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| Vol. 14 No. 12 December 2012 | Page 7 |
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| Vol. 14 No. 12 December 2012 | Page 7 |
Editor's Note
Marilyn LaStrape
At this time of the year, a great majority of the world will have its thoughts turned to Jesus Christ. For the purpose of this article, the focal point will be on a few of the many eternal truths that God has revealed to us about His only begotten Son. Jesus the Christ, He is the One.
Years ago somewhere I read that the center of the entire Bible is Jesus Christ. The writer stated that the message of the Old Testament is, “Jesus is coming.” The message of Matthew through Acts 1:11 is, “Jesus is here.” The message of Acts 1:12 through Revelation is, “Jesus is coming again.” The writer went on to say that if we as readers of the Bible miss that message, we need to go back and read that page of Scripture again.
One of the many eternal truths to examine is, Jesus has the name that is above all names. His name “Jesus” fulfilled all that God had in His mind for His Son to accomplish. God’s eternal plan and purpose is the redemption of mankind. The angel told Joseph regarding Mary his wife, “And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21).
Isaiah 9:6 proclaims, “For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”
Ephesians 1:20-21 says, God “worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come.”
The beautiful hymn “Jesus, Name Above All Names” was written by Naida Hearn. The lyrics are “Jesus, name above all names, Beautiful Savior, glorious Lord, Emmanuel, God is with us, Blessed Redeemer, Living Word.” This song is certainly an accurate commentary on Jesus, the Lamb of God.
Another eternal truth to examine is that Jesus is the Christ. When Jesus asked His disciples who He was, Peter said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:15-16). Jesus personally confirmed that He was the Christ when He was on trial. Mark 14:16b-62 says, “Again the high priest asked Him, saying to Him, ‘Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?’ Jesus said, ‘I am. And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.’”
Jesus confirmed that He was the Christ when He spoke to the Samaritan woman at the well. John 4:25-26 reads, “The woman said to Him, ‘I know that Messiah is coming (who is called Christ). When He comes, He will tell us all things.’ Jesus said to her, ‘I who speak to you am He.’”
Yet, another eternal truth to examine is Jesus Christ is the One above all others. Paul wrote in Colossians 1:15-18:
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead that in all things He may have the preeminence.
The writer in Hebrews 1:1-4 stated:
God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds, who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.
The writer further stated in Hebrews 7:26, “For such a High Priest was fitting for us, who is holy, innocent, undefiled, separate from sinners and has become higher than the heavens.”
Jesus said of Himself in Revelation 22:13, 16, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last… I, JESUS, have sent My angel to testify to you these things in the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star.”
Every day for as long as our lives shall last, we need to be keenly aware of Who Jesus the Christ is and why a relationship with Him is paramount to our salvation! In this present world, He is our Savior. Hebrews 7:25 assures us “Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He ever lives to make intercession for them.”
When God stops time as we know it and we step into eternity, Jesus the Christ will become our Judge. Paul preached this eternal truth to the men of Athens. He told them in Acts 17:31, “…He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.”
I was invited to speak at a Ladies’ Day several years ago, and a very unique bookmark was a part of our take home gifts. This bookmark had been developed by the minister of that congregation. He made several thought provoking points with several scriptural notations for each point. For the sake of space, only selected passages that he used will be listed. The heading on one side of the bookmark stated, “The Importance of Jesus Christ: Did You Know That…”
The heading on the other side of the bookmark stated, “Jesus Christ Is Superior to All Others! Why? Because He is…”
Jesus the Christ, He is the One!