God pursues those who hate him

Though we are in rebellion and our God’s enemies, hate him, and would cast him away (see more here), God actively and shamelessly pursues us. And though God seems far away to us in our rebellion, God is, in fact, near.

And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, for

“ ‘In him we live and move and have our being’;

as even some of your own poets have said,

“ ‘For we are indeed his offspring.’

(Acts 17:26–28, ESV)

As we shrink back from him in hatred and fear, he pursues us and comes gently in the “sound” and the “wind”. Though, as we discussed earlier, this implies hiddenness (see more here), they also indicate a depth of intimacy beyond mere knowledge that puffs up. If God “showed up” or did “miraculous works” or showed some definitive sign or proof of his existence, yes, we would believe he exists and have knowledge of him. But the wicked ask for signs such as these as a prerequisite for faith (Matthew 16:4, Luke 11:29, John 6:22-66). Mere knowledge brings pride, and pride is our foundational problem. We cannot expect God to reveal himself in a way that only compounds our problem. And so he comes instead in the intimacy of the “sound” and the “wind”, which brings so much more than all the grand miracles and signs combined. In this article, we will focus on “the sound”.

The sound 

“The sound of the Lord” or the “Word of the Lord” is pregnant with meaning throughout the scripture and is the means by which God has communicated with humanity. It is more than sound; it has the power to create. And as we will see, it has the power to turn a heart of stone into flesh and the power to bring life from death. It is the word of the Lord that spoke creation into existence.  

   By the word of the Lord the heavens were made,  
     and by the breath of his mouth
      all their host.  
   He gathers the waters of the sea as a heap;  
     he puts the deeps in storehouses. 
   Let all the earth fear the Lord;  
     let all the inhabitants of the world
      stand in awe of him!  
   For he spoke, and it came to be;  
     he commanded, and it stood firm. 
                  (Psalm 33:6–9)

The Psalmist rightly broke out in song, “The voice of the LORD is powerful; the voice of the LORD is full of majesty” (29:4). We come to know God by his word as it works and invades our lives. The Word of the Lord is the scripture and is more than merely words on the page. “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12). But more importantly, the word of the Lord is the “Logos” of the Gospel of John. . . Jesus is the Word of the Lord made flesh.  

Moses taught the Israelites that “man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.” Moses speaks of a man who would come, and gives a warning from God, “whoever will not listen to my words that he shall speak in my name, I myself will require it of him” (Deuteronomy 18:19).  The writer of Hebrews warns as well, “See to it that you do not refuse Him who is speaking. For if they did not escape when they refused him who warned the on earth, much less will we escape if we reject him who warns from heaven” (Hebrews 12:25). Peter emphasizes this, “Moses said, ‘The Lord God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers. You shall listen to him in whatever he tells you. Anyone who does not listen to him will be completely cut off from their people’” (Acts 3:22-23). Notice that the writer of Hebrews uses the phrase, “who is speaking”. Paul in Romans 10 alludes to the fact that when the Gospel is proclaimed, Jesus’s voice is heard.  

How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?” So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.  

   But I ask, have they not heard? Indeed they have, for  

   “Their voice has gone out to all the earth,  
     and their words to the ends of the world.” 
                     (Romans 10:14–18)

Though God does mighty works and great miracles, these are not the primary means by which he brings us to himself. Nor can these things have any power without the preaching of the Gospel. It is not in awe, mighty works, or great signs and miracles that we have come to be reconciled to God, but it is through humility. God has destroyed pride through humility.

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

(Philippians 2:5–8, ESV)

Pride and seeking greatness caused the fall. We ought not think God would use these methods to win us back to himself. No, instead, he comes with humility and uses something much more powerful: his word. 

And he said, “Go out and stand on the mount before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire, the sound of a low whisper. (1 Kings 19:11–12, ESV) 

With a whisper, God has turned the world upside down and has broken our pride and our hard hearts. 

The Hiddenness of God is the Story of Love 

Yes, a perfectly-loving and all-powerful God hid his face from us so that we might not see instant death (see more on this here), but in the tenderness of his love, through his wisdom, he has found a way to reveal himself to us. And though his face is hidden, his love for us is not. What amazing love is this that conquers and breaks the pride of our hard hearts? And so we come to know God through the preaching of the Gospel through the power of the Holy Spirit. As we hear the words of Jesus, our hearts are changed. And because of the power of the Gospel, we will come to see God face to face and not be ashamed on that Day. Instead of shrinking back, we boldly come near God’s throne, look into our Father’s face, and know that we are beloved children of God. For us, the throne and being before God’s face is no longer a throne of judgment and certain death, but one of grace where we are declared to be his children. And so, the blessing of Israel will remove God’s hiddenness for those who are in Christ, 

   The LORD bless you and keep you; 
     the LORD make his face to shine upon
       you and be gracious to you; 
     the LORD lift up his countenance upon
       you and give you peace.  
                     (Numbers 6:24-26)

And so, God will not remain hidden from us forever. All will see him face to face. Some for judgment, others for grace. For those who are known by Jesus, God fully revealing himself will be a glorious day. We will see God face to face. And we will know him as he knows us. 

For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known. (1 Corinthians 13:12) 

Notice that this passage speaks of seeing God as partly hidden, as in a mirror dimly. This description of God’s hiddenness is a part of the famous passage that talks about love, known as the Love Chapter. Yes, God’s purpose in his hiddenness is love. And because of love, he is still waiting for that day to make himself fully known to the world. He postpones that day, not for the sake of those who are in Christ, but for those who are still lost and at enmity with him, so that they too might hear the sound of his voice as he calls to us, “Come!” 

The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. (2 Peter 3:9) 

He holds back and remains hidden, for he is still calling out for the lost to come to him. And while God remains hidden, there is still hope for those who are at enmity with God. As God beckons us through the Gospel to come, will we allow his word to break down the walls of our pride and enmity toward him? He pleads with us, “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.”

Being hidden and tabernacled in human flesh 

So, even veiled and hidden, he has not failed to lavish his love upon us. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). God “emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men” (Philippians 2:7). God came veiled or tabernacled and walked amongst us as a human. John says, “our hands have touched” him. God became approachable. And he hid himself in this way that by becoming human, he might take upon himself the punishment we so deserved, “he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (2:8). Jesus stood before the Lord on that day in our place. And on that Day two thousand years ago, Jesus bore our final judgment proclaiming the debt had been paid in full. Three days later, Jesus conquered death for us by rising from the dead. And if we put our faith in Jesus, we stand before God and see his face, not based on our works, but based on the fact that Jesus bore our punishment of death on that day. The writer of Hebrews beckons us not to shrink back, run away, or hide, but instead calls to us with these words, “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Jesus calls us gently to “Come.” Will we hear the sound of his voice and come near when he calls?

For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written,

“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,

and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.”

(1 Corinthians 1:18–19, ESV)

Be careful what you wish for . . .

Some will ask if God exists, why doesn’t he make himself completely obvious so that there is no doubt that he exists. They say that this is what they want in order for them to believe. If they had it they would believe in God. But is believing in God’s existence what they need? They foolishly make this claim because they do not understand the dangers of what they are asking. The saying is true, we must be careful what we wish for. . ..  

