THE LORDSHIP OF JESUS CHRIST, CHAPTER 3

 

For those unfamiliar with the story of the Bible who may be seeking to remedy that unfamiliarity, I would recommend that they start reading in the New Testament. It is there that they will be introduced immediately to Jesus who is the central character of the whole Bible. For many novice readers of the Bible who then attempt to read the Old Testament of the Bible (its first 39 books), it initially seems like they are reading a completely unrelated story which seems to describe a completely different God.

But with a little patience and persistence the reader will begin to suspect that this is not a different story but is in fact the prequel to the New Testament. Then a strange supernatural thing happens as they continue to become acquainted with the lives of the patriarchs, judges, kings and prophets, as these characters interact with enemies, giants, angels, strange heavenly beings, and GOD Himself, the reader begins to see in a similar way to what a photographer could not previously see clearly until his camera’s focus was adjusted to make the picture clear — the GOD who created, acted, spoke and judged, frequently referred to Himself as ‘us’, ‘we’, ‘our’, and at times seemed to have conversations with divine characters identified as ‘the LORD’ and ‘Me’ and ‘His Spirit’ (Isa. 48:16).

And this all begins to sound very reminiscent of the GOD described in the New Testament as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. With a growing knowledge of the Bible and hunger to understand it, the follower of Christ discovers that literally for thousands of years prior to this day there have been many many others who have also walked the journey of discovery through the mysterious pages of the Bible and have each made a startling discovery about the human Jesus’ pre-existence throughout the pages of the Old Testament. 

As a young Christian I used to hear the old-timers say about the Bible, “The New is concealed in the Old and the Old is revealed in the New.” Apparently, what they were saying was that things that would one day be revealed in the New Testament were already in the Old Testament, but were disguised. Those very same disguised things in the Old Testament are then like the disguised super-hero who takes his disguise off to reveal his true identity. The apostle Paul revealed that it was Jesus who created the heavens and the earth in the beginning (Gen. 1:1; Col. 1:15-18). It was the apostle John who recorded that it was the ‘pre-incarnate’ (that is, before Jesus came into the world through the womb of Mary) Jesus who appeared to Abraham with two accompanying heavenly beings before these two accompanists went to Sodom and Gomorrah to destroy its citizens for their sexual perversion (Jn. 8:56). The writer of The Epistle to the Hebrews revealed that it was Jesus who sent the prophets to wayward Israel summoning them to repent, and that throughout this time it was Jesus who was sustaining the entire universe (Heb. 1:1-3). And it was Matthew and Luke who recorded Jesus walking out of Jerusalem to ascend up the overlooking Mount of Olives where Jesus sat down to look at the city that had just rejected Him. Christ then said something that clearly shocked His Jewish disciples. “Oh Jerusalem, Jerusalem, I sent you prophets…and you rejected them.”

This is what sets Christianity apart from every other religion. Buddha did not claim to be GOD (in fact, he claimed there was no GOD). Zoroaster did not claim to be GOD. Mohammed did not claim to be GOD. But Jesus did. Unlike the claim of Mormons (“The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints”) Jesus was not a human who became a god. And unlike the claim of Seventh Day Adventists and Jehovah’s Witnesses, Jesus was not the Archangel Michael who then became the Christ (we note in Revelation 12 that Jesus is distinguished from Michael as He ascended to His Father and was enthroned at His Father’s right hand while the archangel Michael overthrew Satan casting him and his fellow fallen evil beings out of the heaven (Rev. 12:7-9).

 

CHRISTOPHANIES, THEOPHANIES,
& ‘THE ANGEL OF THE LORD’

An “epiphany” is an appearing. A theophany is ‘an appearance of God.’ A Christophany is ‘an appearance of the Second Person of the Godhead (Jesus).’ If you would like to dive a little deeper into the study of theophanies and Christophanies then refer to diagram extract from Holman Bible Dictionary adjacent. There are significant instances of these in which most biblical scholars have reasons to believe that they all refer to pre-incarnate appearances of Christ.

These reasons include:

(i) The theophany is sometimes referred to as the Angel of the LORD who then spoke in the first person as GOD (“I say…” or “I will…”)  (Gen 16:7-13) unlike prophets or mere angels who spoke on behalf of the LORD, (“Thus says the LORD…” )

(ii) The theophany often received worship as GOD (Gen. 17:3; Josh. 5:14)

(iii) The theophany is sometimes referred to as the Glory of the Lord (Exo. 33:9-10; Ezek. 10:4) and the Name of the Lord (Isa. 30:27; 59:19).

