never saw it coming because he was matched up against Jesus Christ, the Wisdom of God.

  

Merciful and Gracious

"The LORD, the LORD God, merciful and gracious…”

 Exodus 34:6*

         Ugly and vicious, with hairy legs and a needle-like snout, she comes upon the unsuspecting to suck their blood and spread disease. Hidden only by the insignificance of her size, she strikes out with impunity against those millions of times her superior. Attractive in nothing, loved by none, a parasite indeed. So the tiny mosquito can be described by those unfortunate enough to be her victim.

         In my lifetime, I’ve swatted thousands of those pesky insects without giving a moment for apology or remorse. Given the opportunity, I’ll kill many more. Mosquitoes deserve to die. They get no mercy from me.

Mankind is even less deserving of mercy than the lowly mosquito. Made in the image of God and given a mind to reason, man would deny his Maker, preferring instead to think he is the product of a mindless series of accidents called evolution. This creature refuses to submit himself to his Lord.

When God sent His laws to earth, people broke them. When warnings of judgment were given, they laughed at all that was Holy. Finally, when God took human form to come to Adam’s race, the creation struck out at its Creator, wanting Him dead. The entire human race is not worthy of mercy.

Seven times in the Bible, God is called merciful and gracious in the same verse. This at first doesn’t seem so remarkable until one considers just how unlovely and undeserving people really are. If I wasn’t a hell deserving sinner, I wouldn’t need mercy. However, since I am worthy of God’s wrath, I am glad that I can go to Him who is both Merciful and Gracious.

*Nehemiah 9:31; Psalm 103:8; Joel 2:13 plus 3 other references.

Mediator between God and Man

For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus,

1 Timothy 2:5

         

A mediator is only effective when both sides have confidence in their go-between. Divergent sides with no common ground cannot be brought together unless there is someone standing with one foot firmly in each camp - unless someone takes seriously the interests of both.

Job had many problems but he was afflicted most of all by his loss of fellowship with the living God. Feeling frustrated and rejected he cried out to his maker, “Nor is there any mediator between us, Who may lay his hand on us both” (Job 9:33). Job longed for a mediator who could get things settled.

Holy God and sinful man - a great gulf separated the two. The vast expanse was uncrossable so a cross was provided. The Creator took on his creature's form and bridged heaven and earth at the moment of the incarnation. Christ Jesus having both the divine and human natures became the true mediator between God and man.

                            God

                            Holy Omnipotent

                            All-seeing Ruling Judging

                            Jesus Christ Savior Lord

                            Feeling Searching Thirsting

                            Living Breathing

                            Man
                                                                         R. Khol

I AM

Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM."

John 8:58

Talk about conversation stoppers. The Pharisees were shocked. They couldn’t believe their ears. Jesus of Nazareth had just called Himself “I AM.” Just moments before He said that He was older than Abraham and now, in effect, He was saying that He was the God of Abraham. They immediately picked up stones to throw at Him.

         

This was no inside joke or subtle allusion. Jesus had blatantly applied one of the most powerful names of God to Himself. They knew the scripture: “God declared to Moses ‘I AM WHO I AM.’ And He said, ‘Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, 'I AM has sent me to you.'” (Exodus 3:14).

The Jewish leaders didn’t believe the Lord. They refused to have Him rule over them and by doing that, they were guilty of the crime of rejecting the Living God.

When Jesus called Himself the great I AM, He calls all humanity to respond to His claim. To reject or ignore the deity of Christ is to choose not to believe the Master. Believing Him is to praise, worship, and honor Him as the everlasting God.

 By the Spirit all pervading,

 Hosts unnumbered round the Lamb,

 Crowned with light and joy unfading,

 Hail Him as the great “I AM.”

                                 J.N. Darby (1800-1882)

Invisible

Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

1 Timothy 1:17

          INVISIBLE. Now isn’t that an odd title to give to the Lord Jesus Christ? After all, He is the second person of the Trinity and by definition, He has a real body and can be seen and even touched. It’s not surprising then that some preachers view this verse as a doxology - a song of praise to God in general and it doesn’t really refer to Jesus in particular.

         

Wait a minute! These praises are addressed to the King Eternal and that’s clearly a reference to Christ who is the King of Kings. Another thing, in reading the first chapter of 1 Timothy, the main focus is the grace and mercy of Christ Jesus. By the time Paul reaches verse seventeen it seems like he just bursts into praise and thanksgiving for his wonderful Lord.

         

But how is Jesus invisible, if he has a body? Well, He doesn’t stop being God even though He has a body.

The Lord Himself said “where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them" (Matthew 18:20). Christ is the unseen guest at the table of every Christian home. He is always there at prayer meeting even when the numbers are down and His invisible presence is felt every time believers remember Him in the Breaking of Bread.

         

When the Lord gave the Great Commission, He ended it with the promise “Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). That means that the Master is very close at all times to His disciples no matter their situation. He is there in the prison cell, in the desert, or even with a saint who is lost in the woods. He is the Invisible friend that is always near and dear.

Son of God

Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.