The demons believe and are condemned for it

You want God to reveal himself definitively and clearly in order for you to believe. But is this kind of belief enough? The scriptures tell us that the demons believe in God, and yet they are left shuddering and without hope (James 2:19). Why is this so? The answer is that they have no hope because of the fact that they believe and know that God exists. And it is their knowing God that condemns them and has left them without hope, for their rejection of God came after God made himself known to them. Therefore, there is no more that God can do for the demons, no more evidence that God can provide to convince them to change their hearts. What in you would make your response any different than the demons?  

Signs and wonders do not produce faith

We see this warning in other places throughout the Bible of people hardening their hearts despite being given signs and wonders and direct proofs of God’s existence. We see this specifically during the Exodus. Pharaoh continually hardened his heart against the signs and wonders God gave. But not only Pharaoh, but more significantly, the Israelites who had been delivered also hardened their heart and went astray, and were left without hope. After the Israelites had been given many manifold and direct proofs of God and had experienced God’s love and faithfulness and his tender care for them in the wilderness, they still lacked faith in God and failed to trust in his word. Because of this, God says of that generation that they shall never enter his rest. There was no more hope for them. Israel once again rejected God, despite all the signs and wonders Jesus performed. Despite all they had seen, they, too, hardened their hearts. This is a common pattern when God reveals himself with signs and wonders. 

An interesting note: when Nicodemus, a member of the Sanhedrin, comes to Jesus, he states, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.” Don’t miss that this man who was “a ruler of the Jews” doesn’t say “I believe” but he says “we believe”. Could he be speaking of the other leaders as well? It is not clear who the “we” are, but it is clear that the leadership understood that Jesus had come to destroy their world and that instead of embracing Jesus and acknowledging that his works were from God, they publicly attributed his works to Beelzebub. Jesus had come to destroy what they had known and their privilege. In the parable of the vineyard Jesus describes the leaders as ones who were willing to kill the son to protect what they had in the hopes that the vineyard would remain in their possession. There was a stubborn rejection of the signs and wonders given to them in order to protect what they had. 

Revelation only brings judgement

It is clear that the more revelation God gives us of himself, the more judgment we will incur if we continue to reject him, and if we continue to harden our hearts, there will come a day when it will be declared that we shall never enter God’s rest. 

“Jesus said, ‘For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind.’ Some of the Pharisees near him heard these things, and said to him, ‘Are we also blind?’ Jesus said to them, ‘If you were blind, you would have no guilt; but now that you say, ‘We see,’ your guilt remains.’” (John 9:39–41) 

So, we must be careful how much we want to see because the more we see, the more we are hastening the day of our final judgment if we continue to harden our hearts. Those who claim they want a sign in order to believe are like these Pharisees: if you will not hear the gospel, you will also not be convinced by a powerful sign. We will later see that it is only the gospel that can make one believe.

God will reveal himself 

There will be a day when God makes himself fully known to humanity in a definitive and decisive way as atheists have asked, where no one can deny who he is. They won’t doubt his existence or attribute it to the failings of their mind. All eyes will see him. They will know that he is God. Atheists will confess that he is God with no doubt in their minds. But on that day, our fate will be sealed. On that day, every knee will bow down and confess that he is Yahweh. But for many, like the demons, this bowing and confession will be to their judgment. For having knowledge and acknowledging who God is and his sovereignty is not enough.  

If like the Jewish leaders, we believe that God owes you an extraordinary sign to prove his existence, even if your request was granted, like the Jewish leaders who contributed the miracles to the work of Beelzebub, we too, would find some other explanation other than being willing to hear the call of God. We are not much different than the Israelites in the wilderness or the Jewish leaders who saw the works of God.  

Those who ask God to reveal himself in this way do not understand what they are asking. If God made himself known, as many atheists have asked, then that day would be their judgment day. They would perish without hope. We cannot presume that we would repent, even if we saw the most ardent proof of God. And so again, we need to be careful what we ask for, for just as the demons determined their own fate despite such evidence, if God gave us what we asked for, God could do nothing more after that to rescue us. 

But I would repent 

Some may say, “But my heart would change, I would repent if I saw that kind of evidence!” I know many believe this, but would it be enough? Just as belief is not enough, so repentance is not enough to rescue us from ourselves. It is unlikely we would change, but even if we did and let’s say lived a perfect life, the Christian faith requires something more profound than living a moral life. It requires dying to ourselves and losing our lives, not a frantic attempt to save it by changing our outward behavior in order to be rescued from judgment. Blaise Pascal wrote, “God has given evidence sufficient for those with an open and an open heart, but it is sufficiently vague as not to compel those whose hearts are closed”. God is not interested in “compelled hearts”. 

No, God has given enough evidence for us to believe; we are just really good at suppressing his call. We are like children playing on the playground who don’t want to listen to their parent calling to them from afar off to come home. Because they want to continue to play, they suppress that call. And like these children, we want to continue in our own way, and so we suppress the call of God to come home. And just because the parent leaves their home and no longer yells from afar, but shows up on the playground and makes it clear that their child is to return home, and the child yields to their parents demand and walks with them home, this does not mean that the child’s heart values their parent’s voice in that moment more than the playground. Given the chance, if not compelled, they would rush back to the playground without hesitation.  

Of course, the analogy would be more fitting if instead of playing in the playground, the kids were playing on a busy highway. For though the pleasures of this world are intoxicating, they are fleeting and in the end, cause us harm. Peter describes our love for the things of this world as vomit and mire, 

For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them. What the true proverb says has happened to them: “The dog returns to its own vomit, and the sow, after washing herself, returns to wallow in the mire.” (2 Peter 2:20–22) 

Yes, if God showed up, we might submit, but our hearts would still be attached to this world. Know one who is attached to this world can enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Pride is destructive both to the person and those around them, and it has no place in the Kingdom of God.  

Was Esau able to find hope in this kind of repentance? His weeping and tears were those of bitterness, loss, and sorrow but not of a broken heart or of a man who had died to himself. We do not realize how much sin and pride have infected our hearts. Just as one gets used to a horrid rotting smell after a while, we have gotten used to the depths of our sin and see them as light. We are used to the smell of death that sin brings. But Jesus made it clear that if we say a harsh word to another that we are far more infected by sin and pride than we realize. If we look at another with lust, we are subject to eternal judgment. Jesus made it clear that none of us are as good as we think we are and justly deserve judgment. Our passions and desires are at war with one another and with God.  

We would not embrace God 

Do not think that if God gave us direct revelation that you would embrace him or want to be near him. Apart from Christ, just as Adam fled and hid from God, so we, too, will shrink back and flee from God’s presence. Those who love darkness do not want to be in the light. Gehenna is described as a place of darkness; and it is described with qualities that are in opposition to God. This is one of the ironies of the fate of those who reject God, 

     Woe to those who draw iniquity 
       with cords of falsehood,  
          who draw sin as with cart ropes,  
     who say: “Let him be quick,  
          let him speed his work  
          that we may see it;  
     let the counsel of the Holy One
      of Israel draw near,  
          and let it come, 
           that we may know it!”  
     Woe to those who call evil good  
          and good evil,  
     who put darkness for light  
          and light for darkness,  
     who put bitter for sweet  
          and sweet for bitter!  
     Woe to those who are wise 
       in their own eyes,  
          and shrewd in their own sight! 
                (Isaiah 5:18–21) 

We reject God because we think our way of doing things is good and God’s way of doing things is evil. The irony is that because we love the darkness, we will abandon God, and in doing so, we will abandon the source of life, light, love, joy, goodness, etc., and flee to dwell in a place that has none of these things to be free of God’s presence. It would not matter if God showed up because we would not want to come to him if he did. 

