Category revelation

Sep 13 2008

The deity of Jesus …Fact or fiction #2


I am always amazed what nuggets of truth can be discovered in scripture that are more often than not passed right over, and for the most part go unnoticed. 1 Peter 1:11 is such a verse. Peter is speaking about the gospel of Jesus, the trials, joys and hope that accompanies those who trust Him, and then he talks of the prophets of ages past who prophesied concerning the suffering and glory of Christ. In verse 11 he says about those prophets “… the spirit of Christ in them was indicating the sufferings of Christ…” Centuries before a birth in Bethlehem, before the cross, before the resurrection of Jesus, He was active in revealing partially to the prophets the salvation that had been planned long before the creation of the universe. The spirit of Christ could hardly be doing anything hundreds of years before He would come in flesh had he not existed prior to His humble birth as Mary’s child.

Another example of Christ being active in Old Testament history is found in 1 Corinthians 10:1-4. Paul is warning against idolatry and he says “For I want you to know, brothers that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ”. Even a rank skeptic must agree that if the Bible is true, then Jesus lived before His birth.  

Jesus existed before His natural birth “in time”. Post # number 3 will show that Christ also existed before time began, that He is God and is eternal.

In Him,
Royce

Jan 1 2008

Jesus….how can I know for sure?


The Bible is a remarkable book. It is a combination of 66 different writings with many different authors from varied backgrounds. It is the top selling book in history and continues to top the charts today.
Although it is a wonderful body of literature and is both interesting and beautiful with dozens and dozens of colorful stories about the successes and failures of people, monumental historic events, and guidelines for practical living, the Bible is unique of all other books ever written. It is the revelation of God to people like me and you and can be understood in two ways.
First, the Bible can be read and understood like any other great literary work. One can read it and learn about the people and events and even memorize sizeable sections of it. There is no more interesting book. Secondly, the Bible can be understood spiritually. Unlike any other book ever written, the Bible is a spiritual book. Because its words are literally God’s words, they, like Him, are spiritual and alive. To fully receive the message of God’s revelation the words on the pages of the Bible must be spiritually understood. (1 Cor 2:14)
Many, many people make the mistake of trying to know the truth of the Bible without the aid of the Holy Spirit, who alone can reveal the core truth of God’s revelation to mere men. If you my dear friend approach the Word of God and try to fit all you find on its pages into the mold of human reason you will not understand the truth. The Apostle Paul put it this way. He said it is “foolishness” to those who try to approach the things of God using only natural means. The Bible is both natural and supernatural at the same time. The supernatural component will be completely missed if you insist on trying to ascertain spiritual truth and supernatural concepts using only human logic and reasoning.
In my view, the reason many people who claim to be Christians have difficulty with the bodily resurrection of Jesus, his Deity, His eternal existence, and many of His claims and promises is that because these things do not fit the natural human ability to learn and assimilate facts, many just disregard everything that doesn’t seem logical. Then they also scoff at those who do understand the truth of God’s revelation by the Spirit.

I am convinced that God wants you to know His truth. If you will come to the Bible with an open heart and a willingness to take God at His word, you can know the truth. We understand the Bible by “faith”. The writer of the Hebrews said in chapter 11 verse 3 these words, “By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible”.
We understand that God created by simply taking God at His word. The same is true for all other truth. Those who are believers (have faith in God) know the truth and those who are unbelievers (do not trust God) do not know the truth.
Each of us creatures should unreservedly trust the Creator and believe His book, the Bible. In the next few posts I will discuss Jesus Christ and who He is. My hope is that these simple studies will help you to know, or to more fully know, the Godman, Jesus Christ our Lord who is God.
His peace,
Royce