Sun, Jul 29th - 10:18PM

WHO IS THIS JESUS?

Sat, Jul 28th - 4:21PM

WHO IS THIS JESUS?

"Behold, the days come, said the LORD, that I will raise to David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. In His days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is His name that He shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS (Jeremiah 23:5-6)."

   This name of Jesus Christ in Hebrew appears as Jehovah-tsidkenu. As can be seen, the Messiah was foretold to come from out of the line of David.  He was to be a King who executed judgment upon His coming to His Chosen People.  It just was not to happen upon His First Advent to earth, this is something that shall happen when He returns in glory to rule with His believers.  What Christ chose to do during His First Advent was to ensure that He become our righteousness for there is nothing righteous about any of us when considered strictly by what we are.  Looking in Jeremiah 33:14-16 we can find a continued mention of Christ being THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.  This was to be a fulfillment of the promise God had made to Judah and Israel that the kingdom would have a king to sit upon the throne of David forever and ever.  The intent of God can clearly be seen in chapter 32 and 33, that He fully intended to save His Chosen People in the future and finally end their dispersion across the entire world, but that it would be done His way, not the way of the Israelites.  They should have learned this lesson and not forgotten it over the centuries. 

   This is a rich area of the Old Testament, one in which a person can find several topics for further study.  One such topic is the Davidic Covenant alluded to in 33:15 while another is the New Covenant alluded to in 32:38-40. 

"For, behold, the day comes, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yes, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that comes shall burn them up, said the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch. But unto you that fear My name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in His wings; and you shall go out, and grow up as calves of the stall (Malachi 4:1-2)."

   Malachi finishes up mention of Christ as our LORD being righteousness.  Verse two speaks of Christ's second-coming while verse one reveals the means by which judgment of this world will be carried out by God.  People today tend to believe that even if God does exist, once we die we go beyond even His reach.  So, if I act wickedly, evily, sinfully, once I die it makes absolutely no difference to me.  The error in that sort of belief is that God's reach extends well beyond the realm of the grave.  Nothing is impossible for God to accomplish.  Thus the need for each person to choose to accept Christ Jesus as Lord and Savior before physical death in order to avoid the lake of fire and the second death.  Malachi also is a good point at which to summarize the Old Testament revelation of Deity through His names.  There is a repeated three time grouping of three names that is incorporated into the Old Testament.  We find God (Elohim, El, Elah) - LORD (Jehovah) - Lord (Adon, Adonai); Almighty God (El Shaddai) - Most High (El Elyon) - everlasting God (El Olam); and LORD God (Jehovah Elohim) - Lord GOD (Adonai Jehovah) - LORD of hosts (Jehovah Sabaoth).  This threefold repetition of names suggests the Godhead/Trinity.  Throughout the Bible this revelation of God's names invariably is connected with some particular need of His people. 

   That the Old Testament reveals the existence of a Supreme Being is without doubt.  He is the Creator of all, the Source of all life and of all intelligence, and is to be worshipped and served by mankind and angels.  This Supreme Being is One, but essentially is a unity in plurality that is not fully revealed in the Old Testament.  This is revealed by the plural name, Elohim, by the use of the plural pronoun in the interrelation of Deity as evidenced in Genesis, Psalms, Isaiah, and Malachi. God's future incarnation is intimated in the appearances of God in human form (e.g. Genesis 18:1, 13, 17-22; 32:24-30).  It is also distinctly predicted in the promises connected with redemption and with the Davidic Covenant. 

   The revelation of Deity in the New Testament so illuminates that of the Old Testament that the latter is clearly seen to be a foreshadowing of the coming incarnation of God in Jesus the Christ. 

"Because He has appointed a day, in the which He will judge the world in righteousness by that Man whom He has ordained; whereof He has given assurance to all men, in that He has raised Him from the dead (Acts 17:31)."

   It stands out that we keep on reading about "days",  "day", and "a day." These all refer us to consider the Day of Judgment spoken of in Hebrews 9:27; Matthew 10:15; and Revelation 20:11.  All judgment has been given over to the Son of God, the Second Person of the Godhead.  He did come to secure for each and every person redemption from this coming judgment of sin.  Verse 30 of this chapter of Acts shows that upon Christ having come to obtain redemption for all people therre is now the commandment issuing from God for all people to repent.  Repentance is the translation of the Greek word, metanoia, meaning "to have another mind," "to change the mind."  As applied here it indicates a change of mind in respect to sin, to God, and to self. This repentance may be preceded by sorrow, but sorrow for sin is not repentance.   Sorrow may work repentance, but can't be substituted for it. Saving faith includes and implies that change of mind which is called repentance. 

   I will stop here for now, beloved.  Next time I will touch upon a passage in Romans 5, Philippians 1, Hebrews 7, and II Peter 1.  I hope you return to discover more about Jesus Christ.  He being our Righteousness is important in that we must "put on" Christ so that when God looks upon us He will only "see" Christ and thus reckon righteousness to us.    Grace and peace be yours this day!

~Eric

Wed, Jul 25th - 8:51PM

WHO IS THIS JESUS?

"Where then serves the law? It was added because of transgressions, until the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator. Now a mediator is not a mediator of one, but God is one (Galatians 3:19-20)."

