Mon, Jun 25th - 5:43PM
WHO IS THIS JESUS?
"And He said to him, Truly, truly, I say to you, Hereafter you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man (John 1:51)."
This conversation with Nathanael took place after Jesus revealed to the man that He had seen him under the fig tree when Philip found him. Nathanael stated that he believed Jesus must be the Son of God and the King of Israel because no man could have such keen vision. Nathanael was also stunned that Jesus knew that he harbored no guile within himself. He spoke what he thought.
Jesus revealed that He would have access to divine aid, provided to Him by holy angels. Jesus was not saying specifically when this time would be come, only that it would come "hereafter."
"And no man has ascended up to heaven, but He that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up; That whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life (John 3:13-16)."
This passage is part of the discussion that took place between Jesus and Nicodemus. Here is where everyone can learn about becoming a Christian. Here is where everyone can learn what must happen before one can claim to be a Christian. But for this study I wish to only focus on the above verses. Christ reiterates the fact that no human has ever gone up into heaven from the earth. Despite what might be claimed by people about what is written in the Old Testament, assumptions can't be made about someone's destination beyond what evidence has been provided. Here God clearly states that no one has gone into heaven at this point in time. Only Christ, the Son of man, has come down from heaven and gone back up into heaven.
Then Christ presents the clue to His listener/s that just as Moses had to lift up the brazen serpent so that whosoever afflicted by serpent bites would be saved, so too, Christ would have to be lifted up so that people would have to look to Him in order to be saved from their sin. It is belief in Christ that gains for a person eternal life and redemption from sin. The Son of man came down from heaven because God loves the world so much. All persons who choose to believe in Christ will not perish. There are no quotas to be filled, no waiting lines to stand in to wait for your opportunity to be saved.
Now, I will proceed to the next verse for today I came across folk online who believe that God only condemns people who do wrong and does not desire to save anyone. The reason why God sent Christ into our world was so that the world through Christ might be saved. Not that it would be saved, but that it might be saved. God has provided the opportunity to be saved, it is up to individuals to choose to be saved through belief. Verse 18 delineates how a person becomes condemned. It is by not believing in Christ Jesus. The only begotten Son of God has come from heaven to earth in order to purchase for each person here the opportunity to enter into the kingdom of heaven. I skip to the very last verse of this chapter of John to sum up this segment. "He that believes on the Son of man has everlasting life: and he that doesn't believe the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abides on him." This is what is meant by the "narrow gate" into heaven. There are not all sorts of ways to get to heaven in this life. There is only one way, through belief in Jesus Christ the Son of man and the Son of God.
"And has given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of man (John 5:27)."
This verse comes at the end of a passage within which Christ reveals that God the Father has given all judgment of mankind into Christ's hands. The Father has the power to raise the dead back to life and so does Christ the Son. Christ does what He sees the Father doing. All this is done in order that all honor should be given to Christ, for in this way the Father is also honored.
After this passage we then find Christ speaking about the coming two resurrections. The Son of man revealed the witness of who He was. There was the witness of John the Baptist, the works that Christ did, the Father in heaven, and the Scriptures. People in the past have thought that the Scriptures provide them with the key to enter into heaven. That if they kept the Ten Commandments that they were golden, in like Flint. But they were all wrong! The Scriptures all testify of Christ Jesus. Christ came in the name of Jehovah and no one accepted Him for who He was. Man seeks to obtain the honor handed out by other men, but does not place any value upon the honor that can come from God above. Jesus went on to inform His listeners that Moses, their Patriarch whom they quoted all of the time, accused them of unbelief and of not loving God. The people trusted in their relationship to Moses, and not a relationship to God. If the people of Israel had actually believed in what Moses said, then they would have been overjoyed at the arrival of Christ in their midst! They would have erupted in joyousness at catching sight of Him entering into Jerusalem. They all would have come to listen and learn from Him. None would have sought to kill Him so that they would not be held accountable for their wicked ways.
Thus it is today beloved. If we refuse to believe the words written of Moses, then how can we be expected to believe the words spoken by Christ Jesus in the New Testament? If we deny the truth of the Old Testament, how can we hope to then believe what we read in the New Testament? We can't. I say to all who claim that if God truly loved us He would send more prophets to convince us of His existence: Liars! Mankind has not changed at all over the thousands of years of its existence. God sent prophet after prophet in ancient times and people mocked them, persecuted them, stoned them, and killed them. All because they did not like the message being sent to them from God. Repent and turn back to worshiping the living God. Mankind would rather behave the way it wants to, when it wants to, for as long as it wants to. Mankind does not want to live under ultimate authority of any sort. The Hebrews in the desert wilderness voiced their preference to go back and resume living in abject slavery to the Egyptians rather than follow God to the Promised Land. Pathetic! But it points out the lack of spiritual understanding within mankind. Rather than endure some hardship now in order to be rewarded with abundance later, people would rather take the easy, lazy, route of least resistance. Rather than endure hardship now so that their children could grow up free, they chose to go back to live in slavery, being told exactly what to do every day. It continues to play out in societies to this very day. Nothing has fundamentally changed.