The Lord Jesus Christ was revealed within the Old Testament as the LORD, GOD, the Angel of the Lord, the Commander of the Army of the Lord, the Name of the Lord, and the Glory of the Lord. The Old Testament writers also revealed that He was the Son of God (Psalm 2:7; Prov. 30:4). In the intertestamental period there was a growing awareness that the God of Israel had an eternal Son (Wisd. of Sol. 2:18; 4Ezra 7:28-29; 13:32, 37, 52; 14:9; Book of Enoch 105:2). This pre-New Testament literature reveals that the Lord Jesus Christ was the eternal Son of God whom the prophet Isaiah not only said that the day was coming when He would be born as a human from the womb of a virgin (Isa. 7:14), the prophet also revealed His magnificent identity:

For to us a child is born,
to us a Son is given;
and the government shall be upon His shoulder,
and His name shall be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of His government and of peace
there will be no end,
on the throne of David and over His kingdom,
to establish it and to uphold it
with justice and with righteousness
from this time forth and forevermore.
The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.
Isaiah 9:6-7

WHAT THIS ALL MEANS FOR YOU

The GOD who created the universe, our earth, our first father and mother, and you, is your LORD! You were made by Him and for Him. You are not an accident. He has a purpose for your life. But you can choose either to embrace Him as your LORD – leading to your eternal life and divine bliss; or, despise Him and reject His claim to Lordship and declare your eternal opposition to Him. For those who choose the former, and accept Christ as the rightful Lord of their life, they also discover that He cares infinitely for them with an unconditional love. Accepting Christ’s Lordship is a deeply spiritual transaction where He does for the believer what only the True Lord can do – forgive their sins and gift them with eternal life. Knowing Christ as Lord gives the believer a new heart of love and care for others which leads the believer to have a burden to pray for those who do not know the Lord. It is also gives the believer the confidence that their prayers are being heard. And this is why I want you to realise who Jesus really is, and what His Lordship means for you! 

Your Pastor,

Andrew

Let me know what you think below in the comment section and feel free to share this someone who might benefit from this Pastor’s Desk.

THE LORDSHIP OF JESUS CHRIST, Chapter 2

 

The One who spoke the world into existence entered materially into His World and “split time in half”. He came to rescue the world because a great betrayal occurred. One of His chief agents was filled with self-deception and conceited envy and manipulated a serpent to his bidding in destroying the very last and highest of the Lord’s “very good” creation. Disappointingly she fell for it – and her husband who was supposed to protect her failed in his most basic of responsibilities. Their fall from innocence and into grace plunged that was momentarily and formerly under their vice-regency. The world had now gone rogue. When the Eternal Son of God submitted to His co-LORD, the Holy Spirit placed Him into a virgin’s womb by uniting his consciousness and sinless essence with the ovum of this young virgin. In doing so, Immanuel relinquished none of His sovereign power or prerogatives but chose to lay aside His glory and become fully human. And for those who came to recognise who He actually was, it ever caused them to fall down at His feet in adoration, or shrink back from Him in terror. The side-effect of those who who adored him was a new ability to sleep. If you have trouble sleeping because of worries, you too can discover how an acquaintance with the Lordship of Jesus the Christ can also help you to sleep better. 

After Jesus the Christ rose physically from the dead and all of the effects of His earthly body’s rigamortis had been undone, He appeared to His disciples as the Lord over Heaven and Earth (Matt. 28:18) who possessed all authority. And when a vincible earthly ruler began to murder each of Christ’s apostles one-by-one commencing with James, Herod then selected Peter as his next victim and had him locked up to await his public execution. But with the words of Christ ringing in his ears from their conversation on the beach on the shore the Sea of Galilee (Jn 21:18-19) it was the Lord’s statement – when you are old – that enabled the imprisoned Peter to be able to do something very unusual for a man about to brutally die:

¶ Now when Herod was about to bring him out, on that very night, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries before the door were guarding the prison.
Acts 12:6

In Dr. F.W. Boreham’s famous 1915 essay Sleepy Hollow he asks and answers this profound question – “Why do we send missionaries to the heathen? Why, indeed, but to teach the people how to sleep?” He then goes on to explain himself by giving example after example of the remarkable transformation the gospel carried by missionaries to the far-flung corners of the world had on the ability of its recipients to sleep peaceably! He summarises many missionary reports with this quote:  “The essential difference between a Christian and a cannibal is that a Christian knows how to go to sleep, and a cannibal doesn’t.” Dr. Boreham tells of other believers down through the ages who had also experienced the joy of peaceful sleep because their hearts were filled with the supernatural joy that can only come from a revelation of the Lordship of Jesus the Christ. This would explain how the Apostle Paul could eventually go face-to-face with his executor – rested and enjoying the peace of Christ. He shared with the Colossians a glimpse of his revelation of the Lord Jesus (Col. 1:16-17)

Was Jesus aware of His identity as the eternal Son of God and Lord of Heaven and Earth? If He wasn’t, then the episode in Luke 8:22-24 is inexplicable! Despite the dangerously rough weather, the disciples had to wake Jesus who was asleep in the boat.