And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. (John 3:19–20) 

Let’s suppose I dwelt in a dark cave for a long time, and all of a sudden, I found myself in a bright open field. What would my response to the light be? For those who only have knowledge of God, this light is unbearable. They cover their eyes and shrink back. They do not want to be near God. They will not be able to bear standing before God. 

     Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord?
         And who shall stand in his holy place? 
            (Psalm 24:3)    

Only those found in Jesus and who are a completely new creation can stand in the light and embrace it. Without Jesus, no one can approach God. But for those apart from Christ, they are unable to stand and do not want to be in his presence. This response to rejecting God and fleeing his presence is deeper and more ingrained in us than someone in a cave being exposed to light. If God showed up, we would not embrace him; instead, like roaches fleeing when the light is turned on, we would frantically flee to a place of darkness. The same light that opens a world of beauty for those who love the light is torment for those who love darkness. Our hearts must change if we are to be able to be near God. No amount of evidence would change this. We are no better than the demons, Pharoh, the Israelites, or the Pharisees. Thankfully, God has presented himself through Jesus in human flesh, breaking the veil that kept God separated and hidden so that we might be able to stand before God on the day he is fully revealed, clothed in the righteousness of Jesus. Those who have come to the Lion of Judah and embrace him in love will not flee like the wicked,  

The wicked flee when no one pursues,  but the righteous are bold as a lion. (Proverbs 28:1) 

the lion, which is mightiest among beasts, and does not turn back before any (Proverbs 30:30)

But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls. (Hebrews 10:39) 

The story of hiddenness

Questions often have presumptions

We all have heard that “there is no such thing as a bad question.” Though in an important sense this is true, this phrase is not about the questions themselves, but about the dangers of refraining from inquiry. If we have questions, we ought to ask them because if we are silent, we cannot learn. For even if one has a bad question, knowledge cannot be had if questions are not asked. But as we grow in wisdom, we understand that though we ought to continue to ask questions, our questions are often indicators of our presumptions on a subject. This is because our questions often come with baggage. We see the situation from our perspective, and it takes a lot of work to step outside that perspective. Often, our presumptions are wrong.

We see this clearly in our relationships for many of us know what it is to hurt someone by asking a question that implied certain assumptions about the person, only to find out that we were way off base. We end up finding ourselves profusely apologizing for our ungrounded and incompetent question. Often, in these cases, we do this because we don’t have the full picture or context, or story. Though it is still better to ask a question in this situation than to hold on to false ideas about a person, we are aware that are question was one based on ignorance rather than truth. This humility is important if we desire to pursue truth.

We must be willing to scrutinize and discern both the answers as well as our questions. For we also understand that sometimes questions, if not scrutinized, can be used to limit our ability to learn. Lawyers, for example, use this fact to their advantage to get the outcome they desire. When we are more interested in winning an argument than the truth, questions can become a dangerous tool for closing our minds and blinding us to the evidence. If, when confronted with the presumptions of our questions, we insist that our presumptions are true, then we will never learn. In our relationships, we will only be building walls that separate us from knowing those around us. And in our pursuit of knowledge, we will only end up falling into a pit of our own foolishness.

Asking bad questions can lead us down the wrong path. Sometimes, when we can’t get the puzzle to come together, it is because we are so determined to get a square peg into the circular hole. But often, when we step back and see things from a proper perspective, the puzzle easily falls into place. This is often what happens when people struggle with the hiddenness of God. They bring their baggage to the story, filtering it and distorting it to match their preconceived ideas instead of pausing and listening and letting the story speak for itself.

A God who pursues unashamedly

One of the presumptions we make is that if knowing God is what it takes to be saved from our sin and the wrath of God, then all God would have to do is make himself clearly known with some show of extraordinary evidence. We might argue,

All it would take is for God to just show up and say, “Hi”. That would be powerful and convincing evidence. I would believe in him and so would the rest of the world. If God is loving, surely, he would do what it takes to bring us to himself. . ..

If this were the case, and this is all it would take, it is clear from the Bible that God would not hesitate for a second to make this happen. Our loving Father would not only be willing but also eager to run to our rescue. The Bible gives us imagery of his desire to bring us to himself and shelter us under his wings and to envelope us in the Father’s embrace as we are lavished by his kisses. Indeed, his love and longing for us is deeper than the father of the prodigal son in Luke 15.

The parables of Luke 15 show a God who is desperately and actively seeking the lost. In the parables of the lost sheep, coin, and son, we find someone who will face the dangers of the open country and one who leaves no stone or pillow unturned as they sweep the house and seek diligently till what was lost is found. We see this theme as well in Proverbs 1,

     Wisdom cries aloud in the street, 
	in the markets she raises her voice; 
     at the head of the noisy streets she cries out; 
	at the entrance of the city gates she speaks: 
               (Proverbs 1:20,21)

God is not aloof but is active in his pursuit of the lost. These parables describe God’s joy over just one sheep, one coin, one prodigal son . . . “one sinner who repents”. If this is his pursuit and passion for one sinner, what can we say of his pursuit of all humanity?

Pursuit of the two sons

But there is more, for in these parables, we also see with what abandonment God pursues us, particularly in the parable of the two sons. In that culture, when a son asked for his inheritance while his father was alive, it was the same as the son saying, “Father, you are dead to me.” And this was indeed true, for he forgot his father and went off to a faraway country, abandoning both his father and home. This son had spat in his father’s face, heaping insult upon his father. He then squanders his father’s hard work, making his father’s years of labor amount to nothing.

Despite what his son had done to him, we see the father, having seen his son from afar off, girding up his loins, exposing his bare legs, and running toward his son. And when he reaches his son, he embraces him with kisses. In that culture, a father running and exposing his legs would have been a shameful and disgraceful act. And his running was not a private act. Because the father had to run quite a distance, his shame was probably seen by many and possibly the village as well. But we can feel the joy he had, despising the shame, so he could embrace his beloved son.

Some have speculated that the father ran so urgently because the son being far off might have also been noticed by those in the village before he had a chance to reach his father. Those in the village would have been well aware of who he was and the shame he had brought on his father. If this was the case, the father would have worried that those in the village might intercept his son and having intercepted his son, brought him before the village in a ceremony known as Kezazah and pronounced official judgment on him for the shame he had brought to his father and the village, a judgment that would have cut off the son from the community and declared him to be dead from that point on. The father, in urgent haste to prevent this, was willing to be seen with bare legs running for all to see to reach his son. Regardless, the emphasis of the parable is that the father ran because he loved and longed for his son in the deepest parts of who he was. Though his son had already shamed him and spit in his face, he was more than willing to take upon himself even more shame and public humiliation if that is what it meant to have his son back. In this act, he declares his son alive, not dead, for all to see. In his act of shame, he takes away the reproach of his son, giving his son the honor he does not deserve. And instead of a Kezazah, the whole village rejoices and celebrates with the father that his son is alive.