   In order to get to the mediator, we must first know what the true intent of the Mosaic law was: condemnation of sin and as a preparatory discipline for the coming of faith.  This intent is sixfold in nature: (1) The law was added because of transgressions, to give to sin the character of transgression.  People had been sinning before Moses, but in the absence of law their sins were not put to their account (Romans 5:13); the law gave to sin the character of personal guilt. Additionally, since people not only continued to sin after the law was given, but were provoked to sin by the very law which was forbidding it (Romans 7:8), the law conclusively proved the sinfulness of man's basic nature (Romans 7:11-13).  (2) The law, therefore, concluded that all people were under sin. (3) The law was an ad interim dealing, "until the seed should come".  (4) The law shut sinful people up to faith as the only avenue of escape. (5) The law was to the Jews what the pedagogue was in a Greek household, a ruler of children in their minority, and it had this character until Christ came. (6) Christ having come, the believer is no longer under the pedagogue, as stated in verse 25 of Galatians 3.

   Reading down to verse 24 we discover that the purpose of the Mosaic law was also for it to be our schoolmaster in order to bring us to Christ Jesus so that we could be justified by faith in Christ.  The Law was given to Israel in three parts: the commandments, the judgments, and the ordinances. These expressed the righteous will of god, governed their social life, and governed their religious life respectively.  The commandments and ordinances were one complete and inseparable whole.  You couldn't have the one without the other.  The Law, as a method of the Divine dealing with mankind, characterized the "dispensation" extending from the giving of the Law to the death of Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:13-14, 23-24).  The attempts of legalistic teachers (Acts 15:1-31, Galatians 2:1-5) to mingle law with grace as the divine method for this present "dispensation" of grace, brought out the true relation of the law to the Christian.

   The Mosaic Law is in contrast with the grace of Christ.  Under Law God demanded righteousness, under grace God bestowed righteousness. The Law is, in itself, holy, just, good, and spiritual (Romans 7:12-14). Before the Law the entire world is guilty, and the law is therefore of necessity a ministry of condemnation, death, and the divine curse. Christ bore the curse of the Law, and redeemed the believer both from the curse and from the dominion of the Law. The Law neither justifies a sinner nor sanctifies a believer. The believer is both dead to the Law and redeemed from it, so that he is not under the law, but under grace (Romans 6:14; 7:4). Under the new covenant of grace the principle of obedience to the Divine will is now internal rather than external (Hebrews 10:16). The believer is now "inlawed to Christ" (I Corinthians 9:21), being distantly removed from the anarchy of self-will. The new "law of Christ" is the believer's delight; while through the indwelling Holy Spirit, the righteousness of the Law is fulfilled in him (Romans 8:2-4; Galatians 5:16-18). The commandments are used as an instruction in righteousness.

"For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus (I Timothy 2:5):"

   So all of that brings us finally to the Mediator, Jesus Christ.  He is the only mediator whom we need with God the Father.  He intercedes on our behalf when Satan accuses us of all sorts of sinful things.  Jesus is the High Priest to whom we confess our sins and offer up our repentance.  It is a legal term and indicates how we have been removed from being under the Law of Moses to being under the law of grace in Christ Jesus.  "Therefore in all things it behoved Him to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people (Hebrews 2:17)." "Therefore He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come to God by Him, seeing He ever lives to make intercession for them (Hebrews 7:25)." "But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also He is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises (Hebrews 8:6)."  The only means of coming before God is to go through Jesus Christ because each person must be reconciled through Christ's intercession for them before the throne of God.  Christ obtained a much better ministry after His crucifixion, in that He became the mediator of the New Covenant created through the shedding of Christ's blood upon the cross on Golgotha.  A better covenant because it is founded upon better promises.  I do not speak of this new covenant being better than the Mosaic Covenant morally, but because it had the power to create the desired remedy to sin. The better promises were that they were unconditional.  Under the Law God said, "If you will" while under grace God says, "I will." Under the Mosaic Law obedience arose from fear, while under the new covenant obedience arises from a willing heart and mind. The new covenant secured the personal revelation of the Lord to every believer; the complete oblivion of sins; rests upon an accomplished redemption; and secures the perpetuity, future conversion, and blessing of Israel.  This new covenant is the eighth covenant between God and man, thus speaking of resurrection and of eternal completeness. 

"And for this cause He is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance. For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator. For a testament is of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator lives (Hebrews 9:16-17)."  The first testament was dedicated with blood through death and so must the second testament be dedicated.  Moses took the blood of calves and of goats and sprinkled both the book and the people.  He also sprinkled the tabernacle and all of the vessels used in its ministry.  It was therefore necessary that the original things in heaven be purified in like manner, but with better sacrifices than that of calves and goats.  This is why Christ Jesus manifested Himself in human flesh, in order to dedicate the heavenly things with His shed blood and consecrate the new covenant with mankind.  Without digressing too far here, physical death is the consequence of sin, and the universality of death proves the universality of sin. Physical death affects the body only and does not signify cessation of life nor of consciousness (Habbakuk 2:5; Luke 16:23; Revelation 6:9-10).  All physical death ends in the resurrection of the body. The soul and spirit live independently of the death of the body, which is described as a "tabernacle" in which the "I" dwells, and which may be put off (II Corinthians 5:1-8). At the believer's physical death he/she is "clothed upon" with a "house from heaven" pending the resurrection of the "earthly house," and is at once "with the Lord." Death can be a study all of its own but we shall not dive deeply into it here. 

"And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaks better things than that of Abel (Hebrews 12:24)." "By Him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to His name (Hebrews 13:15)." The intention of God since the time of expulsion from out of the Garden of Eden has been this redemption of mankind.  It is freely offered to all who wish to believe upon the name of Jesus as Lord.  Therefore people ought speak praise to God continuously by thanking Him for what He willingly chose to do for us out of love for us.  That completes this study of Jesus as our Mediator.  God understood that we needed someone to whom to confess our sins, and that it made absolutely no sense to confess them to someone else who sins just like us.