Jesus demonstrated His Lordship over matter when He multiplied the fish and loaves to feed to the five thousand. He exercised His Lordship over sickness and disease when He cleansed lepers, opened the eyes of the blind, healed the lame, and unstopped deaf ears (Luke 7:22). He exercised His Lordship over demons and evil spirits. But perhaps the lead-up events to His growing demonstrations of His lordship were the adumbrations of His power over death! Jesus raised the noble’s dead daughter back to life (Matt. 9:25). Jesus raised the dead son of the widow of Nain back to life (Luke 7:14-15). And then, Jesus raised the man who was dead and buried for four-days back to life by simply speaking the command to rise from the dead and “come forth!” (John 11:43-44).

The next time you read through the Gospels, note how Jesus exercised His Lordship by simply commanding it to be so. There were demonstrations of His Lordship that revealed that He was Lord of all the earth and that distance and space between Him and those who benefited from His voiced command was no obstacle. And the same thing applies today. The distance between the heavenly enthroned Christ and His worshippers is inconsequential to what He can do for those who call on His Name! The amazing truth about Jesus is that once He conquered sin and death through His cross and His resurrection, then His ascension, then His glorification, He has now spoken in a way that every knee will one day bow before Him, and every tongue will confess that He is Lord (Phil. 2:9-11). And this should cause you to sleep well — if you know Him.

Your Pastor,

Andrew

Let me know what you think below in the comment section and feel free to share this someone who might benefit from this Pastor’s Desk.

THE LORDSHIP OF JESUS CHRIST, Chapter 1

 Chapter 1, INTRODUCTION

Today, “Jesus Christ is Lord” sounds like a bumper sticker or part of an ancient church liturgy but when Christianity was founded if someone uttered these words it could literally mean death! ’o christos ’o kurios “Christ is Lord” was a risky thing to declare when the only safe thing to declare was ’o kaiser ’o kurios “Caesar is Lord”! Yet it was upon these words that the earliest confession of the Church was founded. For the early Christians, this was not a glib, throw-away line uttered during a church service or something declared with a sticker on the backside of your donkey (or chariot if you were wealthy). It is my thesis that the Lordship of Christ is the most important of all truths. Nothing is truer. It is the truth that has produced the greatest good in the world. Because this truth was revealed to people: (i) the Church was founded and continues to grow and spread despite irrational persecution; (ii) the gospel was preached so that people should be saved; (iii) the divinely inspired New Testament books were written; (iv) hospitals were opened; (v) schools were commenced; (vi) universities were formed; (vii) charities were established; and, (viii) civil governments were constituted — all because: Jesus Christ is Lord! I want to help you move past seeing this truth as a mere bumper sticker/fridge-magnet, to discovering why it has been the most revolutionary revelation! 

Jesus the Christ is the almighty King of kings and Lord of lords. Consider the magnitude of these words from the apostle Paul, who, when He encountered the risen-from-the-dead Lord Jesus Christ his immediate response is described in the Book of Acts:

And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him,
“Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?”
And he said, “Who are you, Lord?”
And He said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.
Acts 9:4-5

From this encounter with the Lord, he wrote to the Ephesian church via his epistle to Timothy:

It is perhaps difficult for us appreciate just how dangerous these words were by the apostle Paul. But ponder them and you soon realise that they were written for a public audience, widely copied, and distributed, before the apostle stood trial before Caesar Nero in AD 64. It may come as no surprise to you then that the Caesar ordered Paul to be taken from his trial in Rome down to the coastal port and beheaded. Many scholars, including this one, believe that there is an honorific reference to Paul’s martyrdom in the closing book of Bible (which was written in AD 65) recorded in Revelation 20:4. The price that many of the early Christians paid for believing and refusing to recant that Jesus Christ was Lord was their martyrdom. 

CHRIST REVEALED HIS LORDSHIP IN THE WAY HE SPOKE

As a prophet Jesus never uttered the usual preliminary announcement, Thus says the Lord. Instead in every instance, He prefaced His declarations with divine phrases like, I say unto you… or  Truly, truly, I say to you that… which was in essence a statement that what He was stating was inerrant (without error and not possible to incorrect). Even those in authority who came to hear Jesus were taken back by the purity, truthfulness, and divine inspiration of everything Jesus said:

When Jesus was brought before the Roman Governor, it was the Governor who trembled in the presence of Christ and not the other way around! It sees that Pontius Pilate felt that he was in the presence of a powerful king (Jn. 18:37). This reluctance to treat Jesus unjustly was compounded by his wife receiving a warning in a dream about Jesus being no ordinary man. Tradition has it that his wife’s name was Claudia and that after the resurrection of the Christ she herself became a Christian.