We ought not think that God is not above shaming himself to receive us back into his arms. God took upon himself the ultimate shame to win us back.

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. (Philippians 2:5–8, ESV)

looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:2)

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”— (Galatians 3:13)

For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:21)

If God is not above shaming himself, he is not above showing up, making himself bare and fully evident, and saying, “hi”. This realization ought to make us pause . . . and think about our questions. Do we understand what we are asking? Do we know the whole picture? Could we be wrong in our assumptions? Maybe there is more to the story. . .. Maybe there is more to the heart of God and his love for us . . .. He cries out to us, “How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!” (Matthew 23:37).

If there were another way

Now, let us look at a pinnacle moment in the life of Jesus that gets to the heart of the question of whether there was another way. In the Garden of Gethsemane, in anguish and wrestling to the point of sweating blood, Jesus “prayed, saying, ‘My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will.’” Do not read this too quickly. . .. Jesus, while teaching during his ministry, is clear that the Father always listens to him. Jesus is asking, “if it is possible”. This was not a shallow request on the part of Jesus, this was a request coming from deep in the bowels and the heart and soul of Jesus. And this was not the request of a passerby, this was a request of a much beloved son. The Father deeply loves the Son. His son was in deep agony and was sweating blood. We who are evil would not hesitate to heed the call of our child in this situation. Make no mistake, neither would the Father. Jesus said, “Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels?” If it were possible, if there were even some remote prospect of another way to redeem humanity, his father would not have hesitated to answer this request from his son.

Maybe there is more to the story

And so, once again, these things ought to make us stop, pause, and look at the presumptions of our questions. What baggage or assumptions are we bringing? Is it not human nature to think we understand the story or situation well, even when we don’t? Yet, we often don’t know as much as we think we do. And as we often bring poor questions in our relationships with others due to our misunderstandings, perhaps we are doing the same with God. And because we do this in everyday life, this should not surprise us. Despite this, the scripture invites us to ask these questions. The scripture does not ignore them. But we must also be willing to cast off our presumptions and have ears to listen. When we listen, we will find that when it comes to the hiddenness of God, there is more to the story . . ..                                                  

Ed, I know I can argue the Trinity and other Christian beliefs well. But I am not doing this out of stubbornness, I am trying to help you and give you the opportunity to explain your beliefs better than me. If you can answer these questions, you will be able to convince not only me, but countless others of your faith. And we ought not be intimidated or have fear or be troubled, by those who asks us to give an account for our hope. For the scripture says,

AND DO NOT FEAR THEIR INTIMIDATION, AND DO NOT BE TROUBLED, 15but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence (1 Peter 3:14b-15)

For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ (2 Corinthians 10:4.5)

Do not fear. Have faith in the scripture. Have faith in Jehovah. And this confidence I expect to see in you as you answer my questions and present your faith.

The Trinity

“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.” (Deuteronomy 6:4)

This verse is in contention between Unitarians and Trinitarians, for this verse is central to both of their beliefs. And this contention is focused on the word “one”. For Unitarians this word is restricted to a number. Trinitarians agree that the word “one” has a numeric function (Is 45:21-22, 44:6-8, Ex 15:11, Deut 4:35, 6:4-5, 32:39), but also understand that this word is used elsewhere to describe unity between members (Genesis 2:24, Genesis 11:6, John 17) and therefore feel it is fitting to take in the full meaning of this term in describing who God is. They also point out that in this verse God is referred to three times, possibly emphasizing this three-person unity. So, saying God is one for the Trinitarian, is both numeric and relational. Deuteronomy 6:4 according to the Trinitarian is describing one God who has eternally been in relational unity. Deuteronomy 6:4 is the foundational verse for the Trinity.

The Trinity has an emphasis of a God who has eternally loved. When John says, “God is love”, the term for “love” is an outward selfless love. For God to be love eternally there must be an outward selfless directed love. Note this kind of love does not exist in the imagination, or a future creation, but must be expressed currently and eternally toward an object to be true. An Unitarian God did not have this love for an eternity past, because there was no outward actualized current object to love till one was created. The only eternal love a Unitarian God can have eternally is an imaginary love and a self-love. Therefore, a Unitarian God cannot be said to have had an active, current actualized eternal outward directed love. However, this is not true of a Trinitarian God, a God who does not change, but from eternity past has had a current actualized eternal outward directed love. Because the Trinity consists of three persons who are in unity as one God, these three persons outwardly love one another for eternity. Thus, John can say, “God is love”, because love is central to who God is. It is also why love is called to after the statement “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.” This is why loving God is the first and greatest command, the second to love others (Matt 22:37-39). “For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known. So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love” (1 Corinthians 13:13). And did not Paul pray that we would know this love that surpasses imagination,

For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, 16that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen” (Ephesians 3:14-21)

The love of Christ fills us with the fullness of God. (Note that it is the love of Christ, that fills us with the fullness of God, something only the love of God can do) This love is intimate. “And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent” (John 17:3). The word “know” is used in the Bible for the most intimate of relationships of a man and wife. God calls his people his bride and himself our husband. This is the intimate love God has for His people. This intimate, close, passionate, fully giving of oneself, extravagant love is the theme of the Bible. And it is the theme of the Bible because it is who God is in the Trinity. God’s love and intimacy with us is an outflow of who He is. Jesus delighted to have the children come into his presence, not hindering them, and also pursued the prostitute, tax collector, demon possessed, sick, and sinners, and cried out “come all who are weary and heavy laden”. We are his sheep, and He knows us by name. A shepherd has an intimate relationship with all his sheep.  This kind of love is not the heart of a created being, this is the heart of God, who desires intimate, close relationship with us. An intimate relationship that is beyond anything we could ask or think. It is God’s pursuit of an intimate relationship with all His people that is the story of scripture. Therefore the love of the Trinity is foundational to the faith of a Christian and what we believe about the Gospel and salvation.

Trinitarians believe there are three persons, each fully God, in one essence, nature, or being, having the fullness of being one, both in the numeric sense and in unity of love as described when the scripture states, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.” (Deuteronomy 6:4). Being three persons, the Father is not the Son or the Holy Spirit, nor the Son, the Father or Holy Spirit, nor the Holy Spirit the Son or Father. So, for example, when the Father sends the Son, He is not sending Himself. No, this is real and heart felt, just as any earthly father would send their own son, so God the Father sends his Son into the world, and yet it is even deeper than the earthly example or if Jesus were created, for the love that the Father has for the Son and the love that the Son has or the Father is an eternal love, something no earthly or created relationship can experience. The relationships that the three persons of the Trinity have are real, eternal, and deeper than any love we can imagine. So, John can truly write, “God is love”. Since they are three persons, we see real and active interactions between the three persons of the Trinity. Since each is fully God they interact with each other as God. Jesus prays to the Father, the Father glorifies the Son, Jesus sends the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit intercedes to God for the saints.

