Tag: Christology

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How Christ Reveals the Father to Us (John 1:18)

On By Ben JenningsIn DevotionalLeave a comment

18 No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.

John 1:18

Explanation:

The idea that “no man has seen God at any time” is pretty incredible.  Moses was one who knew this reality. At one time He asked God to see His glory.

[18] And he said, I beseech thee, shew me thy glory. [19] And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy. [20] And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live. [21] And the LORD said, Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock: [22] And it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a clift of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by: [23] And I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts: but my face shall not be seen.

Exodus 33:18-23

God’s own testimony is that mankind cannot handle seeing Him in all His glory.  Moses encountered God in the burning bush.  The children of Israel saw God’s presence manifested in a vailed way through the pillar of fire, the pillar of cloud.  They saw the shekinah glory of God as it filled the tabernacle.  Moses only saw the after effects, the back parts, of God’s presence in glory, and it changed him. Check out Exodus 34:

[29] And it came to pass, when Moses came down from mount Sinai with the two tables of testimony in Moses’ hand, when he came down from the mount, that Moses wist not that the skin of his face shone while he talked with him. [30] And when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone; and they were afraid to come nigh him. [31] And Moses called unto them; and Aaron and all the rulers of the congregation returned unto him: and Moses talked with them. [32] And afterward all the children of Israel came nigh: and he gave them in commandment all that the LORD had spoken with him in mount Sinai. [33] And till Moses had done speaking with them, he put a vail on his face. [34] But when Moses went in before the LORD to speak with him, he took the vail off, until he came out. And he came out, and spake unto the children of Israel that which he was commanded. [35] And the children of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses’ face shone: and Moses put the vail upon his face again, until he went in to speak with him.

Exodus 34:29-35

This is just someone who saw the effects of God’s glory, and they had to cover his face.  God is so infinitely glorious and holy that mankind, after the fall, has no hope of standing in his presence and seeing his glory.

Yet this verse tells us that though we have not seen God, now Christ in His incarnation is revealing God to us.  He is vailed in flesh.  At the transfiguration His glory was revealed.  This was Peter’s testimony.

[16] For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty. [17] For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. [18] And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount. 2 Peter 1:16-18

This was also the testimony of Jesus Christ about Himself.  His claim was that He was the Son of God, equal with the Father.

“Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us. Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father? Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works’ sake.” (John 14:8-11)

The text says that He was in the bosom of the Father.  This is an intimate reality for Jesus.  He enjoyed perfect fellowship with the Father and Spirit from eternity past as a coequal with them.  Jesus’ testimony here is that God the Father has revealed Himself to the world through the person of Jesus Christ.  

The word “declared” is the word exēgeomai , from which we get words like exegete.  The idea is to expose, to clarify, to proclaim or declare.  Exegetical or expositional preaching has as it’s aim to say what the text says in a way that is faithful to it.  We are walking through the text and considering what it means.  We’re exposing the text.  John’s statement here is that God the Father is exposing what He is like by sending His Son, Jesus Christ. 

Application:

I can have a relationship with God the Father by believing in Christ the Son and receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit to indwell me once I am saved. This reality is so wonderful I ought to let it impact every part of my life. The God who created the Universe became one of us. He did it to save us. He did it to reveal Himself to us. 

His holiness and glory helps me to see who I really am next to who He really is. I need His grace, mercy, and forgiveness. 

Response:

  1. What is your response to this depiction of the glory of God?
  2. Take some time to thank God for sending Jesus to reveal Himself to us.
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Why Jesus is Greater Than John (John 1:15)

On By Ben JenningsIn DevotionalLeave a comment

15 John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me.

John 1:15

Explanation

The John in view here is not the author of the book.  This is the John referred to in vers 6.

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.

John 1:6

We already know that his purpose for being sent is to bare witness of Jesus.

He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.

John 1:7

What was John’s quoted witness in verse 15?

When Jesus showed up in person, he literally pointed to him in real time.  He had already told his followers about the coming of the Messiah.  He said that thought He was a prophet, a greater prophet is coming, One that is greater than a prophet.  

Here he says it by saying that Christ was “preferred before me”.  In John’s estimation, Jesus Christ is greater than Himself.  His whole ministry was to point to Jesus while preparing people for Jesus.

Why?  At the end John points to one way we can know that Jesus is greater than John.  