I hope that this posting has enlightened you somewhat. I hope that you study these verses out further, both before and after where they are found within the Bible. May God's grace and peace flood your heart today! If you have not experienced His infinite mercy in your life may you begin to feel it today. Seek God out early, do not put it off until you have cleaned yourself up. Christ and the Holy Spirit are able to clean you up better than you ever could. Christ calls for you to come, come just as you are. Come to Him with no excuses, no rationale, no whining, no "buts." Just come. God is waiting with His arms open wide. He desires the absolutely best for you in this life. Do you?
~Eric
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Sat, Jun 23rd - 2:35PM
WHO IS THIS JESUS?
"And He said to the disciples, The days will come, when you shall desire to see one of the days of the Son of man, and you shall not see it. And they shall say to you, See here; or, see there: do not go after them, nor follow them. For as the lightning, that lightens one part of the heavens to another part of the heavens; so shall also the Son of man be in His day (Luke 17:22-24)." We can see here that Christ understands that His disciples in all times will reach a point in their lives where they will earnestly desire for Christ to come right then and there. At those times in our lives we desire to see Him return and put an end to the tribulation/s which we are having to live through. Jesus also reveals to the disciples that His return will not be anything unnoticeable, it will grab the attention of everyone, just as does lightning that suddenly and completely illuminates the nighttime sky.
The Son of man issues a stern warning to His faithful followers: Beware of any who come to you and claim that they have seen Him here or there. We are not to put any stock in those people who wish us to believe that they have already seen Jesus Christ, that He has returned to earth. "Even so shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed. In that day, he which shall be upon the housetop, and his stuff in the house, do not let him come down to take it away: and he that is in the field, let him likewise not return for anything...I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left. Two women shall be grinding grain together; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left (Luke 17:30-36)." God reveals to us that Christians will not be whisked away to be with Him until very close to Armageddon, when nations gather together to fight against Israel and Christ. God also reminds all of us that people shall carry on with daily chores/tasks exactly the same way that people did in Noah's and Lot's time (Luke 17:26-29). People shall be horribly caught off guard when the time of Christ's return has actually arrived, for it will come very quickly without any advance warning. "I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man comes, shall He find faith on the earth (Luke 18:8)?" Christ continues to reveal that He is the Son of man. He asks the rhetorical question of when He returns what will He find on earth? This is not so much personal faith, but belief in the whole body of revealed truth in God's Word. This concept is reinforced by reading Romans 1:5, I Corinthians 16:13, II Corinthians 13:5, Colossians 1:23, 2:7, Titus 1:13, and Jude 3). In the absence of this faith there remains only apostasy and unbelief. Apostasy is a falling away, the act of professing Christians who deliberately reject revealed truth as to the deity of Jesus Christ and redemption through His atoning and redeeming sacrifice upon the cross. It differs from error concerning truth, which may simply be the result of ignorance, or heresy, which may be due to the snare of Satan. Both of these may consist with true faith. The apostate is aptly described in II Timothy 4:3-4. Apostates choose to depart from faith in God's Word, but not from the outward profession of Christianity. Apostate teachers are described in II Timothy 4:3; II Peter 2:1-19; Jude 4,8,11-13, 16. Apostasy in the church is irremediable, and awaits judgment (II Thessalonians 2:10-12; II POeter 2:17,21; Jude 11-15; Revelation 3:14-16). I encourage you to study all of these verses on your own and reach your own conclusions. Much of the confusion shown by unbelievers over exactly who is a Christian today stems from this concept of apostasy. People claim to be Christians and yet they reject Christ as being God and has having come to die for their sins. Or else they deny His immaculate conception in Mary. Or they deny Christ is equal with God and the Holy Spirit. Or they deny that Christ ever died on a cross. These sorts of people are not disciples of the Living God, they do not accept God's Word as being spiritual truth. They do not understand and accept the fact that Christ Jesus has always existed, that He simply came to earth manifested in human flesh as the Son of man. "For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost (Luke 19:10)." Here we discover what Christ's mission to earth was: To seek and to save that which was lost. This verse comes at the end of an eventful day in Jericho. Jesus had reached Zacchaeus, who was sitting up in a sycamore tree, and spent considerable time at this man's home. Zacchaeus was a rich man who accepted Christ into his heart on that particular day and Christ announced that His mission was to come and to find such people. It could be said that there are predestined people who will become part of Christ's church. Is so, why should I spend time spreading God's Word to everyone? I must do this because I do not know who of the numerous people who pass me by each day