The scripture refers to each of the three persons of the Trinity as God and Yahweh (Ex 3:14-15; Deut 32:39, Zech 12:8-10, 14:1-5, Is 40:3, John 1:23, Matt 3:1-3, Luke 3:3-5, Heb 1:10-12, Ps 102:25-27; Jer 23:5-6; John 12:26-43; Is 6, John 8:24; John 19; Is 43; Rev 1:8, Rom 10, John 1:1,14,18, Titus 2:14, Matt 1:23, Acts 20:28, Rom 9:5, 2 Pet 1:1, John 20:28). Each person of the Trinity are fully God. Each of the three persons of the Trinity have qualities that can only be attributed to God: aseity, eternal (Micah 5:2, Hebrews 7:3), all-knowing (Mark 2:8, Luke 6:8, 11:17, John 2:24,25, omnipresent (Matt 18:20, John 14:20-23, Eph 1:23, 4:20), omnipotent, immutable (Hebrews 13:8, Matt 24:35), creator (Is 44:24, Job 9:8-9, Is 45:18), having all authority (Judges 8:23, 1 Sam 8:7, 1 Sam 10:19, Jer 23:5,6, Eph 1:21-23), the Name (Is 52:6, Ps 83:18, Malachi 1:11, Matt 28:19, Joel 2:32, Romans 10:5-13, Acts 2:21,39, Acts10:43, Acts 22:16, 1 Cor 6:11, Is 43:11, Phil 2:9-11), Savior (Hosea 13:4, Is 43:11, Titus 1:3-4, 2:10, 3:4-6), on clouds of heaven (Deut 33:26, Ps 104:1-3, Is 19, Dan 7:9-13, Matt 26: 63-66), Worshiped (Is 2:11, Rev 5:8), Delivered from Egypt (Jude 4, Cor 10:4) etc.

We both believe Jesus is God. But the scripture goes further and says that he is Jehovah. Here is a sampling of verses that demonstrate Jesus is Jehovah: John 8:24; Zech 12:8-10; Zech 14:1-5; Is 40:3; John 1:23; Jer 23:5-6; John 12:27-43; Is 53; Is 6; Matt 3:1-3; Luke 3:3-5; Heb 1:10-12; Ps 102:25-27; Is 40:3; John 19:4-6; Is 43; 1 Cor 1:30-31; Jer 9:24; Zech 11:13; John 1:14; Col 2:9; Heb 1:1-3; Phil 2:6; Phil 2:10; Rom 14:11; Is 45:23; John 1:18; Gen 48:14-16, Judges 13; Matt 1:22-23; John 1:1; Deut 8:3; 1 Sam 3; Gen 15; Deut 5; Jer 1; Is 44:6; Matt 28:19; Is 52:6; Is 26:7-9; Is 12:4; Ps 83:18; Ex 34; Is 7:14; Acts 1:8; Joel 2:32; Romans 10:13; Acts 2:21,39; Ps 91:14; Acts 3:12-16; Acts 8:12; Acts 10:43; Acts 22:16; Acts 22:16; 1 John 5:13; John 3:18; 1 Cor 6:11; Is 43:5-13; Is 52:6; Luke 10:17; Acts 4:30; Acts 4:10-12; Phil 2:9-11; Eph 1:21-23; Jer 23:5,6; Is 2:11, John 9:38; Heb 1:6; Rev 5:8; Is 42:8; Matt 18:20, 28:20; Heb 7:3; Jude 5; Ps 68:19, Eph 4:7-10; Deut 33:26; Psalm 104:1-3; Is 19:1; Dan 7:9-13; Matt 26:63-66; Is 44:24; Job 9:8,9; Heb 1:10-12, Psalm 102; John 1:3; Col 1:16; 1 Cor 8:6

For the Spirit of Jehovah, obviously in his name, he is Jehovah, he is God, what we have to ascertain is if the Holy Spirit is a person or a force. Here are some verses that show that the Holy Spirit is a person: Matt 28:19; 1 Cor 13:14; Eph 4:4-6; 2 Cor 3:16-18; John 14:17; Acts 8:39; Rom 8:11; John 6:63; 1 John 5:6; John 14:26; Rom 8:16; Rom 8:26; Is 63:10; Rom 8:27; 2 Sam 23:2; Acts 8:29; Acts 10:19; Acts 11:12; Acts 13:2; Acts 21:11; Acts 28; 25-26; 1 Tim 4:1; Heb 3:7-8; Rev 2:7,11,17,29; Rev 3:6,13,22; Rev 14:13; Rev 22:17; 1 Cor 2:11; Acts 15:28; Acts 5:3; Acts 5:9; Acts 20:28; Acts 5:32: Acts 7:51; John 14:26; Luke 12:12; Matt 4:1; John 6:63; Acts 2:4; Matt 3:16; Matt 12:32; Mark 1:8; John 3:34; John 20:22; Acts 16:6; 1 Cor 2:10; 1 John 5:6

We also believe that Jesus became fully man in every way, emptying himself, taking on every aspect of what that means to be human, including obeying, serving, worshiping, and being devoted to the one and only true God. I explained this more thoroughly previously in a letter I sent and won’t repeat it all here. But to summarize, the messiah had to fully complete everything man was supposed to do, otherwise no one could be saved. One of those aspects is in his humanity, Jesus, as we are called to do, served the only true and living God in every way we are to. I would reread what I wrote earlier on this subject. But this is fundamental to Trinitarian teaching. I know this makes John 17:3 a harder argument for you, I am not trying to make it harder, I am just trying to share with you honestly what Trinitarians believe. And this is the story of the Trinity and their determination to save mankind. But this is where you have to work to show how what you believe shows the story of God’s love and how it is supported by scripture more. It forces you to go deeper into what your faith is, which is in the end is always a good thing. So, it should make you rejoice that you get to explore the wonders and beauty of Jehovah at a deeper level. And I look forward to seeing that.

So, for the Christian, there is one God, not three separate gods or three separate modes of God. They are three persons in one essence, nature or being. God is both “one” in unity and “one” in the numeric sense. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are truly one God. Just as “love” is prominent in the Bible, the scripture is filled with the theme of “oneness”. The power of God is found in this idea of “one”, a power that can only be found in a Trinitarian God. A Unitarian God, it is just a number, and shows that he is above all else. For a Trinitarian God, yes, He is one God above all else, but he is also more. He is unlike anything we know, He is Holy, Holy, Holy. He is a God bigger than we can comprehend. There is none that is even remotely like Him. So yes, for us there is one God. And we are baptized under one name (Jehovah), the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19). There is only one name (Jehovah), because there is only one God.

We also believe there is no other god (Is 43:10, Deut 4:35, Is 41:4, Is 44:6, Psalm 86:10) or savior (Hosea 13:4, Is 43:11) besides God. “Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts: “I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god.” (Is 44:6) We take very seriously the first commandment.

