Jesus is God’s full and final revelation

What goes on in my life and in the world is often a puzzle that raises the question, “What is God doing?” However, most of the time the answer is found by taking another look at Jesus. For instance, the mess that is happening in Israel and Gaza is awful. God, what are You doing? Then I think about Jesus. He is God the Son, innocent of all sin, light and truth, yet He was brutally crucified. That seems the worst thing that could ever happen, yet God made it the best thing that ever happened. The death of Jesus meant wrath on sin was satisfied and that forgiveness is available to all of humanity. Since God can do that, and since He is sovereign, the mess in any part of the world cannot limit the power of God.

This Jesus answers my questions. He is God’s full and final revelation, waited for by generations. Even a sinful woman from Samaria who met Him at a well knew that God would send Him. She didn’t know yet that the man who talked to her was the Messiah when she said to Him: “I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things.” (John 4:25)

The expectation of that time, even among the Samaritans, was that the Messiah would bring to them the full and final revelation of God. This is affirmed in the NT:

Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. (Hebrews 1:1–2)

The OT revealed God in bits and pieces, each part true but not clear because the revelation was incomplete. Jesus came and the puzzle came together, yet His people didn’t expect what they saw. Their messianic hope had been cherished for centuries, but had a political foundation. However, He came to save them from their sin, not from those oppressors who ruled over them.

Nevertheless, Jesus fulfilled the OT promises and is God’s final revelation of Himself. “For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory.” (2 Corinthians 1:20)

Two of my favorite Bible verses are about the identity of Jesus and the reason He came:

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14)

No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known. (John 1:18)

Jesus is God in human flesh, like us yet not like us, amazing in power and humility, sinless yet greatly concerned for sinners. Paul also wrote: “For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily.” (Colossians 2:9)

It seems late in my Christian life to finally realize the sufficiency of Jesus Christ. He is the fullness of divine revelation, meaning I need nothing more, not only for being able to trust Him in a world gone haywire, but for what He has done in my life. These personalized verses tell it all:

I am complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power. (Colossians 2:10)

His divine power has granted to me all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called me to His own glory and excellence. (2 Peter 1:3)

Someday, when He appears and I see Him as He is, I will be like Him. (2 John 3:2)

PRAY: Jesus, starting the day with You and in worship is making such a difference in my life, not only in the practical ways that chores and so on go smoothly, but in my innermost being. You give me a peace that passes understanding and a calmness of heart during challenges that once kept me upset and anxious. The more You reveal God to me, the more I experience that incredible grace and truth that is setting me free. Thank You.

PONDER: How can I rely more fully on all that Jesus is and does, and in faith bring Him the glory that is due?

 

 

Precept upon precept, line upon line . . .

 

Most writers of nonfiction order their material in logical outline, stating a truth and then giving more information about that truth. The idea is to make it clear, easy to understand, and easy to read and apply. The more complex the topic, the more this manner of writing is used.

The Bible is not written like that. My first reaction is that God did not want mere intellectual understanding without faith. Instead, He wanted to reveal truth in a way that faith is required to receive it. Not only that, faith is not complete in its onset. It is more like a child taking his father’s hand without a clue where he will be led, then discovering in the journey how much his father can be trusted.

As for the writing of this enduring Bible of nonfiction, it has one main purpose: God wants to reveal Himself to us:

Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. (Hebrews 1:1–2)

The OT is like peeking at the future. Its readers did not get a full picture of the Son that was to come, but they were given glimpses of Him and His purpose for revealing God to us in a human body. One of the reasons is that we needed to see God’s Laws lived out in this perfect, sinless One. Jesus said:

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. (Matthew 5:17)

By doing this, Jesus showed that God’s revelation of truth, His nonfiction story, progressed from promise to fulfillment, from partial to complete. This is called progressive revelation in that the OT anticipated Christ’s coming; the New Testament records His coming.

Just like a new Christian cannot immediately grasp the meaning of the entire Bible, The OT writers didn’t understand everything they wrote. For one thing, it didn’t always apply to their day. That’s why Peter said,

Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories. It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look. (1 Peter 1:10–12)

This does not imply that the OT is inaccurate, nor that its readers were without full faith in God. Those who read it in its entirety along with the NT begin to realize that any distinction isn’t in the rightness or wrongness of the revelation but in its completeness. Just as a child progresses from letters to words to sentences, so God’s revelation progressed from types, ceremonies, and prophecies to final completion in Jesus Christ and the NT.

Some do think the OT is incomplete by New Testament standards or that it is totally unnecessary reading now that we have the NT and the covenant of grace. However, the OT is also fully inspired by God and that truth is affirmed often in the NT:

For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. (2 Peter 1:21)

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, (2 Timothy 3:16)

We need to remember that these NT writers did not have the full NT when they wrote the above affirmations. Also, while the OT isn’t all of God’s truth, all of it is true. As it is read, God reveals His character and His plan for redemption. It is like a vista unfolding before us while we walk along a path, even though that vision and those truths are not put in a logical, easy-to-understand order like editors insist upon today. The only way to see the wonder of what God reveals is by reading it, applying what is seen, and continuing to read, trusting God to make Himself known in the marvel of what He has breathed into the hearts and pens of His human servants.

PRAY: Jesus, Your Word is like You reciting into my heart what You want me to know. At times, some of it seems garbled or vague, but when Your Spirit gives clarity, it always gives me truth that I need for the things that are happening in my life or in the world around me. Some might critique the writing style, but the endurance of Your Book proves that You are the greatest author and You know exactly how to use words to change lives.

PONDER: how can my faith respond to 2 Timothy 3:16–17 and 2 Peter 3:16?