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introduction
Life of Christ
introduction: jesus christ - the attribute of god
introduction
It is only appropriate that right after we study the attributes of God that we launch into a study of the life and ministry of Jesus. Something wonderful happened 2000 years ago. With the coming of Jesus into the world, there was not only the coming of a man but also the coming of God--God the Son but nevertheless God. When we see Jesus, we see the one who is the ultimate attribute of God. Such a statement may seem strange in light of the fact that whenever we speak about attributes we normally speak about a certain quality or characteristic of God. For example, normally when we speak about the attributes of God, we think of love, righteousness, power, etc. The NT though speaks about Jesus being the ultimate attribute of God. If you want to know what God is like, you need look no further than Jesus Christ.
Unfortunately for many of us, we have reduced Jesus and His significance to being nothing more than Savior and Lord. Without minimizing these 2 aspects of His work, we need to realize though that Jesus is more than just Savior and Lord. According to the Bible, Jesus is the ultimate revelation of God, that is, He is the ultimate attribute of God. One day we will actually see God the Father face to face; however, whatever we learn about the Father on that day will never contradict what we've learned about Him in Jesus. More knowledge will only enhance or add what we know about Him through Jesus Christ; however, it will never contradict.
various ways god has revealed himself
Normally when we speak about the ways God reveals Himself to us, we think of 3 major ways. First, we think of God revealing Himself through creation (Rom. 1:19-20). It is only logical that God reveals Himself though creation since He is the one who created it. Paul informs us that creation reveals to us that God does exist and that He is powerful. Jesus touched upon this same thing when He pointed to creation as proof that God loves all mankind unconditionally. According to Jesus, we see God's unconditional love in the fact that when He sends sunshine and rain, He does not send it just upon the righteous but upon the unrighteous also (Matthew 5:44-45). The only problem with emphasizing this form of revelation is that creation does not reveal as much about God as we would like. Moreover, many people have serious problems with what creation may say about God because of the damaging effects creation can hurl at a person--volcanoes, hurricanes, tornadoes, etc. We need the fuller revelation that God gives us about Himself in Christ to put in perspective what creation teaches us about God.
Second, God reveals Himself through our conscience (Rom. 2:15). Remember that when God made mankind, He made man in His own image. Part of that image involves the knowledge of right and wrong. The problem with this method of revelation is that people can sear their consciences. Furthermore, our consciences are not as specific as other methods of revelation.
Third, God reveals Himself through the OT. Any casual reading of Ps. 119 shows that the people of God have always believed that God revealed Himself through this method. Again, this method of revelation is limited. Although it is perfect, it is still nevertheless limited. Paul claims that in the OT, the revelation of God exists in shadows. Think about shadows for a moment. When you see a shadow, you see only the form and not the entire person. If you look at my shadow, you may see a little pooch belly and puffed-out cheeks; however, that shadow does not show that I have blue eyes or dark hair (what's left of it). The same is with God in the OT. It's like you can see God in the OT; however, it's primarily His shadow that you see (Colossians 2:17; Hebrews 10:1). That's why you and I need to be very careful in basing our theology and views about God strictly on the OT. Since in Jesus Christ, we actually see the "form" of God, we need to look at the OT in light of what God has said about Himself in Jesus in the NT.
Whereas all these are ways God reveals Himself to mankind, they are not the ultimate ways. The ultimate way God has revealed Himself to us is His Son Jesus Christ. As a result, as we shall see, all the other methods of revelation must be understood in light of God's revelation in Christ.
new testament terms used to describe jesus as god's ultimate revelation
The NT uses the term "Son of God" to refer to Jesus as being the ultimate revelation of God. Whereas most of us understand this term to mean only that Jesus is God's Son in a unique sense, the NT means more by this term. In His debate with the Jewish religious leaders, Jesus claims that people are like their spiritual fathers (John 8:39-44). If Satan is their father, then they are like him; on the other hand, if God is their Father, then they are going to resemble God. Since they were like Satan, Satan was their father; on the other hand, since Jesus is like God, then God is His Father.
You can take one look at my children and know that Nancy and I are their parents. They have blue eyes just like Nancy and me. Moreover, they get their big blue eyes from Nancy. Molly and I are alike personality-wise, whereas Nancy and Nathan are more alike personality-wise. Molly's got more of Nancy's coloring, while Nathan has mine. They are really our children. What is true in a physical sense is especially true in a spiritual sense. Jesus is God's Son not simply because He is the eternally begotten Son but also because He is the spitting image of His Father. He is so much like His Father that Jesus can say to Philip: "He who has seen Me has seen the Father" (John 14:9). Another reason Jesus gives that He as the Son is the perfect revelation of God is that as He is the perfect Son, He obeys the Father perfectly. Whenever you see Him, you see one expressing perfectly the Father's will (John 6:38).
The next term the NT uses to express Jesus as the ultimate revelation of God is "the Word of God." John writes: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. . . . And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us" (John 1:1, 14). (Few if any deny that the Word here refers to Jesus.) Words are the means we use to communicate ourselves to other people. I can smile at somebody, and they will come away with the impression that I like them. Touch is a powerful way to communicate to others. The word though is the most significant way I communicate to others. In these brief pages I use words to communicate to you what I believe the Bible teaches about Jesus being the ultimate revelation of God. A smile or a touch could never communicate the truths of this paper. Well, God wanted to communicate Himself to you and me. Yes, He spoke through the prophets, etc.; however, He has found the most excellent way by communicating Himself through His ultimate Word--Jesus (Hebrews 1:1-2).
what qualifies jesus to be the ultimate revelation of god?