   I offer this up as a final addendum to this post: Reception of faith comes from Biblical believing. A person must have both intellectual knowledge of Christ and personal acceptance of Christ in order to receive the "gift" of salvation from God.  This requires three critical things:

                                          *   Noticia - objective notice

                                          *   Assentia - Intellectual assent

                                          *   Fiducia - Personal faith

  Salvation is a gift from God, but as with any gift, as long as it remains unclaimed it is simply potentially yours.  One must accept it as theirs, take ownerhsip of it, and grasp it to them.  Then, and only then, does the gift truly become theirs.  I pray that each person who reads this study and reaches this point in it, accepts the gift of salvation from God wholeheartedly, making it part of themselves for eternity.  Grace and peace most joyfully be yours this day!

~Eric

Mon, Jul 23rd - 5:54PM

WHO IS THIS JESUS?

"And looking upon Jesus as He walked, he said, Behold the Lamb of God (John 1:36)!"

   John the Baptist saw Christ walking by and announced loudly that He was the Lamb of God.  It is clear that He was to be known to have come to sacrifice Himself to pay for everyone's sins.  In the ensuing verses we can find the two disciples who were with John the Baptist following after Jesus.  This passage marks the beginning of Christ's public ministry.  He goes on to call out His disciples from among the multitude of unbelievers, just as He continues to do today.

"And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth (Revelation 5:6)."

   The apostle John in this revelation sees up into heaven itself and beholds this scene.  In the midst of a throne, four beasts, and the elders, is standing a Lamb.  Here is Christ Jesus in heaven revealing to John truth that must be known by those who will live at the time of the end of the age.  Christ isn't depicted as being of human form in this revelation, He is in the form of a lamb as if it had been slain.  He also has seven horns and seven eyes which represent His Holy Spirit as it goes out into the world to discern the heart of mankind.  But is He really standing in the form of a lamb, or is He in the form of the Lamb of God?  I lean towards this second thought for in the next verse it says that "He came and took the book."  Hands are required to do this sort of thing.  So, we have the Lamb of God come to the throne and take the book from He who sits upon that throne.  Why was the Lamb of God worthy to to open this book and to loose the seals that bound it?  He was/is worthy because He who is without any sin came to earth and died in the place of sinful mankind. 

   At the point of Christ taking this book the beasts and elders fell down and sung a new song.  These twenty-four elders obviously (from verse 9) represent the church of Christ for they claim to have been redeemed by the shed blood of the Lamb.  Verse ten then informs us that at the very least these elders will become kings and priests who will reign upon the earth after Christ's return there.  Other scriptures extend the priesthood to all believers in Christ so that it can be believed that all believers have the opportunity to become rulers during the millennial kingdom here on earth.  Looking further along in chapter five we also find that there is universal adoration of the Lamb, that we are to give to Him all of our praise.  He is to receive all power, riches, wisdom, strength, honor, glory, and blessing.  Everything in this fifth chapter of Revelation depicts complete worship of Christ, He who lives forever and ever.

"And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see (Revelation 6:1)."

   John is invited to come and behold what the broken seal on the book has revealed.  Truth has been released in order that understanding might begin to happen across mankind.  John is provided with a complete progression of events that begin the judgment of mankind.  In verse 16 of the sixth chapter of Revelation we find that all of the kings and leaders of nations on earth realize exactly who it is that is causing these things to happen to them and their world.  They beg the mountains to fall down upon them and hide them from the wrath of the Lamb who sits upon the throne. 

"And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives to the death (Revelation 12:11)."

   Who did "they" overcome?  Who is "they?"  They are the believers in Christ Jesus.  Looking back a few verses we discover the account of Satan being cast from out of heaven, of him being the accuser of everyone who has ever declared to believe in Jesus' name.  Where was Satan cast out?  Nowhere else than here on earth.  Satan and his fallen angel buddies got tossed out of heaven and had to dwell here on earth.  The declaration made here is that salvation and strength had finally come, the kingdom of God and the power of His Christ had triumphed over evil.  So believers overcome Satan and his demons by the shed blood of Christ and their personal testimony of becoming born-again.  A key component would appear to be that they did not become heavily invested in the material aspect of the world that they found themselves in.  They kept their attention and hearts focused upon Christ rather than accumulating possessions.

"And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship Him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world (Revelation 13:8)."

   These people are unbelievers, those who will not find their names written in the book of eternal life.  This is the point in history when the kingdom of heaven has come to earth in the form of the millennial kingdom, that time of 1,000 years when Christ shall sit upon David's throne in Jerusalem and rule the entire planet from there.  Peace shall exist over the entire planet for the King of kings will physically be here and Satan shall be chained up in the Pit for this period of time, unable to influence the thoughts of mankind. 

   We can look to Revelation 15:3 and find the song of the Lamb being sung up in heaven, where He is spoken of being Lord God Almighty, the King of saints.  Again, in Revelation 19:7 we find the Lamb in conjunction with His great marriage feast.  His "wife" here has made herself ready to be received of her bridegroom.  The Lamb's wife is the "bride" found in Revelation 21:9, the Church, properly identified with the "heavenly Jerusalem" (Hebrews 12:22-23), and is to be distinguished from Israel, which is the adulterous and repudiated "wife" of Jehovah who is yet to be restored (Isaiah 54:1-10; Hosea 2:1-17), and is further identified with the earth (Hosea 2:23).  A forgiven and restored wife can't be called either virgin or a bride.