If it hasn’t yet dawned on you that maybe Jesus was who He claimed to be, LORD, in Whom “All authority in heaven and in earth” has been given to Him (Matt. 28:18-20) because He conquered the “last enemy” (1Cor. 15:26), then consider this fact:

No-one in all of history had emphatically declared that his or her words would outlive the universe itself (Matt. 24:35)!!! It was acknowledged by the Dutch theologian Abraham Kuyper, who later became the Prime Minister of Holland, who famously reflected, “There is not a square inch of anywhere in the universe over which Jesus Christ does not declare: ‘Mine!’” But there is something even more inconceivable about this Most glorious King of the Universe: He knows you! (Consider John 4:29.)

Over the next few chapters of this series, I want to delve into this unfathomable truth and give you a glimpse of why the Lordship of Jesus Christ is both the greatest comfort and the greatest terror. I hope to introduce you to the LORD Jesus Christ in a way that brings you to your knees in adoration of Him and fills your heart, mind, and soul with ineffable wonder and ecstasy. 

For it is written,“As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to Me,
and every tongue shall confess to God.”
Romans 14:11

So 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 2:10-11

Your Pastor,

Andrew

Let me know what you think below in the comment section and feel free to share this someone who might benefit from this Pastor’s Desk.

 YOU HAVE 9-SECONDS TO DECIDE

I’m old enough to remember the 1985-89 TV-series, The Equalizer which starred Edward Woodward. I was fascinated by the idea of a former “intelligence agent”  putting an advertisement in a newspaper offering anyone who was experiencing injustice the offer of equalising. Commander Robert McCall would then set about to use his skills to bring some justice into a person’s otherwise experience of injustice. When Antoine Fuqua invited Denzel Washington to play the same character in a movie remake of the same name, I was excited. Very excited. I saw it in the cinema when it was released and then I pre-ordered it on Apple TV. There are several reasons why I loved this movie. 

Firstly, it was clever - it actually had a sophisticated storyline. Secondly, it was topical - it confronted the topic of human trafficking and sex-slavery. Thirdly, it was about a man faithful to his wife. And fourthly, it was about justice. So when it was announced that for the first time in Denzel Washington’s acting career he was going to make a sequel, I was thrilled. Here’s why...

DENZEL WASHINGTON'S CHARACTER

Unlike Edward Woodward’s portrayal of Robert McCall, Denzel Washington’s portrayal is a fuller, mysterious-yet-revealing, discreet, confident, quiet, self-assured, and with the powerful humility of a Joe Louis. In the first of the three movies, Robert McCall works as a leather-apron-wearing shop-attendant in a Home Depot. We are shown that he lives alone in a sparse apartment. Each night he takes a book and a tea bag, which he has carefully folded in a paper napkin, and goes down to café where the waiter knows that he needs a tea pot of boiled water and a cup. 

As the story unfolds we discover that his wife has died, and that he is fulfilling her goal to read Mortimer J. Adler’s list of The Great Books, and that he is up to book one hundred and ten. We then learn that before his wife died, he made a vow to her that he would leave his career and give up his line of work. We later see that McCall is torn about this vow as he spins his wedding ring on his ring-finger when confronted with rampant injustice. (He does this in all three movies.)

THE EQUALIZER’S VIOLENCE

The Equalizer Trilogy is not for everybody. It is very violent. But unlike the gratuitous violence in many other movies, this violence resembles the kind of military tactical violence described in the Bible. Many people similarly struggle with the tactical military violence described in the Bible. The Bible describes the reality of war, military conflict, assassinations - which are not all condoned - and it does narrate God’s directives for Israel to engage in tactical military conflict. These accounts are often gruesome, but never gratuitous. I regard the violence depicted in the Equalizer Trilogy in the same way. It is the exercise of tactical justice.

WHAT THE EQUALIZER PART III GETS RIGHT

Some sequels should not be made - Matrix 2 for example. But there are some sequels that complement the story being told - The Lord of the Rings for example, and this includes Equalizer II and III. Some sequels disqualify themselves because they contradict their prequel - some of Disney's newer Star Wars prequels for example. But the Equalizer trilogy gets many things right. Firstly, it is overseen by the same director Antione Fuqua. Secondly, its lead character is played by the same actor (unlike the Batman franchise). Thirdly, the storyline is consistent, progressive, and developmental. The Robert McCall character is presented as complex, mysterious, and conflicted. Is he a good man or is he a bad man? He doesn’t know. 

Each of the three Equalizer movies have redemptive themes. When McCall helps someone, their question is, “Why me?” All beneficiaries of divine redemptive grace also ask, “Why me?” Those who perpetrate gross injustice with pathological indifference against their helpless victims may deceive themselves into the delusion that their sins go unnoticed by God. But Numbers 32:23 (“...be sure your sins will find you out!”) cannot be easily ignored or mocked. God’s agents of justice -

For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer. (Romans 13:3-4)