When John was conceived, He, like the rest of us began at conception.  Before John’s conception, He did not exist.  Yet, this is not true about Jesus.  Jesus has always existed.  He existed before John.  He existed in eternity past, before time began.

He has no beginning or end.  This is the God that we worship.

Application

John had a great mindset. Point to Jesus. Prefer and prioritize Jesus over self. Putting our own existence and self image in light of the person of Jesus Christ will always give us an accurate view of who we are and what we are to do. In that way, He is like a compass that directs. In that way He is the Light of the world. It is by Him that we can see ourselves and everything else accurately. Consider the songwriter that said:

Two wonders here that I confess

My worth and my unworthiness

My value fixed

My ransom paid

At the cross

Response

  1. Who do you need to witness to about Jesus Christ today?
  2. Are you thinking accurately of yourself, in light of the person of Jesus?
  3. How does the pre-existence and eternality of Jesus make you view Him?
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Understanding John the Baptist’s Role as a Forerunner (John 1:6-7)

On By Ben JenningsIn DevotionalLeave a comment

(6) There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.  (7) The same came for a witness, to bear witness of that Light that all men through him might believe.”

John 1:6-7

Explain:

Verse 6 introduces us to a man “sent from God” named John.  This is not the namesake of the Gospel, but John the baptist.  He came as a forerunner of the messiah who proclaimed who Jesus was and why He was coming.  This was predicted in the Old Testament.

Isaiah 40:3-5

[3] The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. [4] Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain: [5] And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.

Isaiah has been called “the Bible within the Bible.”  As the Gospels begin with the proclamation of the witness of the forerunner, the 40th chapter of Isaiah foretells of this prophet coming proclaiming the Messiah’s coming, and preparing people for His ministry.

This is also predicted in Malachi.

Malachi 3:1

[1] Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts.

What John the Apostle says here about John the Baptist is literally what John the Baptist said about himself.

Luke 3:15-18

[15] And as the people were in expectation, and all men mused in their hearts of John, whether he were the Christ, or not; [16] John answered, saying unto them all, I indeed baptize you with water; but one mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire: [17] Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and will gather the wheat into his garner; but the chaff he will burn with fire unquenchable. [18] And many other things in his exhortation preached he unto the people.

John the Baptist was not the Light, but he prepared people about Jesus Christ.

What was his aim?

“that all men through him might believe.

Who is “him”? Some say that “him” here is John the Baptist.  Some say that “him” here refers to the Light.  It works either way.  All people who believe eventually believe because of the evidence of who the Light is and was. John’s whole ministry was to get everyone to believe.

Apply:

The ministry of John the Baptist should be imitated by every person who is a Christ follower. We bare witness of the person and work of Jesus Christ. We point people to faith and repentance. We testify that we are not God, we are not the Savior, we are not the answer for people’s sins.  Jesus Christ is.

Respond:

God, I pray that today you’d help me to be a good witness for You.  I love you!  Amen.

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Understanding the Pre-existence of Jesus Christ in Creation (John 1:2)

On By Ben JenningsIn DevotionalLeave a comment

In this text we see something about the pre-existence of Jesus Christ.

“The same was in the beginning with God.”
(John 1:2)

Explain

“The same” refers to “the Word”.  You see in this text the elements of deity, trinity and pre-existence that was seen in the previous verse.  Clearly, the person that knows Genesis 1:1, sees the connection.

1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

Genesis 1:1-2

In Genesis 1:1-2, we see God pre-existing creation, causing creation, and as Trinitarian in the sense that there is God named in verse 2, and the “Spirit of God” named in verse 2.  These are not two God’s, but 1.  They are two persons named here but one God.

Also, in verse 3 we see the means by which God created.

3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
Genesis 1:3

“And God said…”.  It is intersting that Genesis tells us that God created by saying.

Colossians says this about Jesus Christ.

Colossians 1:14-17

14 In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:

15 Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:

16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:

17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

Again, we see the pre-existence of Christ.  We see the creative, revealing power of Christ.  We see Christ as active at Creation.  

Application

If He was in the beginning of creation, and He was at the beginning of me, He knows everything about me, and still loves me.  This Creating God has become a quickening Spirit for me both in my physical life and my Spiritual life!  I should obey Him.  I should submit to Him.  His way is better.

Response

Praise be to God for His beginning work.  Praise the Lord that He finishes what He started.  God give me the endurance and power to obey what He said, and give me the boldness to proclaim Him to everyone!