   As we look more closely, we also see that in verse 8 the "bride" is dressed in fine linen which is clean and white: it is the righteousness of saints.  Believers are the saints of Christ and have been cleansed by both the blood of Christ and the Word of God so that they may then wear white linens to the marriage feast of the Lamb.  Beloved, every single saint of Christ is invited to this feast, none are going to be turned away.  It shall be a grand time!  Looking finally at Revelation 22:1, 3 we find that from out of the throne of the Lamb flows a pure river of the water of life and growing on either side of the golden street in the middle of Jerusalem will be the tree of life.  Verse 3 informs us that there shall not be any curse, that the Lamb's servants shall serve Him there.  We shall see Jesus' face.  His very presence shall provide the light to see everything, there shall no longer be the need for a star nearby to illuminate the planet. 

   We need to know that the Lamb of God was slain before Creation, it became a matter of fact in the mind of God.  This completes this part of this study about Jesus.  Next time I will begin looking at Jesus as the Mediator in the book of Galatians.  See you then!  Blessings and grace be with you!

~Eric

Thu, Jul 19th - 8:03PM

WHO IS THIS JESUS?

""And all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself by Jesus Christ, and has given to us the ministry of reconciliation; To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them; and has committed to us the word of reconciliation (II Corinthians 5:18-19)."

   God's aim all along has been to provide mankind with the means to become reconciled to Himself, to restore fellowship.  Part of what Christians must be doing is working to reconcile people with one another and with God.  That is the ministry that God has bequeathed to each person who accepts Christ Jesus as his own Savior.  Now, what about this term "impute"?  What in the world does this mean?  In this passage it comes from the Greek word logizomai, meaning "to reckon, take into account, or to put down to a person's account."  So God does not reckon our sins/trespasses to us as long as we are to be found in Christ.  If we reject Christ Jesus then our sins get credited to our personal account and we are required to pay the wages of our sins, which is death.  I will only point out here that looking to verse 17 we find the refutation to the claims of those who say that no person needs to change upon becoming a believer in Christ.  This verse clearly declares that ALL things have become new.  The old behavior/s are to go and be replaced with new behaviors that are more pleasing to God.  "And, having made peace through the blood of His cross, by Him to reconcile all things to Himself; by Him, I say, whether they be things in the earth, or things in heaven. And you, that were sometimes alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now has He reconciled. In the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in His sight: If you continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which you have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister (Colossians 1:20-23)."  Here is why God came to earth in the form of Jesus Christ and willingly went to the cross.  To reconcile all things to Himself.  This is what the plan was all about.  If I remain faithful, grounded in the gospel, and do not chase after man's philosophy, then I am reconciled to God forever more.  I will be at peace with God, no longer will God be my antagonist and actively working to bring me to a point of repentance.  Peace is what it seems everyone is searching for in their lives, that and love.  Where is it to be found?  In Christ Jesus and no where else.

"And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood (Genesis 22:9)."  Here in the offering up of Isaac as a sacrifice we find "typical" lessons.  Isaac, type of Christ "obedient unto death"; Abraham, type of the Father, who "spared not His only begotten Son, but delivered Him up for us all"; the ram, type of substitution---Christ offered as a burnt-offering in our place; and resurrection.  This sort of sacrifice had to be voluntary, coercion could not be a part of it.  Isaac voluntarily went with his father up the mount and knew that a lamb was still missing, that it was required in the sacrifice.  Christ Jesus voluntarily came down from heaven to earth in the form of a human, walked the path for 33.5 years to the cross at Calvary, and offered Himself up willingly as the perfect sacrifice to redeem us from our sins.   A sacrifice was required to pay for the sins of mankind and God chose to substitute Himself in our place.  That is how much God loves each of us.  "No man takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of My Father (John 10:18)."  Christ says it Himself, He voluntarily laid down His life for all of us.  No person took His life forcefully for He had planned it all out down to the final details for He had come to give Himself in our place.

"And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Me. This He said, signifying what sort of death He should die (John 12:32-33)."  Here we discover the efficacy of Christ.  He has the power to produce an effect of redemption from sin.  "Much more them, being now justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. For if,when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by His life (Romans 5:9-10)."  Through death Jesus reconciled us to Himself but through His resurrection we are truly saved to newness of life.  Efficacious.  "For He has made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him (II Corinthians 5:21)." "But now in Christ Jesus you who sometimes were far away are made close by the blood of Christ (Ephesians 2:13)."  "But Christ becoming a high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation; neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by His own blood He entered in once to the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us (Hebrews 9:11-12)."  " And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is there is no forgiveness (Hebrews 9:22)."  All of the ordinaces of the Tabernacle of the Old Testament, and later of the Temple, were to train the Hebrew people to be ready for when Christ came to offer Himself as sacrificial Lamb for everyone.  Christ took His spilled blood back up to heaven to apply it to the Mercy Seat there to pay for the sins of mankind.  Forgiveness was obtained by Christ's actions for each and every person, IF they will but accept Him.  I would direct you to also study on your own Hebrews 10:10-17 for it reveals that God's intention all along was to come and live within those who choose to believe in Christ.  "But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin (I John 1:7)."  "And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood (Revelation 1:5).'   If all believers in Christ choose to walk in the light, then are we able to have fellowship with one another.  It is when we have chosen not to walk in the light but to walk according to our own understanding of things that we come into conflict and become entangled in huge disagreements with one another.  We then become polarized and can't possibly reach any sort of understanding with each other.  One Spirit, one unity, one God, one Christ, one Body of believers.  Jesus Christ bathed us in His own spilled blood, making us clean from our sin.  We can't forget that vital fact.  If we do, then we are eventually to become dysfunctional Christians.  We also find in the Revelation citation that Christ is the first begotten of the dead.  As we die in Christ so too are we reborn like Him into newness of life.  Die to self, live for Christ. 

