Jesus-the Great and Mighty One
"Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death-even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." (Philippians 2:5-11)
King Jesus left His throne in glory to fulfill the purpose of His Father; this purpose was to come to earth to die for the all the sin of the world. Jesus is majesty-He is the King of kings, and Lord of lords, and He laid it all down when He hung on the cross. I cannot even begin to imagine the agony Jesus went through. The Bible tells us that "His appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any man and His form marred beyond human likeness (Isaiah 52:14)." And not only did He go through great physical pain, He suffered spiritual pain...the moment He took on all of our sin, the Father had to turn away because He cannot look upon sin. Jesus suffered spiritual separation from His Father for the first time.
That is what sin does-it separates us from the Father. "But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden His face from you so that He will not hear (Isaiah 59:2)." Jesus took our place-the place we deserved-so that we could be restored to the Father. In other words, Jesus is the bridge between us and the Father. He is not one way to the Father, He is the way! "Jesus answered, I am the way the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me (John 14:6)."
Jesus endured physical anguish and suffered a brutal death. This was all God's plan to save mankind. Jesus "poured out His life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For He bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors (Isaiah 53:12)." The Bible tells us that this was God's will "to crush Him and cause Him to suffer (Isaiah 53:10)." You may be thinking, that doesn't seem very loving that it was actually God's will that His Son should go through such horrific pain and suffering, but friend, God did that because of His great love. He loves you and me so much that He sent His one and only Son to die the death that we deserved so that we could have fellowship with the Lord Almighty. Just as God rose Jesus from the dead, He will one day raise up all the people who have died in Christ to be with Him forever! Praise God!
So, what then does it mean to be "in Christ?" You realize your need for Him. You see that you cannot do it on your own. You see that you are a sinner in need of a Savior. You believe in your heart that Christ Jesus is who He says He is...Lord of all. He is the King of Kings! He is the Alpha and the Omega; the beginning and the end. You confess with your mouth, Jesus, You are Lord! I trust you and ask you to forgive my sin. I give you all of me! When this happens, God fills you with His promised Holy Spirit and gives you a new heart. "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow My decrees and be careful to keep My laws (Ezekiel 36:26-27)."
You are forever sealed in Him! "And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in Him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession-to the praise of His glory (Ephesians 1:13-14)."
One day, one glorious day, the trumpet will sound and Jesus will come for His children to take us home! "Listen, I tell you a mystery: we will not all sleep but we will all be changed-in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable and we will be changed (1 Corinthians 15:51-52)."
"Look, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of Him. So shall it be! Amen.
"I am the Alpha and the Omega, says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty (Revelation 1:7-8)."
King Jesus left His throne in glory to fulfill the purpose of His Father; this purpose was to come to earth to die for the all the sin of the world. Jesus is majesty-He is the King of kings, and Lord of lords, and He laid it all down when He hung on the cross. I cannot even begin to imagine the agony Jesus went through. The Bible tells us that "His appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any man and His form marred beyond human likeness (Isaiah 52:14)." And not only did He go through great physical pain, He suffered spiritual pain...the moment He took on all of our sin, the Father had to turn away because He cannot look upon sin. Jesus suffered spiritual separation from His Father for the first time.
That is what sin does-it separates us from the Father. "But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden His face from you so that He will not hear (Isaiah 59:2)." Jesus took our place-the place we deserved-so that we could be restored to the Father. In other words, Jesus is the bridge between us and the Father. He is not one way to the Father, He is the way! "Jesus answered, I am the way the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me (John 14:6)."
Jesus endured physical anguish and suffered a brutal death. This was all God's plan to save mankind. Jesus "poured out His life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For He bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors (Isaiah 53:12)." The Bible tells us that this was God's will "to crush Him and cause Him to suffer (Isaiah 53:10)." You may be thinking, that doesn't seem very loving that it was actually God's will that His Son should go through such horrific pain and suffering, but friend, God did that because of His great love. He loves you and me so much that He sent His one and only Son to die the death that we deserved so that we could have fellowship with the Lord Almighty. Just as God rose Jesus from the dead, He will one day raise up all the people who have died in Christ to be with Him forever! Praise God!
So, what then does it mean to be "in Christ?" You realize your need for Him. You see that you cannot do it on your own. You see that you are a sinner in need of a Savior. You believe in your heart that Christ Jesus is who He says He is...Lord of all. He is the King of Kings! He is the Alpha and the Omega; the beginning and the end. You confess with your mouth, Jesus, You are Lord! I trust you and ask you to forgive my sin. I give you all of me! When this happens, God fills you with His promised Holy Spirit and gives you a new heart. "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow My decrees and be careful to keep My laws (Ezekiel 36:26-27)."
You are forever sealed in Him! "And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in Him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession-to the praise of His glory (Ephesians 1:13-14)."
One day, one glorious day, the trumpet will sound and Jesus will come for His children to take us home! "Listen, I tell you a mystery: we will not all sleep but we will all be changed-in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable and we will be changed (1 Corinthians 15:51-52)."
"Look, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of Him. So shall it be! Amen.
"I am the Alpha and the Omega, says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty (Revelation 1:7-8)."
Comments
Post a Comment