____________________________________________________ THE GOSPEL OBSERVER ____________________________________________________ "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations...teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:19,20). ____________________________________________________ November 21, 2004 ____________________________________________________ When Thinking of Jesus.... by Tom Edwards By our knowledge of God's word, meditating on Jesus can evoke many important and beautiful truths about Him -- all of which are greatly praise-worthy. For instance, when thinking of Jesus, these following thoughts might arise in our minds: The World's Only Savior Jesus is not merely one of many ways to heaven. He is the only way, the only Savior. When the religious authorities were trying to put an end to the apostles' preaching, Peter boldly declared that Jesus "...is the stone which was rejected by you, the builders, but which became the chief corner stone" (Acts 4:11). He then went on to say, "And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved" (v. 12). Perhaps this reminds you, too, of the Lord's own words that He is "...the way, and the truth, and the life" and then concludes by saying, "no one comes to the Father, but through Me" (Jn. 14:6). The World's Only Sacrifice for Sin The thousands of animal sacrifices that had been offered from the beginning of time -- and all combined -- could not blot out even one sin in a person's life. The Hebrew writer states that "...it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins" (Heb. 10:4); and even though "every priest stands daily ministering and offering time after time the same sacrifices," they could still not atone for transgression (v. 11). He then states, "but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God" (v. 12). What a contrast: the many sacrifices that could not atone for even one sin, with the one sacrifice that could atone for all of the many. One Who Was Continually Doing Good Never did Jesus fail in living a righteous life in complete obedience to His Father. As the Lord states in John 8:29, "And He who sent Me is with Me; He has not left Me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to Him." The Lord's attitude toward this faithfulness is seen in John 4:34, "...'My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to accomplish His work.'" The Lord gave eyesight to the blind, made the lame to walk, cleansed the lepers, enabled the deaf to hear, raised the dead, and preached the gospel to the poor, which, in itself, would be a confirmation to John the Baptist that Jesus truly is the Messiah who was to come (Luke 7:18-23). One Who Was Without Sin Not only did Jesus always do what was right (by carrying out His duties), but He also (by abstaining from all iniquity) never did that which was wrong. So neither sins of omission, nor sins of commission had the Lord ever been guilty of -- not even one. When Peter cites Jesus as our ultimate example who suffered for us, the apostle also points out that the Lord "committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in his mouth" (1 Pet. 2:21,22). Even when Jesus was reviled, "He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously" (v. 23). Throughout the entire history of mankind, Jesus Christ is the only human being who, having reached an age of accountability, lived a perfectly sinless life (cf. Rom. 3:10,23); and let it be pointed out that this was accomplished even though Jesus was "tempted in all things as we are...." For as the Hebrew writer concludes that verse, he shows that the Lord endured those temptations "...yet without sin" (Heb. 4:15) -- having, therefore, never yielded to any of them. One Who Was God in Human Form While Jesus walked the face of the earth, He was not merely 100% man, but also 100% God, simultaneously. John refers to Jesus as having been the "Word," who was with God in the beginning and who was God (Jn. 1:1), but who also took upon Himself flesh that He could dwell among us, full of grace and truth (v. 14). Paul states that "...in Him [Jesus] all the fulness of Deity dwells in bodily form" (Col. 2:9). Though Jesus is a separate personality of the Godhead -- just as the Holy Spirit also is -- still He is just as much God as God the Father is God (Jn. 10:30). Jesus, therefore, by His own life, revealed to the world what God is like; for Christ is "...the radiance of His [God the Father's] glory and the exact representation of His [God the Father's] nature..." (Heb. 1:3). Because of this, Jesus was able to say to Thomas in John 14:5 that "If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also...." One Who Is the Creator of the Universe Regardless of how perfect a man could be, he could not create the universe. Jesus, however, was more than perfect -- He was (and is) also God; and, therefore, the Creator. When John points out the Deity of Christ in John 1, the apostle also mentions that "All things came into being by Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being" (v. 3). What mere man could do that? Paul states in Colossians 1:16, "For by Him [Jesus] all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible...all things have been created by Him and for Him." Compare also Hebrews 1:2: "in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world." Last night I had an incredible dream. I was needing a spoon so I merely stretched forth my arm, willed the spoon to be, and it appeared in my hand. I then did the same to conjure up a fork -- right before I was transformed into light and darted across the universe -- but it was all a dream. Jesus, however, did a similar thing to make a reality. As we learn in the creation account, God merely spoke the word, and physical elements came into existence. For example, "Then God said, 'Let there be light'; and there was light" (Gen. 1:3). And "Then God said, 'Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit after their kind, with seed in them, on the earth'; and it was so" (v. 11). In his song of praise to the Lord, David writes, "By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and by the breath of His mouth all their host. ...For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast" (Psa. 33:6,9). One Whose Love Far Surpasses That of Any Other Human Being Because Jesus is "one" with the Father (Jn. 10:30) and the "exact representation" of His nature (Heb. 1:3), Christ's love for the world is just as great as His Father's; and, therefore, far superior to that of all the world combined. Jesus states, "Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends" (Jn. 15:13). And we can remind ourselves, too, that Jesus just wasn't anyone doing this; but He was God! -- the Creator dying for His creation, the perfect dying for the imperfect, the sinless dying for the sinner. Paul writes, "For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Rom. 5:6-8). Jesus became that "good shepherd" who "lays down His life for the sheep" (Jn. 10:11), which is something that He did willingly (v. 18). One Who Wants All to Be Saved When we think of Jesus, we think of One who truly desires the salvation of every lost soul, which is clearly seen in His love at Calvary where "...by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone" (Heb. 2:9). As a result, Jesus became the "...propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world" (1 Jn. 2:2). So, without a doubt, God is "not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance" (2 Pet. 3:9). Our Savior or Our Judge? Now is the time that we can make Jesus Christ our Savior by submitting to His gospel plan of salvation, which involves the need to acquire faith by hearing His word (Rom. 10:17), repenting of our sins (Luke 13:5), acknowledging our faith in Christ (Rom: 10:9,10; Acts 8:36-38), being baptized in water for the remission of sins (Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38; 22:16; Rom. 6:3,4; 1 Pet. 3:21), and continuing in the faith (Rev. 2:10; Heb. 10:36-39). On the other hand, if we leave this world without Jesus as our Savior, we will then be facing Him as our Judge in that great Day of Reckoning (Jn. 5:22; Acts 17:30,31). May we each be concerned with tuning our hearts with God's word (by our studying the Scriptures) that we might better see Jesus for who He truly is -- and give Him the praise, the reverence, and the loyal service that He most certainly deserves. For when we think of Jesus, we realize that He is the embodiment of virtue, of perfection, and of so many other great and wonderful qualities. Simply put, when we think of Jesus, we can truly adore Him for being the God that He is. ____________________________________________________ MYRTLE STREET CHURCH OF CHRIST 1022 Myrtle Street Denham Springs, LA 70726 (225) 664-8208 Sunday: 9:15 AM, 10:00 AM, 4:00 PM Wednesday: 7:00 PM evangelist/editor: Tom Edwards (225) 667-4520 e-mail: tedwards@onemain.com web site: http://home.onemain.com/~tedwards/go ____________________________________________________