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His onlybegotten Son, that whosoever believes inHim should not perish, but have everlasting life (John 3:16)." "In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. Here then is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins (I John 4:9-10)."  The first verse is well known in Christiandom.  The second one not as well known.  Both inform us that Christ did not die to automatically redeem each and every person who is to ever live on this planet.  Many think that they are quoting the Bible accurately when they claim that God has saved everybody already, the good, the bad, and the very wicked.  They then claim that this is patently unfair of God.  And I would heartily agree if it were the case.  But it is not the case.  Redemption has been bought for you by Christ shedding His precious blood on that cross.  But it does not become yours until you personally accept it as your own.  That requires you to believe in Christ and to have faith that He is real and that He is God.  If you reject the concept of God, then there can be no redemption for you as long as you lay hold of that belief. 

   That finishes up the thoughts generated from Hebrews 10:18, which we were lead to from John 1:29.  Next time I shall continue upon my planned path and pick up in verse 36 of John chapter one.  Then it will be onward to the Book of Revelation!  I hope that this study has been fruitful for you thus far and continues to be so as we move on in coming days!  Hopefully all of us will have a better understanding of just who Jesus is when we are finished!  Grace and peace be with you.

~Eric

Tue, Jul 17th - 8:53PM

WHO IS THIS JESUS?

"The next day John saw Jesus coming to him, and said, Behold the Lamb of God, which takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29)."

   John the Baptist was the first to proclaim Jesus as the Lamb of God, the Passover lamb.  The Passover lamb was meant to cover the sins of those who shared in eating it. Jesus Christ, as the Lamb of God, was not to be physically consumed but to be spiritually accepted as having taken one's place in paying their sin-debt towards God.  The Lamb of God was sacrificed in order to obtain redemption for the entire world. 

   The first hint of sacrifice is in Genesis 3:21 in the form of the "coats of skins" which obviously came from slain animals.  The first intentional instance of sacrifice is in Genesis 4:4, being explained in Hebrews 11:4.  Abel's righteousness was the result of his sacrifice, not of his character.  Before the giving of the Mosaic Law the head of the family was the family priest. By the law an order of priests was established who alone could offer sacrifices up to God.  But those sacrifices were but "shadows," types, expressing in various manner the guilt and need of the offerer in reference to God, and all pointing forward in time to Christ and then fulfilled in Him. 

   But what is so important about Jesus Christ being the sacrificial Lamb?  As foreshadowed by the types and explained by the New Testament, the sacrifice of Christ is penal; substitutional; redemptive; propitiatory; voluntary; reconciling; efficacious; and revelatory.  "Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangs on a tree (Galatians 3:13):"  This verse delineates for us the fact that we were cursed for we were headed towards being hung upon a cross. But we have been redeemed by Christ's actions. "For He has made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him (II Corinthians 5:21)." We only gain righteousness through acceptance of what Christ Jesus has already done for us upon that cross.

"And he shall put his hand upon the head of the burnt-offering; and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him (Leviticus 1:4)." We can easily find in this first chapter of Leviticus the procedure that a person was supposed to follow to the letter when sacrificing an animal to God for the purpose of covering their sin.  Verse three highlights that these sacrifices were not to be coerced, but to be voluntarily made.  If the sacrifice was meant to be a burnt-sacrifice then the person had to offer to God a male animal without any blemishes, nothing could be wrong with the animal.  But the person could not simply choose an animal and then drop it off at the tabernacle or the temple.  No, they must lay their hands upon the animal's head, thereby signifying that it was to be substituted in their place for the atonement of their sin/s.  There were five creatures that were acceptable for sacrifice:

*   The bullock/ox, typifies Christ Jesus as the patient and enduring Servant (I Corinthians 9:9-10; Hebrews 12:2-3), obedient to death (Isaiah 52:13-15; Philippians 2:5-8).  His offering in this character is substitutionary, for we have not been this.

*   The sheep, or lamb, typifies Christ in unresisting self-surrender to the death of the cross (Isaiah 53:7; Acts 8:32-35).

*   The goat typifies the sinner (Matthew 25:33) and when used sacrificially, Christ as being numbered with the transgressors (Isaiah 53:12; Luke 23:33), and made sin, and a curse, as the sinner's substitute.

*   The turtle-dove or pigeon.  Naturally a symbol of mourning innocency (Isaiah 38:14; 59:11; Matthew 23:37; Hebrews 7:26), is associated with poverty in Leviticus 5:7, and speaks of Him who for our sakes became poor (Luke 9:58), and whose pathway of poverty which began with laying aside "the form of God," ended in the sacrifice through which we became rich (II Corinthians 8:9; Philippians 2:6-8). The sacrifice of the poor Man becomes the poor man's sacrifice (Luke 2:24).

   The mature Christian ought to see Christ crucified in all of these aspects above.  The laying on of the offerer's hand signified acceptance and identification of himself with his offering.  It answers to the Christian's faith in accepting and identifying himself/herself with Christ (Romans 4:5; 6:3-11).  The Christian is justified by faith, and faith is reckoned for righteousness, because faith identifies the person with Christ, who died as their sin-offering (II Corinthians 5:21; I Peter 2:24).