You shall have no other gods before me. (Ex 20:3)

This is more than just saying we will not have another god equal to God, this is saying we will not have another god period, at all, whether equal or lesser to God. Jesus is clearly called God in the scripture. The question is – does the scripture say Jesus is a god besides Jehovah or is he God Jehovah, himself. Trinitarians believe there are no gods beside Jehovah. There may be so called gods, such as Satan who is called the god of this world, but for us there is only one God. Satan is not our god. There is not in any way “a god”, regardless of its standing, for the Christian. Nor is there anywhere in the scripture where “a god” is given any status next to or in the presence of Jehovah. Because we take the first commandment seriously, the Christian does not recognize any god or “a god” except for Jehovah. It is this passion for Jehovah as our only true God with no gods besides him that drive us to reject the idea that Jesus is “a god” who is besides or in the presence Jehovah, even as a lesser god, who is revered less. In Revelation, both Jesus and the Father sit on the one throne of God, because they are Jehovah God. As Christians we are baptized into one name (Jehovah), and only one name (Jehovah) – The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit (Matt 28:19). We are saved by calling on the Name (Jehovah) and only one name (Is 52:6, Ps 83:18, Malachi 1:11, Matt 28:19, Joel 2:32, Romans 10:5-13, Acts 2:21,39, Acts10:43, Acts 22:16, 1 Cor 6:11, Is 43:11, Phil 2:9-11). For us there is also one God of heaven and earth (Deut 4:39).

We come to this understanding because of what the scripture teaches. The Bible teaches that there is one God, and yet it refers to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit as God and Jehovah. It is from this that the concept of the Trinity was formed.

So, I hope this helps you understand the Trinity more. If you have any other questions let me know. So now on your part having shared what I have shared, help me to know how the scripture discounts the Trinity. Ed, I really need your help with this. If you believe Jesus is “a god”, how is this not breaking the first commandment, “You shall have no other gods before Me.”? How do you explain this? This is something hard for a Trinitarian to understand, since we believe in only one God, nor are we allowed to have “a god” even below Jehovah. Again, this is not an attack, I am being honest where I struggle with your concept of Jesus being “a god” separate from Jehovah. I think explaining this and showing me the scriptures that support there being “a god”, without violating the first commandment, would go a long way to helping me to understand how you support your beliefs from the scripture. I look forward to your response on this and the other questions.

The Firstborn and Beginning of God’s Creation

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. (Colossians 1:15, ESV)

And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: ‘The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God’s creation. (Revelation 3:14, ESV)

INTRODUCTION: the importance of understanding that Jesus is the “firstborn of creation” and “the beginning of creation” in all aspects of what these terms mean, but specifically Jesus as a part of creation.

Colossians 1:15 and Revelation 3:14 are descriptions of who Jesus is and help us to understand his character and nature. In Colossians 1:15, Paul describes Jesus: “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.” In Revelation 3:14, Jesus describes himself, “And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: ‘The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God’s creation.” In these passages, the phrases “the firstborn of all creation” and “the beginning of God’s creation” are key in understanding the nature of Jesus. In Greek, the meaning of these words and the syntax allow for possible variations in understanding what these phrases mean.

“Firstborn” has a few general possible meanings. “Firstborn” can mean literally the firstborn child. But also in the Bible and in the culture, firstborn was also a title given to the child whom the father chose to be preeminent over his other children. This title was most often given to the literal firstborn, but not always. We see this concept with Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, and Judah. I will argue that Jesus is both literally firstborn and is confirmed as the firstborn, each being important in understanding the nature and work of Jesus.

Another aspect in this passage is understanding how the firstborn relates to creation. It is not just “firstborn” but “firstborn of creation”. The syntax allows for two possible interpretations.

1. Preeminence over creation or ruler of creation
2. The firstborn amongst creation

As before, I will argue that both these variations are true and are necessary for our understanding not only who Jesus is and his work. 

                The phrase “the beginning of creation” also has possible variations. The word “beginning” is “arche” in Greek, which has the possible meanings of “ruler”, “source”, and “beginning”.  So, this verse could mean,

1. The ruler of the creation of God
2. The source of the creation of God
3. The beginning of the creation of God

As with the phrase, “firstborn of creation”, I believe that the scripture is taking hold of all three of these meanings to demonstrate both the nature and power of Jesus. And as with the previous phrase, I will be discussing the importance of Jesus being a part of God’s creation, not just outside of it as a creator.

Of these interpretations, the idea of Jesus being “firstborn amongst creation” and being “the beginning of the creation of God” or the idea that these phrases relate to Jesus as a part of the creation of God is the most controversial. But these concepts are crucial in properly understanding who Jesus is and cannot be ignored. I will first discuss the other variations and show how they are true in order to provide a foundation and defense for understanding why this more controversial understanding is true as well.

The image of God corrupted

Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

                So God created man in his own image,

                                in the image of God he created him;

                                male and female he created them. (Genesis 1:26-27, ESV)

Who are we? What is our fundamental nature, the essence of who we are meant to be? We were made to image God and reflect his rule and care. “Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion . . .’” “The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it” (Genesis 2:15, ESV). The imagery of Eden is one of a royal priesthood. Humanity was made in the image of God, to rule, to work, and to keep this world. We were to be a royal priesthood imaging God on earth.

When the serpent showed up in Eden, he challenged our father and mother, Adam and Eve, with a choice, would they image God by fully trusting Him and looking to Him alone as their way, truth, and life, trusting in every word that comes from the mouth of God or would they be like God, who alone has the wisdom to determine between good and evil, and chose to do what is right in their own eyes. Doing what is right in our own eyes is contrary to reflecting who God is. It is contrary to being made in the image of God. Sadly, Adam and Eve chose to abandon God and His word in order to do what was right and pleasing in their own eyes. And we, their sons and daughters, have gone down the same path, every one of us choosing to do what is right in our own eyes.

The firstborn foretold

Since Adam’s fall, that image of God we were meant to be has been profoundly corrupted and infected at the very core of who we are. We are hopeless on our own, with no means of restoring ourselves to who we are meant to be. But we were not left on our own. When Adam fell, mankind was not abandoned. God, in his love, promised he would one day send a man, one born of woman, who would crush the serpent’s head.

                     I will put enmity between you and the woman,

                                and between your offspring and her offspring;

                he shall bruise your head,

                                and you shall bruise his heel.” (Genesis 3:15, ESV)

Before Jesus was born, great men came into the world. All these men failed to be the perfect image of God. Adam failed. Noah failed. Abraham failed, Isaac and Jacob failed. Moses failed. David failed. The prophets failed. None of these men were the perfect image of God. Israel was called God’s firstborn son. Israel failed. All humankind, like our father Adam, has failed. As time moved on and men continued to fail, but in his patience, God continued to proclaim and elaborate on his promise through the scripture and prophecy. The godly men of the Old Testament looked forward to the reality when this man would come into the world. This man to come would be the perfect man, he would not choose his own way, truth, or life; he would not fail, but live perfectly in obedience and trust in God. He would be the perfect image of God, God would call him his son, and as his son, he would have the right to the title of firstborn. Psalm 2 speaks of this son of God, the firstborn,

I will tell of the decree:

                The LORD said to me, “You are my Son;

                                today I have begotten you.

                Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage,

                                and the ends of the earth your possession.

                You shall break them with a rod of iron

                                and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.” (Psalm 2:7–9, ESV)

Ethen the Ezrahite speaks about this son, the messiah, who would be appointed as the firstborn.