are predestined to come to know Christ. They do not even know themselves! So I must spread the Word, I must speak to people about the love of Jesus Christ, and thus make sure that I am not missing those who have tickets waiting to be punched for the trip to heaven. God wants me to take part in the discovery of who is entering heaven, and that is exciting! If I stop to think about Christ's movements during the Gospel accounts, I am confronted with the unmistakeable conclusion that Jesus never went anywhere without purpose and already knowing who He wished to meet. The first disciples, the marriage feast, the Samaritan woman at the well, Zacchaeus, the crippled man at the pool, the Sea of Gallilee, Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. All of them were already upon God's docket, He had appointments with each of them. God had appointments with all of the sick people whom He healed. God also had an appointment with me many years ago, one that He faithfully kept. I am thankful that God is faithful! That is all for today beloved! Next time I shall look in the Book of John for further evidence of Christ as the Son of man. May your day be full of grace and peace! May you feel the presence of Almighty God in your heart, and feel His powerful movement in all that you do today. ~Eric
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Tue, Jun 19th - 5:36PM
WHO IS THIS JESUS?
"And when the people were gathered thick together, He began to say, This is an evil generation: they seek a sign; and there shall be no sign given to it, but the sign of Jonas the prophet. For as Jonas was a sign to the Ninevites, so shall also the Son of man be to this generation. The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with the men of this generation, and condemn them: for she came from the utmost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom on Solomon; and, behold, one greater than Solomon is here. The men of Nineveh shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, one greater than Jonas is here (Luke 11:29-32)."
The only sign God was to give Israel was that of the prophet Jonas. He gave them what they already had been given ages previously. People today claim that they would believe if God would only show Himself to them. They too, are seeking a sign. The only sign they will receive will be Jonas the prophet along with Jesus Christ, the Son of man. Christ Jesus succinctly laid out the foundation of why they would not get any new sign from God. Solomon had been given great wisdom by God, but none of them believed that. Jonas had been given great words by God to speak to the Ninevites, but none of these people in the crowd believed that either. So Jesus told them plainly that the queen of Egypt and the Ninevites would condemn all of them for their unbelief in One who was vastly superior in everything to both Solomon and Jonas. That One stood before them in the flesh, yet they refused to believe it was God. Why would anyone today react any differently? Mankind has not changed over the past two thousand years.
"Also I say to you, Whosoever shall confess Me before men, him shall the Son of man also confess before the angels of God: but he that denies Me before men shall be denied before the angels of God. And whosoever will speak a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but to him that blasphemes against the Holy Ghost it shall not be forgiven (Luke 12:8-10)."
Christ clearly teaches that anyone who accepts and confesses that Christ is the Living God shall be confessed before God's holy angels up in heaven. But for all of those people who choose to deny that Jesus ever lived, or that He ever was crucified, or that He ever rose from the dead, they shall be denied themselves up in heaven before all of the holy angels. In the final verse above we see a warning given out to not blaspheme the Holy Ghost. One may speak harsh words against Jesus Christ and still be forgiven, but in showing contempt towards the Holy Spirit a person can't be forgiven by God. It is a matter of crossing a line drawn by God and there will be no going back to say that you are sorry, that you didn't really mean it.
In the verses leading up to verse eight it can be found that there is only One person whom we ought to fear when it comes to death: God. Not that God terrorizes us, only that God is the only being with the power to cast us into hell and the lake of fire. Satan does not have the power nor the authority to cast anyone into hell. No human being has that power or authority either. People may destroy our physical bodies but they have absolutely no power over our souls. Believe upon Christ and we no longer need fear our mortality for we are safe in the hands of Jesus. If we do die unexpectedly, then we are with Christ Jesus and our time with Him begins in earnest. All of this information has been provided for us by the Son of man, Jesus Christ. God does not expect us to wander through this world ignorant. God does not expect us to not understand what is at stake. God wants us to understand that our physical bodies are not the single most important part of who we are. Physical beauty really is only skin deep, and it fades over time. Cosmetic surgery can only hold back the effects of time for a while. Skin treatments can keep our skin looking younger, but age continues to take its toll upon our mortal bodies. Aging can not be avoided while we live on this planet in our sin-laden bodies. The Son of man brought this saddening news, but He also delivered the Good News! Eternity can be spent in glorified bodies free of the effects of sin! No more death, no more pain, no more suffering, no more illness, no more genetic abberations.