   All of the passages in this opening chapter of Leviticus speak of Christ's coming sacrificial death upon the cross, which was to fulfill what God had announced to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden so much earlier than this.  The fire upon the altar is essentially a symbol of God's holiness.  It expresses God in three ways: (1) in judgment upon that which His holiness utterly condemns (Genesis 19:24; Mark 9:43-48; Revelation 20:150; (2) in the manifestation of Himself, and of that which He approves (Exodus 3:2; I Peter 1:7; Exodus 13:21); and  (3) in purification (I Corinthians 3:12-14; Malachi 3:2-3).  And so, the fire which only manifests the sweet savour of the burnt-, meal-, and peace-offerings, completely consumes the sin-offering.  I encourage you to study about all of the offerings and stations within the tabernacle to discover how they relate to Christ and us. 

"In whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace (Ephesians 1:7)." Very many people become repulsed by the thought of blood, and take steps to remove all passages in the Bible that contain such terminology.  That is nice, but it removes the means to redemption from our sins.  In order to truly feel redeemed I must accept that Christ voluntarily allowed His blood to be shed for me.  In this manner God obtained for me forgiveness of all of my sins and brought me forward to become a child of God.  Christ in effect bought me when He spilled His blood in my place upon the cross.  I am no longer my own person, I am God's servant and ought to be obedient unto death myself.  People also quail at this concept as well, refusing to not be free to do whatever they feel like doing.  "I must have my liberty!"  is their motto.  "What? do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which you have of God, and you are not your own? For you are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's (I Corinthians 6:19-20)."  Allowing this realization sink down into my consciousness forces me to accept the fact that since God's Holy Spirit now resides within me my body has become His "temple."  I must therefore treat my body with respect, and to take care of it responsibly.  I can't gorge myself on food, guzzle alcohol to the point of drunkenness, snort cocaine, smoke substances that distort my senses or cause my body to become addicted to them, nor can I watch or read pornography that pollutes my mind and my imagination.  Everything that I see, do, think, or say, is done with God being closely present since He now lives within me.  I have become God's servant and must therefore alter my conduct appropriately to be a reflection of the fact that I have become an ambassador of the King who is one day returning to rule on earth. 

"Whom God has set forth to be a propitiation through faith in His blood, to declare His righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God (Romans 3:25);"  "Propitiation" comes to us from the Greek word hilasterion, meaning "place of propitiation, that which propitiates." This term is used in the Septuagint and in Hebrews 9:5 for "mercy seat."  Leviticus 16:14 details how the atoning blood was to be sprinkled upon the mercy-seat upon the day of atonement.  This was done so that what typically would have been a judgment-seat could become a mercy-seat (Hebrews 9:11-15; 4:14-16), a place of communion (Exodus 25:21-22).  Christ Himself is the hilasmos, "that which propitiates," and the hilasterion, "the place of propitiation"---the mercy-seat sprinkled with His own blood---so that God is vindicated in having "passed over" sins from Adam to Moses (Romans 5:13) and the sins of believers under the old covenant (Exodus 29:33), and just injustifying sinners under the new covenant.  There is no thought of placating a vengeful God, but of doing right by His holy law and thus making it possible for Him righteously to show mercy. 

   That is enough for tonight!  Ponder what I have posted.  Study out the Scripture passages that I have given as support of what I have typed here.  Take your time, be sure that you understand it.  If you have questions, please feel free to contact me here on this site, or at erajaniemi@verizon.net.  Just identify yourself and what post you are referring to.  I promise to answer your questions to the best of my humble ability.  Grace and peace be with you!

~Eric

Sat, Jul 14th - 7:19PM

WHO IS THIS JESUS?

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God (John 1:1)."

   From this opening verse, on through the first 34 verses of the Book of John, we are informed of the deity of Christ Jesus.  We are told that the Word was from the beginning, and in Revelation 19:13 we are told that the Word is still there at the end of time.  Here is Christ, the Second Person of the Godhead, in His resplendent pre-incarnate Self, making all things that were to be made.  In the Word was life, and it was the light of mankind.  The light shone into the darkness and the darkness did not apprehend it, nor could it lay hold of it. 

   "Word" comes from the Greek Logos (Aramaic Memra, used in the Targums, or Hebrew paraphrases. for God).  The Greek term means a thought or concept; the expression or utterance of that thought.  So we have here the expression or utterance of God Himself.  As a designation of Christ Logos is becoming because in Him are embodied all of the treasures of the Divine wisdom, the collective "thought" of God; and He is, from eternity, but especially in His incarnation, the utterance or expression of the Person, and "thought" of Deity. 

"But to them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God (I Corinthians 1:24)."  "According to the eternal purpose which He purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord(Ephesians 32:11):" "That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and to all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ; in Whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge (Colossians 2:2-3)."  Here is to be discovered who Christ is, what He came to do, what can be found in Him, and what form He chose to take in order to reveal Himself to mankind.  Christ contains all of the wisdom and knowledge of God.  Christ is God and so logically He must have all of God's attributes.  Why did God choose this avenue?  So that mankind could be comforted, be knit together in love, and have access to the assurance of understanding.  What causes so many people to stumble is having to acknowledge the mystery of God which is Christ Jesus in the flesh.  It is hard for people to accept the mystery of God for the mystery is Christ, as incarnating the fullness of the Godhead, and all of the divine wisdom and knowledge for the redemption and reconciliation of man.  People refuse to accept this.  If a person truly is searching for wisdom and knowledge, then they must turn to Jesus Christ alone.  In Him is contained all of the treasures of His wisdom and knowledge.  But it is hidden in Him.  To find the treasure one must seek out Christ and find Him.  The treasure is not out laying around in the world.  One must pursue God and demonstrate determination to become reconciled with Him.  If a person truly desires to comprehend even a little bit about the Godhead, then one must accept Christ Jesus for in Him dwells all of the fullness of the Godhead (Colossians 2:9).  "The Word which God sent to the children of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ: (He is Lord of all:) (Acts 10:36)."  You wish to have peace in your heart, soul, and mind?  Then you must have Jesus Christ.  You wish to have peace in your relationships in life?  Then you must have Jesus Christ. 