These are major claims for Jesus. How does the NT support such claims? First, Jesus can ultimately reveal God because He is none other than God Himself. No, He is not God the Father nor God the Spirit; however, He is God the Son. He is as much God as the Father and the Spirit are God. Although He submits Himself constantly to the Father's will and pleasure as a perfect Son would do, He nevertheless is as much God as the Father is. As God, whenever He speaks, He speaks as God. Whenever He acts, He acts as God. When we see Him, we see God in action. This is necessary because only God could ultimately reveal God to us. Just like a worm could never reveal a human being to another worm, so man could never reveal God to another person (1 Cor. 2:11).
Jesus, however, is not only God; He is also man--the God-man. This is important because God is too transcendent for us to understand Him (1 Cor. 2:11). Isaiah plainly states, "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways" (Is. 55:8). We just simply cannot understand Him since He is God and we are mere mortals. So how does God bridge the gap between who He is and our understanding of Him? By becoming one of us. As a result, He enters our world so that we can understand Him. He becomes the God-man so that we as men can know God.
application of this truth
We apply this truth by interpreting all the attributes of God in light of Jesus Christ. For example, the first attribute our curriculum studies is that of love. How do I understand love in light of Jesus Christ? I see that God's love is unconditional and sacrificial. God did not demand that we get our acts together before He sent Jesus to die on the cross for us. He sent Jesus to die for us when we were not only sinners but also enemies of God. In light of Jesus' death on the cross, we know that God loves all mankind. It is only up to mankind to decide if s/he is going to live in that love or reject it. Moreover, the cross of Christ shows us that God's love is sacrificial. It cost the Father the ultimate price to provide for your and my salvation--the death of His Son. I might give money, even large sums of it if the need was that great; however, giving up either Nathan or Molly for somebody, much less for somebody who hates me is beyond my ability and comprehension. Well, God's love is so great for you and me that He sacrifices His Nathan, His Molly, that is, His only begotten Son for us.
The next attribute is that of power. Most of us look to creation as evidence of God's power. In light of Jesus Christ, John informs us that Jesus is the One who actually created the universe in the first place. His power is seen in the act of creation (John 1:3). Second, whereas creation does reveal Jesus to be powerful, His resurrection even proves His power to be greater. Remember that Jesus' resurrection is not mere resuscitation of the body; it is a radical transformation of the body which completely conquers death. The present creation is in a permanent state of death; the new creation brought about by the resurrection of Jesus proves to be the death of death. Furthermore, we can experience even today the resurrection power of Jesus Christ in our lives because the same Holy Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you and me as well. The result is that even now we can enjoy to a real though limited degree the life that Jesus Himself right now enjoys.
Just a brief aside here. John Calvin, a famous Swiss theologian, claimed that God was so powerful and so much in control that He determines any and everything that happen. As a result, He claimed that God chose who would be saved and who would not. There's a major problem with this view. It does not begin with understanding God's power in light of Jesus Christ. It's easy for us to say "God chooses people to go to hell even before they've had a chance to live"; however, no one can say that "Jesus would ever choose a person to go to hell before they've had a chance to live and make a decision." If you can't make that statement about Jesus, then you can't make it about His Father either. Jesus and the Father may have different functions to perform; however, they never contradict each other in the area of character.
Refuge. The OT claims that God is our refuge. How though does the Bible prove that God is our security? The security the Bible declares is the ultimate security we shall experience either after death or after Jesus returns. What is the basis for our belief in this security? The resurrection of Jesus. His resurrection from the death is the guarantee for our resurrection (1 Cor. 15:12-19). Our future is secure because it entails nothing less than our resurrection and eternal fellowship with God in the New Jerusalem.
Fourth and last, Savior. Throughout the Bible, God demonstrates Himself to be a Savior on behalf of His people: (1) the Red Sea, (2) Joshua, (3) Book of Judges, (4) salvation through David, (5) defeat of the Assyrian army during the reign of Hezekiah, etc. THE event though in the Bible which ultimately demonstrates God to be Savior is the cross of Jesus Christ. In the other instances, God delivered His people from other people. Our real enemies all along have been sin, death, and Satan. These 3 Christ defeated on the cross (Colossians 2:15); a final victory awaits when Christ returns the second time. By saying all of this, the NT has not negated the significance of the OT. Rather, what the NT has done is to take the OT and develop it to its fullest.
conclusion
How should we respond to the preceding? First, by focusing our attention upon Jesus. Too many of us as CHRISTians are not operating as Christians. We are obsessed with the concept of God. The NT focuses attention on Christ. According to Paul, a day is coming when Christ will take the kingdom of God and turn it over to His Father (1 Cor. 15:28). That day though has not arrived. The Father is placing all things and people--except Himself--beneath the lordship of Jesus. Until that day comes, we are to focus on His Son. (John says that same thing too by describing the 1000-year reign of Christ as being one of focus on Christ, while the new order focuses on the Father). Second, by acknowledging that Jesus Christ is worthy of our worship. Paul tells us that on the last day that every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.
As a consequence of what we've just studied, we need to understand God the Father and God the Spirit in light of Jesus. Although the 3 may have different functions--the Father designs creation, the Son is the agent of creation, and the Spirit is the One Christ uses to bring about creation, they nevertheless have the same characteristics. For example, if it is against the nature of Jesus to predestine somebody to hell before they even had a chance to live, then neither would the Spirit or the Father. To make the Father different from the Son amounts to nothing less than either claiming that Jesus is not God's Son in a unique sense or else claiming that there are at least two gods instead of just one.
Finally, the coming of Christ 2000 years ago was nothing less than the coming of God Himself. The one who walked among us, taught us, and loved us was none other than God. Jesus deserves our praise, our worship, our complete and utter obedience. The Jews made a dreadful mistake 2000 years ago because they thought that when they did away with Jesus, they were doing away with a mere man. What they did though was try to do away with God. What happened was that God did away with their nation.