That is all for today, beloved. May the grace and peace of Christ be with you this day!
~Eric
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Sun, Jun 3rd - 7:27PM
WHO IS THIS JESUS?
"Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of Me and of My words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels (Mark 8:38)."
Christ continues to drive home the point that He is the Son of man in the flesh even while being 100% God as well. Christ has said that He will return in the glory of God the Father, and it will be with the holy angels. We also find here that if any of us remain ashamed of believing in Christ, then God will be ashamed of us as well. This will not be a temporary condition if we do not rectify it before He comes to assume the throne in the kingdom of heaven.
"And He answered and told them, Elijah truly comes first, and restores all things; and how it is written of the Son of man, that He must suffer many things, and be set at nothing. But I say to you, That Elijah is indeed come, and they have done to him whatsoever they felt like, as it is written of him (Mark 9:12-13)."
This is Christ's response to His disciples asking Him if the lawyers were correct in saying that Elijah must come before the Messiah. On this point the lawyers were right. But Jesus points out that it has already occurred in the person of John the Baptist. The religious rulers and the Herodians had already persecuted John the Baptist, and in so doing they fulfilled prophecy from long, long, before. Christ also informed His disciples here that He must suffer many things and the attempt made to make Him unimportant. "For He taught His disciples, and said to them, The Son of man is delivered into the hands of men, and they shall kill Him; and after that He is killed, He shall rise the third day (Mark 9:31)." Eighteen verses later Christ pointedly tells the disciples that He shall be killed and rise three days later. And not a one of them understood what He was telling them, and worse, they were afraid to even ask Him to explain it to them. Sounds like what still happens in schoolrooms across America! Children not understanding what the teacher has told them, but afraid to ask him/her to repeat it or to explain it ot them. Afraid to appear ignorant.
"But that you may know that the Son of man has power upon earth to forgive sins, (He said to the sick of the palsy,) I say to you, Arise, and take up your couch, and go into your house (Luke 5:24)."
We enter the Book of Luke and continue to find evidence of Jesus Christ referred to as the "Son of man." This affirmation of His identity came immediately after healing the paralytic who had been lowered down through a hole in the roof into His presence. Not all physical ailments are connected to sin, but in this instance Christ identifies that sinfulness had led to the man being paralyzed. We know this for He declares that He has healed this man so that all may know that He has the power to forgive sins. All of the gathered people who witnessed this healing and saying walked away in utter amazement. They admitted that they had indeed seen strange things that day.
"Blessed are you, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man's sake. Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward is great in heaven: for in the like manner did their fathers treat the prophets (Luke 6:22-23)."
Here we are in the very beginning of the Beatitudes. Jesus declares that anyone who becomes hated among mankind's societies because they have lived and spoken God's Word to others are to obtain great rewards in heaven. If we become hated and persecuted because we are being abrasive and rude, that is another thing entirely and we shall receive no reward in heaven for it. Doing the work of Christ Jesus, serving others, loving others, and sharing Christ's salvation with the unbelievers, these all are to be done for the sake of Christ's name and not our own.
"Saying, The Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be slain, and be raised the third day. For whosoever shall be ashamed of Me and of My words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when He shall come in His own glory, and in His Father's, and of the holy angels (Luke 9:22, 26)."
We find here a repetition of what we already read back in Mark 9. Obviously, it is very important to not feel ashamed of believing in Christ Jesus. There is no need to feel ashamed. There is all the world to feel proud and jubilant in believing in Christ! The Messiah has come, He has obtained salvation for all who will simply believe in His name, and He promises each believer a glorified body upon His return to earth in the future. The Messiah also imparted to each believer eternal life which each is to begin living the moment they become saved. There is no need to wait until you enter into the kingdom of heaven at the return of King Jesus. Eternal life begins for each of us the moment that we ask Jesus to come into our heart and dwell there the remainder of our days. This is possible due to the presence of the Holy Spirit of God within us. But that is another study entirely for another time.
That is all for tonight beloved. The Son of man is that aspect of God's plan of salvation which was necessary in order for it to be effective for each of us. God came manifested in human flesh so that He could suffer as do we. In this way He could die for our sins. His divine nature is what allowed Him to resurrect Himself from the grave. Jesus will most likely carry those nail scars in His limbs for all of eternity as a sign of who He truly is. Grace and peace of Christ envelop you the remainder of this day! Live for Christ! Serve others! Grow in spiritual maturity together!
~Eric
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Name: E J Rajaniemi