He shall cry to me, ‘You are my Father,

                                my God, and the Rock of my salvation.’

                     And I will make him the firstborn,

                                the highest of the kings of the earth. (Psalm 89:26-27, ESV)

The son

Before we go further in exploring what it means to be the firstborn, let us look at what it means for Jesus to be the “son of God”. Having lived 2,000 years of theological history, many of us, when we hear the term “son of God”, think of the person of the Trinity God, the Son, but when men like Peter intimately walked with this man, they experienced his humanity firsthand. They ate with him, sweat with him, celebrated with him, sang with him, and lived with him. Peter knew Jesus as a man. Peter had met his mother, Mary. He would have known of Joseph. But when he said, “You are the Messiah, the son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16), Peter was declaring that this man’s father was not Joseph. Peter was declaring that this man was unlike any human in all history.

We need to lay hold of this and understand the human nature of the term “son of God”, for it is in becoming a part of creation, one of us, that he gained the right to save mankind from their sins. As the scripture says, “though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. (Philippians 2:6,7)” Jesus became one of us, human, made in the image of God. And like every human, he had a father and mother. His mother was Mary. His father was not Joseph, but God. And this is what Peter is declaring when he says that Jesus is the son of God. He was the only unique human in all history whose father was God. Jesus was the only unique begotten son of God. Hebrews 1:5 confirms the fulfillment of Psalm 89,

For to which of the angels did God ever say,

                “You are my Son,

                                today I have begotten you”?

                                Or again,

                “I will be to him a father,

                                and he shall be to me a son”? (Hebrews 1:5, ESV)

At Jesus’s birth, the angel’s proclaimed, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:10–11, ESV). A babe came into the world, the son of God . . .

And so, when the long-awaited man arrived, he came like any other man. He was born into a humble family. He was cared for as a baby. He grew up. He learned. He grew in wisdom. He lived in history and walked among and with people. Jesus was a man in every way. Mary raised Jesus amongst family and friends. As a son, he loved his mother and earthly father. He loved those around him. He had compassion for others, touching them, healing them. The apostles sat at his feet, walked with him, and touched Jesus with their hands. They were loved by Jesus, a love that would transform them. They had a relationship with this man. In every way, he was a man.

He experienced the hardships of being a man and was tempted in every way as we are, yet without sin, for, unlike any other man, no sin or fault could be found in him (Hebrews 4:15). This man did not live like other men who had been corrupted by sin as their father Adam. He did not do what was right in his own eyes, but he looked to the Father and did nothing without the Father. “So Jesus said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise’” (John 5:19, ESV). He was the perfect imprint of His Father; He was the perfect image of God, the perfect human. And though he was born of a woman as prophesied, he was unlike any other human or any other creation in history, for his father was God. He truly is the son of God.

The title of firstborn is earned

I will address the fact that Jesus was born into the title of firstborn and him being the firstborn of creation later. That will become crucial. But it is also important to understand that Jesus, although he had the right to the title by being the actual firstborn, also earned the right to the title of firstborn and his inheritance in his humanity. In Psalm 89, Ethan speaks of a time to come in the future where God “will make him the firstborn”. The word “make” has the meaning of to give, to hand down, to set, to place, to grant. So, someone in Ethan’s future would be given the title of firstborn. During Ethan’s time and in the times of the Old Testament, this had not happened yet, for all men had failed, but the saints looked forward and longed for a time when it would be fulfilled. And it was fulfilled in the life of Jesus.

In the culture of the time and scripture, the one who inherits is given the title of firstborn, regardless of birth order. We see this with Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Judah, Moses, and Solomon. Being the literal firstborn did not necessarily mean preeminence. Jesus was not the first man. He was not Adam. Adam had failed to be the perfect image of God and lost his right to the title. Reuben and Esau likewise lost their title of firstborn. All of mankind, due to sin, has lost the right to this title. Though Jesus was not the first man, he is the first and only human who fulfilled the purpose for which man was created. Jesus is the only man who fully submitted to his God, considering the Father greater than himself, unlike the rest of humanity who had gone their own way in their pride, considering themselves greater than God, and doing what was right in their own eyes. Jesus, the man, is the only human who worshiped the only true God with his whole heart, mind, and soul. He was the only human of whom it could be said that he was the perfect image of God. And in being the perfect image of God, though not the first man, he earned the right to the title of firstborn, replacing Adam and becoming the final Adam. He learned obedience, and God declares this human his perfect son. Just as a father in that culture confirms the son he has chosen as his firstborn, God confirms his appointment of Jesus as his firstborn when he declares, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:16–17, ESV)

For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,” we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain. (2 Peter 1:17–18, ESV)

The son laid down his glory, became less than angels, humbling himself, “who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,” (Philippians 2:6, ESV). It is in his humanity and his perfect life that God grants the man, Jesus, the titles of the son of God, firstborn, and the perfect image. He won this title in his humanity so that we would no longer be bound to Adam. As the firstborn, we who trust in him no longer look to Adam for our inheritance but are bound to the final Adam, the perfect human, Jesus. It is in Jesus’s name, not Adam’s, that we are known by God, nor are we any longer in the image of Adam, we are in the image of Jesus, who is the firstborn among many brethren.

Thus it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. (1 Corinthians 15:45, ESV)

Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit. (2 Corinthians 3:17–18, ESV)

The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven. As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust, and as is the man of heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven. (1 Corinthians 15:47–49, ESV)

For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. (Romans 8:29, ESV)

Revelation 3:14

We still need to say more about Jesus being the firstborn. We have only discussed how he was the “firstborn” in one sense but have not discussed him being the actual firstborn nor the phrase “firstborn of creation” and how it ties into him being a part of God’s creation. Also, if you are the firstborn, you gain an inheritance, we have not discussed what this inheritance is. And we will.  But to get us there, I want to first look at Revelation 3:14, for it has a link to Paul’s letter to the Colossians, specifically to Paul’s description of Jesus as “the firstborn of creation”.

Revelation 3:14 is a part of Jesus’ letter to the church at Laodicea. In each of his letters to the seven churches in Revelation, Jesus gives a description of himself that is linked to the descriptions of himself in Revelation 1. So, we can look at how these verses parallel each other to get a better understanding of what they mean. Below are shown the parallels in the first six letters to the churches and Revelation 1. To show this pattern, we will look at the pattern in the 7^th church.

And for the 7^th church the church of Laodicea (Revelation 3:14; Revelation 1:5)

Revelation 3:14 connection to Colossians 

Interestingly, Paul instructs that his letter to the Colossians be read to the church in Laodicea. “And when this letter has been read among you, have it also read in the church of the Laodiceans; and see that you also read the letter from Laodicea” (Colossians 4:6, ESV). So, when the church at Laodicea hears these words from Revelation, they are already familiar with the terms Jesus is using. And when Jesus is dictating his letter to the church of Laodicea, he is aware that they are familiar with these terms and concepts and the meanings behind them. So, the descriptions in Colossians and the descriptions here in the letter to Laodicea are connected and, when used together, can help us discover what these terms mean. We will also see that the letter of Hebrews also uses these terms and similar phrases. So, let’s elaborate on these terms.