1 John 4:15*

The title is a statement of faith, the distinguishing creed of all true believers. Peter admitted to Jesus “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God”(Mathew 16:16). Martha, Nathaniel, the Roman centurion, and the Ethiopian eunuch also acknowledged the same. In fact, true faith for anyone is based on whether or not a person reaches this conclusion.

         

Phony Christians might employ the phrase in one way or another but they don’t understand it or at least they refuse to accept its true meaning. That is because the title is a declaration of the deity of Christ and that is something counterfeit converts don’t wish to accept.

         

In Bible times, the phrase “son of...” clearly meant “being one with”, as in the “sons of the prophets” or “sons of the singers.” When Jesus declared, “I am the Son of God” the Jewish leaders were immediately offended and ready to stone Him for blasphemy. To them, by saying God was His father, He was making Himself equal to God (John 5:18).

         

To call Jesus the Son of God is the same as acknowledging Him as God, the Son. It concedes that He has power and authority to judge and punish sinful man. Calling on the Lord by this title implies submission and obedience to His will. It concludes that no surrogate savior could ever redeem God’s lost creation. Only God Himself in human form could be capable of bringing complete salvation.

*Matthew 27:54; John 1:49, 11:27, 10:36; Acts 8:37; Daniel 3:25; plus 38 other references.

Son of Man

(The favorite title of Christ for Himself).

"I was watching in the night visions, And behold, One like the Son of Man, Coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, And they brought Him near before Him.

Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, That all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, Which shall not pass away, And His kingdom the one Which shall not be destroyed.”

Daniel 7:13,14*

The husband was an American and his wife Canadian. The child was both. He wasn’t a little of each, but 100% a citizen of both countries.

         

Jesus Christ is the God-Man. Conceived through the Holy Spirit, He is all that the Almighty ever was or is. Born of a woman, He is fully human and is a credit to His race. Not half God and half man, the Lord Jesus combines deity and humanity without diluting either.

         

As Son of God, Christ is of the family of God and the possessor of God’s nature. As Son of Man, the Lord couldn’t have been more human. There wasn’t an emotion or experience that He couldn’t feel.

Of the two titles, it was Son of Man that He chose to use the most. It was such a special title that with only one exception in the New Testament it always comes from the Lord’s own mouth. The term is powerful and most often refers to a time when the God-Man will reign forever over the human race. However, the Savior made it very clear that first, the Son of Man had to be lifted up, suffer, and die for His creation before this would be possible.

                                    Son of Man, His incarnation

                                    Opened first the tale of grace;

                                    Son of Man, in new creation

                                    Leader of a chosen race!

                                    Well may glory, well may glory,

                                    Give to Him the honored place!

                                                                                    Thomas Kelly

*see also Mark 14:62; Matthew 20:28; John 3:14; Acts 7:56 plus 80 other New Testament references

True Vine

“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.”

John 15:1

          The Old Testament repeatedly refers to Israel as a vine. Taken out of Egypt and transplanted in Canaan, God labored to enable His tender plant to grow (Psalm 80:8,9). However, the experience was disappointing because instead of something worthwhile, the vine produced only wild grapes (Isaiah 5:2). The seed was good. God started with only the best but somehow it degenerated into an alien plant that had to be rejected (Jeremiah 2:21).

         

Today, not everyone will understand the depth of meaning in this imagery but it was clear to the people in the Bible times who were very familiar with vineyards. They knew that grape production was a labor-intensive industry and a worthless harvest after years of effort would be more than disappointing.

         

For centuries, God nurtured and cared for Israel. He called the nation His, giving it not only His blessing and protection but also His law, His prophets, and many works of wonder. Yet for all this expense of concern, Israel’s fruit was bitter and useless to the owner. Every new effort to produce a crop of faithfulness resulted in new regret. Finally, it came time to uproot and cast off the wild hybrid vine and replace it with something true and productive.

         

Jesus is the True Vine and the Father will never be disappointed in Him. He is the perfect fulfillment of the plans and purposes of God.

         

When Israel sought life through law keeping and ceremony, they found none there. They became withered and worthless. However, Christ Himself is the True Vine. He is the source of life and grace so that all those who abide in Him can expect to live a life that is fruitful and productive.

The Vine

"I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.

John 15:5

Dismal! That’s the best way to describe a vineyard in the late fall. Contorted log-like trunks about six to eight feet long lie on the cold barren ground stripped of limb, leaf, and presumably even life. It’s hard to believe that this place was fruitful just a few months before. Only a very few would even expect that those chunks of weathered wood could produce abundantly again.

         

Each of those naked stumps is a vine and within them is the promise of next year’s harvest. In the spring the empty field turns green with life. The vine sends out branches and then leaves. The clusters of fruit that form are not so much a reflection of the quality of the branches as much as a tribute to the productivity of the vine.

         

When Jesus said that He was the vine, His disciples understood that He claimed to be the source of fruitfulness to those abiding in Him. Christ did not have material wealth, comfort, or a large following while He was on this earth, so spiritual fruit can’t be construed as meaning these things. Rather, the character that people saw in Him is what He offers.

The Lord Jesus told his followers: “As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love” (John 15:9). “"These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full. (John 15:11). “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you” (John 14:27). The fruit of the spirit just happens in a believer’s life when he is very close to Christ (Galatians 5:22-23).