Who is Jesus?

One of my relatives is very religious. We have had some discussion about what he believes and like the roots determine the tree, his core belief affects everything else. This core belief is where we differ; he believes Jesus is a created being and I believe that Jesus is God in human flesh.

We don’t argue about it now like we once did. We agree that the world is in a mess and that people need a change of life. He says people need to obey God and I agree. Our root belief makes the difference. He thinks Jesus died to give us the ability to earn our salvation; whereas I am certain that Jesus died to grant us our salvation.

It is about the identity of Jesus. Both of us might use this passage to ‘prove’ our different views:

He (Jesus) is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. (Colossians 1:15–20)

My relative’s idea that Jesus is a created being is tied up in his definition of “firstborn.” If used in the normal sense, this passage could be taken to mean that Jesus was the first one created. However, the religious group that my relative belongs to does not believe in or encourage scholarship. If they did, they would find out that the Greek word used has a broader meaning than the English word ‘firstborn.’

The Greek term pertains to existing prior to something else or ‘existing first, existing before’ or ‘existing before all creation’ or ‘existing before anything was created.’ It can also mean ‘superior in status.’ While it can also include all the rights and privileges that accompany being a physical firstborn, here it refers to Jesus as preceding all others in time or space or degree. This is about His status.

The rest of the passage clarifies: He created all things and existed before all else. All creation was made before Him and He holds it together — translated from a word that means to be or become composed of many parts into a cohesive and enduring whole. This is a description of God our Creator and clearly equates Jesus as deity.

The rest of the passage is about prominence also. Again, firstborn from the dead is about the significance of His resurrection. He wasn’t the first in any other sense since He raised people from the dead before He died, such as the widow’s son and Lazarus. His resurrection was unique and gives Him preeminence.

Not only that, in Him all the fullness of God dwells. Some say God is in everyone, but the Bible does not say that. We are made in His image, but He dwells only in those who by faith have accepted His offer of salvation and have been reconciled to God through the death and resurrection of this unique person, Jesus Christ who is God the Son. He, unlike us who have been marred by sin, is the sinless image of God the Father.

My relative admits that they do not worship Jesus “because he is only a created being” yet also admits that his hope is in his ability to live up to God’s standards. His assurance is in how good he can be, not in Jesus Christ.

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Lord Jesus, as I worship You today, I will also be praying that You will reveal Yourself to those who have yet not seen the glory of who You are. You have delivered millions of people from the domain of darkness and transferred us to Your kingdom, the kingdom of God’s beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. (Colossians 1:13–14) May this be true of millions more.

Today’s thankful list . . .

The wonder of God revealing His Son to me, a sinner.

The wonder of God revealed in creation, especially as we drive in the Rocky Mountains.

Good roads and a dandy chauffeur — my hubby.

Wonderful supper in a restaurant built of logs.

Able to sing worship songs in a motel.

The blessing of listening to a preacher like Jamie Rasmussen on the Internet. 

I spy God

Being a detail person, trying to see the big picture is a strain on my brain, however this month’s overview of the New Testament is helpful. It begins with four Gospels that are of different lengths. There are several ways of showing the way these books are organized to describe the life of Christ, but the chart I found yesterday helps my scrambled mind. It shows how each book is in sections or periods of: preparation, public ministry, suffering and triumph, big picture stuff.

Today I’m noticing differences in the lengths of these descriptions. Matthew is writing to the Jews, and Luke whose focus is on Jesus as a man, both describe the longest periods of preparation. In contrast, Mark who describes Jesus as a servant and John who focuses on Jesus as God both give far less description of His preparation for ministry. Is that significant? Does it suggest a pattern for Christians? Maybe in our humanness we need more time to prepare for Christian ministry? Being always filled with the Spirit could make a difference?

The big picture is that our fleshy nature has a desire to run things. It says, ‘I want what I want when I want it’ and those wants are to satisfy the desires of the flesh, the eyes and the pride of life. Interrupt me in that mode with a call to serve God in some way and it takes more than a few seconds to prepare to serve Him instead of myself.

But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. (Galatians 5:16–18)

However, if I am filled with the Spirit all the time as Jesus was, then the call of God takes not much more than a quick, ‘help me with this, Lord’ prayer. Preparation is shorter because I am already relying on Him. This does not mean that Jesus had to learn this, but each gospel writer wanted to put emphasis on certain aspects of His life. The way He lived shows me all sorts of things about how I need to live. The emphasis used by each writer speaks to various areas of my own life, and this big picture view is rounded out by the rest of the NT. It says in many ways how I need to depend on Him all the time.

I also notice that John gives far more description to the period of Jesus’ suffering and of His triumph than the other writers do. Is that because he wants to emphasize what God has done for us and that we need to keep our minds on that and the results? Certainly that is a huge part of the rest of the NT too.

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. (Colossians 1:15–20)

This and many other passages are clear: Jesus Christ is the priority, the most important person in all of my life. He created all things and rules things. He gives meaning to life as He brings sinners to God by grace through faith. There is nothing more important than the fact of His death on the cross for sin and His resurrection by the supernatural power of God. He changes my life and my destiny.

In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. (Ephesians 1:7–12)

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Jesus, the NT has more big picture and more details. However, my focus is to worship You, walking in the Spirit and giving no attention to the flesh, remembering all day what You have done and how much Your life has changed my life. You are all that I need for whatever comes my way and all that I need for eternity. Praise Your holy name.

Crisis points

It is said that those birthdays with a 0 after them are crisis points. Then, or a couple years on either side of them are times of making important decisions. They are not the same each decade, yet most center around bigger questions like, “What is life all about?” or “How do I want to spend the rest of my life?”

At twenty, I didn’t think about death or the shortness of life, but some do. A parent dies, or a friend commits suicide and death shakes the younger heart. At thirty, I didn’t think about who I would marry; I was already married, but some do. At forty and fifty, the life questions might be about relationships, family or finances. At sixty, thoughts will turn to retirement. For some, that might happen at seventy. I have a cousin who turned 100 this year and wishes he was still working.

Tozer writes about parting with the stuff of life, which happens to me each time we move. He says: “Father, I want to know Thee, but my cowardly heart fears to give up its toys. I cannot part with them without inward bleeding, and I do not try to hide from Thee the terror of the parting. I come trembling, but I do come. Please root from my heart all those things which I have cherished so long and which have become a very part of my living self, so that Thou mayest enter and dwell there without a rival. Then shalt Thou make the place of Thy feet glorious. Then shall my heart have no need of the sun to shine in it, for Thyself wilt be the light of it, and there shall be no night there.”

I know enough about giving up, about purging because the Lord has asked me to stop caring about this or that, or about doing something I enjoy but He is not using. Keeping my life pure from distraction becomes more and more a focus even as I realize how much my focus needs to be on Jesus Christ.

“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.” (Colossians 1:15–20)

Tozer’s prayers prompt my words also . . .

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Lord, how excellent are Your ways. Mine can be dishonest and ungodly. Show me how to die to all of that old self that I may rise again to newness of life. Tear the veil of my self-life from the top down just like You tore veil of the Temple. I want to draw near in full assurance of faith and live with You in daily experience here so that I will be accustomed to Your glory when I enter heaven to live with You forever. Rise into Your proper place of honor, above my ambitions, above my likes and dislikes. May I decrease that You will increase.