"For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are One (I John 5:7)."  This is the Godhead, what is commonly referred to as the Trinity.  The Holy Spirit is God, the Word is God, the Father is God.  Since Christ is the Word then He is God and He is the Holy Spirit.  "And He was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and His name is called The Word of God (Revelation 19:13)." The Bible begins with the Word of God, and it ends with the Word of God.  What God has uttered transcends time, it is eternal.  The Word came veiled in human flesh to reveal to mankind the "way" to entering into the kingdom of heaven and the Word shall return a second time to usher in His millennial kingdom here upon the earth prior to creating a new heaven and a new earth that will exist for all eternity. 

   Beloved, we find our faith bolsterd by all of these verses.  Our level of confidence is raised several bars and we can boldly proclaim His coming kingdom and that the only way to enter it is through faith in Christ Jesus.  God's grace is extended to each person, it is up to each person to accept it, or not.  We find that we can trust God more for all of these verses show us that there is internal consistency of message, of thought, throughout the entire Bible.  And logically there ought to be since Christ Jesus is the incarnation of the utterance of God.

   Next time I shall look into Jesus Christ as the Lamb of God.  May you experience the grace and peace of Christ this day! 

~Eric

Wed, Jul 11th - 6:48PM

WHO IS THIS JESUS?

"Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Savior Jesus Christ (II Peter 1:1)."

   Peter clearly identifies himself before launching into his message.  We can see Peter establishing how anyone obtains precious faith: through the righteousness of God and our Savior Jesus Christ.  If we continue reading on we also discover Peter revealing that through knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord we obtain grace and peace for ourselves.  Through our knowledge of God we also receive all things that pertain to life and godliness. 

   Believers also receive from Christ promises that are exceedinly great and precious.  Through these promises we can become partakers of the divine nature of God.  Without obtaining these promises from God we remain enslaved and polluted by the corruption that permeates the entire world through lust.  Those people who lack these promises remain spiritually blind, and can't see truth even though it stands right in front of them each and every day.  This is what Christ as Savior brings into our world.  He brings to us the means to secure for ourselves an entrance into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 

"That you may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Savior.  Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts (II Peter 3:2)."

   The apostle reveals his desire that all believers not forget the words already spoken to them by the prophets of old and of all of the apostles themselves.  People are to never forget that in the last days people will increasingly scoff and make fun of those who choose to believe in Christ.  Those who choose to scoff walk after their own personal lusts.  The verses that follow the text reveal that they continually ask the same old question, "Where is He?  So much time has passed and still He has not shown Himself.!"  But they are ignorant of the fact that this world has changed once before.  It experienced no rain falling from the sky for there was sufficient moisture in the air to provide water for all living things to flourish.  But now this present world is being held in store by the Word of God for that future time when after the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly people it shall dissolve by fire.  Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior is holding this present world in reserve by His mere Word.  He holds it until such time as He has chosen to bring His promised return to earth to fruition.

"And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world. Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him, and he in God (I John 4:14-15)."

   The apostles all testified that God had sent Jesus Christ the Son to be the Savior of the world.  They were eye witnesses and gave their personal testimony over and over again.  All of their accounts report the same thing: Who ever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God lives in God and God lives in them.  Belief on Christ Jesus provides entrance into the kingdom of heaven and eternal life.  I John also reveals that the external evidence needed to properly identify people as being Christians is the love-life shown by their life of love. Love contains no fear, perfect love casts out fear.  Fear has torment and thus God is not present.  One can't claim to love God and still hate others who are different than themselves.  Lovining one's neighbor as oneself precludes having any sort of hate.  God commands that one love other believers in Christ.  God commands that believers in Christ not mistreat unbelievers nor hate them either.  "Love your enemy!"  resounds down through the halls of the centuries which have passed, condemning the actions of alleged believers who have burned others at the stake, or drowned them, or hung them by the neck.  The Inquisition was not a product of Godly love of others.  It was produced by the fear and hatred of those who thought differently.  The Crusades were a product of fear, lust, and prejudice; not a product of love.  And so it continues to this very day in which we live.  Supposed Christians killing people who perform abortions do not do so out of love.  Supposed Christians abusing homosexuals do not do so out of love.  Loving those who believe differently than you is a very difficult thing to do.  It is so much easier to simply tolerate every kind of behavior that confronts you.  "It is all good!" could become the slogan of the liberals who wish us to accept all sorts of behavior as being perfectly normal.

"To the only wise God our Savior, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen (Jude 25)."

   I finally reach the end of the Bible in search of Jesus Christ as our Savior.  Here we are informed that Christ, who is our Savior, and God are one and the same.  To God then be glory and majesty and dominion and power forever more.  The verses prior to this ending verse of Jude reveal that in order to be presented before the presence of God faultless we must live in Christ and He must live in us.  We are commanded to pray in the Holy Ghost/Spirit.  We are to surrender ourselves to God's power and wisdom.  We are to remain mindful of the fact that people will mock us, not if they will mock us.  If no one mocks me, then am I really living the way God wants me to?  If everyone remains absolutely overjoyed with the way I am living, then am I being transformed daily by God's Word?  Jesus Christ, He who holds all power and glory, is the one whom we must respect for it is only He who can destroy our soul.  Destruction of the soul leads to, at the very least, eternity in the lake of fire.  At most it means the soul ceases to exist at all. 

   That concludes this part of this study.  Next time I will begin looking at Jesus Christ as the Word.  Hope you can return and join me here at that time!  Grace and peace be with you all!

~Eric

Tue, Jul 10th - 4:09PM

WHO IS THIS JESUS?

Mon, Jul 9th - 10:10PM

WHO IS THIS JESUS?

Thu, Jul 5th - 10:30PM

WHO IS THIS JESUS?

Wed, Jul 4th - 8:00PM

WHO IS THIS JESUS?

"Therefore, when he (Judas Iscariot) was gone out, Jesus said, Now is the Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in Him(John 13:31).'

   We can see here that Jesus, as the Son of man, has set into motion the final cogs that are necessary for redemption to come to mankind through Him.  In this He is to be glorified by His death upon the cross, and by this also, God the Father in heaven is to be glorifed.  Betrayal was necessary in this situation.  Judas had been a man looking for a Messiah who would militarily expunge the Roman invaders/oppressors from Israel's lands.  Judas was anticipating that the King of heaven would come and directly take His rightful seat upon David's throne in Jerusalem and exhile Herod and his family from the kingdom.  But none of this was going to happen during Christ's first Advent, and it caused much disappointment among the zealots living in Israel at that time.  They wanted someone to come and physically fight and be victorious over their enemies.  So Judas chose to betray His Messiah to the religious rulers for some money.  A very poor choice.

   Perusing the next few verses following, we find that Jesus gave a means for the world of unbelievers to know that someone was a disciple of Jesus Christ: That a disciple of Christ have love one for another, and also for anyone else.  Disciples are to love each other exactly as Jesus loved His apostles.  There is no other way.  None.

"When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth.  But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, looked up steadfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God.  And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God (0acts 7:54-56)."

   Here we read about Stephen, beloved first martyr of Jesus, speaking boldly of the unbelief of Israel.  This account actually begins in chapter six, verse 8 where Stephen is arrested by certain men of the synagogue of the Libertines, of Cyrenians, of Alexandrians, and various others.  An entire group of disgruntled men grab him, drag him before the council, and charge him with having spoken blasphemous words against Moses and God.  They have brought him before the high priest, the head of the Sanhedrin, and have sought to trump even more charges against him so that he will be prevented from walking around and preaching to them.  They simply do not want to even see this man anymore on their streets.  They have become completely intolerant, biased, and prejudiced against Stephen.  The high priest asks Stephen if these charges were true.  Stephen doesn't even bother wasting breath refuting the charges, rather, he launches into a sermon directed towards revealing to all of them the extent of Israel's unbelief in God.  He smacks them, metaphorically, right up beside the head with the historical facts.  Bam!  Wake up!  Take a long hard look at the truth of the matter!  You all have been consistently persecuting and murdering the messengers that God has chosen to send to speak to you about repenting from your sin and choosing to follow His ways.  There is the blasphemy in this entire matter!  You wish to speak about the Patriarchs faith being yours as well?  None of them had the faith of Joseph, of Jacob, of Aaron and Moses.  Moses had spoken directly to God and still none of them wished to believe in God.  None of them desired to obtain faith and walk after the ways of God.  They only desired to continue to walk in their traditions and remain in positions of status and power.

   But here was Stephen, preaching God's words to them.  They could not contain themselves any longer.  They proceeded to stone him to death outside the city walls.  Of note here is the fact that we first get to read about Saul of Tarsus in this account of Stephen's death.  Saul of Tarsus was a Pharisee, a Roman citizen, and a Jew of some stature within the community.  He was a very well educated young man who could speak quite knowledgeably about the Old Testament.  He was a legalist, one who felt that everyone must follow the rules laid down by the Sanhedrin.

"And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the feet, and wrapped about the paps with a golden girdle (Revelation 1:13).'

   The Apostle John here is looking at the vision of Christ.  John sees a man standing in the middle of these seven candlesticks, one who appears to be Christ.  Christ had already returned to heaven to be at the right hand of God the Father, so logically John must be looking into heaven.  God is imparting to him knowledge which must be disseminated throughout the entire church.  The Son of man at this point appears in all of His glory and John is forced to bow down and actually drops to the ground like a dead man.  The Son of man rested His hand upon John's head and assured him to not be afraid of what he was seeing.  Christ identifies Himself to John and informs him then to write down these things. 

   The Son of man must have come the way that He came in order that each of us would be given the opportunity to achieve salvation from our sin.  In that Christ came as a man means that He experienced all of the suffering and misery that each of us does in our lives.  He knows what we have gone through, and what we are currently going through, He can identify with each of us.  Christ, as the Son of man, accepted the sin of all of creation upon his body.  That judgment from the Father fell upon Christ as He hung upon that wooden cross.  People were spared having to witness the utter agony of this aspect of the crucifixion by there being pitch darkness during its entirety.  The Son of man was then able to give up His life and allow His Spirit to leave His body.  Death ensued.  Burial followed.  Then the miraculous happened: resurrection of the Son of man from the tomb.  Given a glorified body by the Father, the Son rose in newness of life.  The Son of man now held in His hand the keys of hell and of death, Satan no longer had temporary control over these things.  People today can confidently turn to Jesus Christ and give their lives over to Him for they can know that He understands what they are going through in life, and He can help them now. 

   That concludes this part of my study about who this Jesus is.  I have looked thus far at Him as Lord Jesus, Son of God, and now Son of man.  Now I wish to ponder Jesus as Emmanuel.  That will begin the next time that we gather together here.  Grace and peace be with you, beloved! 

~Eric

Mon, Jul 2nd - 8:52PM