The words of the Amen, the Faithful and true witness

As we see in the pattern above, “the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God’s creation” is connected to “the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings on the earth.” These descriptions are also similar to the descriptions we find in Colossians 1. The descriptions in Revelation, “the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness” and “the faithful witness” are reflected in “He is the image of the invisible God” in Colossians. These images express that Jesus is a faithful and true witness of who God is, both in his words and deeds. These phrases describe Jesus as the perfect and true man who fully and completely portrays who God is. John states, “No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known” (John 1:18, ESV). As said before, mankind was originally made to be in the image of God. We failed. Jesus, in his humanity, did not fail. Jesus, the man, is the perfect witness, imprint, and image of the invisible God. He is the perfect human. Jesus said, “I am the truth”, and by him, we know the truth about God. He told his disciples that if they have seen him, they have seen the Father.

Firstborn from the dead

The phrase “the firstborn from the dead” is found in both Revelation and Colossians. There are accounts of people being raised from the dead in the Bible, the widow Zarephath’s son, the Shunamite woman’s son, the man raised out of Elisha’s grave, the widow of Nain’s son, Jairus’ daughter, Lazarus, Tabitha, and Eutychus. This verse is not talking about this type of resurrection. These resurrected but had the same weak bodies as before. When Jesus was resurrected, he no longer had the same kind of body, but his body, not seeing decay, was transformed into a new kind of body (John 2:18-22, ESV, will be quoted shortly). This is the same kind of body the saints will have at their resurrection. For if the saints will not have the same type of body, then Jesus did not resurrect as well. Paul states,

And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. We are even found to be misrepresenting God because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. (1 Corinthians 15:14-16, ESV)

He goes on to say,

But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. (1 Corinthians 15:20-23, ESV)

Paul connects the saints’ resurrection to Christ. And it is “by a man” that their resurrection has come. Jesus did not cease being a man at the resurrection. His human body did not cease to exist but was transformed into a spiritual body. If the saints’ bodies are to be resurrected, it is in vital connection with the body of Christ’s resurrection, for our resurrection is the same. If this is not true, our faith is in vain. Paul says in Romans, “he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.” Jesus was the first human to be born into the New Creation through his bodily resurrection from the dead. And because he is one of us, both in his earthly life and in his resurrection, “he is not ashamed to call them brothers” (Hebrews 2:11b, ESV). We who are being made in the image of Jesus are the congregation of the firstborn, enrolled in heaven (Hebrews 12:23).

Firstborn: the inheritor of the world

Jesus says he is the “ruler of the kings of the earth.” As “the firstborn”, Jesus has gained an inheritance. Let us look more into what that inheritance is. In Deuteronomy 32:8-9, we learn this

                When the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance,

                                when he divided mankind,

                he fixed the borders of the peoples

                                according to the number of the sons of God.

                But the LORD’s portion is his people,

                                Jacob his allotted heritage. (ESV)

When the nations were divided, God took Jacob aside from all the nations of the world as his own possession. Yahweh was to be their God, and Israel was to be His people. God did not choose them because they were great. They are described as small in number and weak, a small flock among the nations.

For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the LORD set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but it is because the LORD loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers, that the LORD has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. (Deuteronomy 7:6–8, ESV)

Though God took this nation and became the Shepherd of this small people, God had not forgotten the other nations. His heart still went out to and longed for the multitudes of people in the nations scattered across the world. In his covenant with Abraham, whom he loved, his friend, he promised that the nations would be blessed through Abraham’s seed (Genesis 12:3; 18:18; 22:18). The covenant was a promise to bring the nations to himself. And this promise of making the small flock and multitudes amongst the nations, both the Jews and Gentiles, one flock would be accomplished through Abraham’s descendent, a man Yahweh would call his son.

                I will tell of the decree:

                The LORD said to me, “You are my Son;

                                today I have begotten you.

                Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage,

                                and the ends of the earth your possession. (Psalm 2:7-8, ESV)

And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. (John 10:16, ESV)

Through Jesus, no longer is it just Israel, the little flock, that is God’s inheritance, but Jesus as the son of God, has been given all the nations as his inheritance. God has rescued his people from their slavery to sin. And so, through the Gospel, Jesus has inherited the nations. All are now one flock under one shepherd.

There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call—one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. (Ephesians 4:4–6, ESV)

Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called “the uncircumcision” by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands—remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus, you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. (Ephesians 2:11–16, ESV)

Ruler of the kings on the earth

Because Jesus is one of us, “the firstborn among many brothers”, Hebrews goes on to state he is our perfect high priest in the order of Melchizedek, and he has the authority to sit on David’s throne at the right hand of God, reflecting Psalm 110, and foretold by Zechariah,

And the word of the LORD came to me: “Take from the exiles Heldai, Tobijah, and Jedaiah, who have arrived from Babylon, and go the same day to the house of Josiah, the son of Zephaniah. Take from them silver and gold, and make a crown, and set it on the head of Joshua, the son of Jehozadak, the high priest. And say to him, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, “Behold, the man whose name is the Branch: for he shall branch out from his place, and he shall build the temple of the LORD. It is he who shall build the temple of the LORD and shall bear royal honor and shall sit and rule on his throne. And there shall be a priest on his throne, and the counsel of peace shall be between them both.”’ (ESV)

Zechariah says of this man, the priest-king, “he shall build the temple of the LORD”. When asked by the Jews by what authority Jesus had done the things he had done, he answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” John goes on to explain,

The Jews then said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?” But he was speaking about the temple of his body. When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken. (John 2:18-22, ESV)

And we know that his body or “temple” resurrected for the disciples “thought they saw a spirit”, but Jesus, the one who is the Amen and Truth, the faithful witness, who cannot lie, assures them, “spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have”, fulfilling his promise that he would raise “this temple”.

But they were startled and frightened and thought they saw a spirit. And he said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. And while they still disbelieved for joy and were marveling, he said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate before them. (Luke 24:37-43, ESV)

It is the power of Jesus’s human bodily resurrection that gave him the authority to be both priest and king in the order of Melchizedek.

This becomes even more evident when another priest arises in the likeness of Melchizedek, who has become a priest, not on the basis of a legal requirement concerning bodily descent, but by the power of an indestructible life. (Hebrews 7:15-16, ESV)

Both these positions, king and priest, require a human to take on the role. We know that he did not sit down at the right hand of God as an angel: “And to which of the angels has he ever said, ‘Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet?’” (Hebrews 1:13, ESV). But as he fulfilled the role, Adam failed in obedience in his humanity, he also filled the role of king that both Adam and David failed to do without sin. “For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham. Therefore, he had to be made like his brothers in every respect” (Hebrews 2:16-17a, ESV). Adam was commanded to rule and be a keeper over the earth, to be a priest-king. He sinned by disobeying God’s command, but he also failed in his role to rule and to keep when he did not stomp the serpent on the head. The final Adam came to accomplish this. Jesus not only fully obeyed the law of Moses as a human, but he also sits on the throne of David as king and priest, completing what the Levitical priesthood was unable to do. Adam failed to stomp on the serpent and put his enemies under his feet. Jesus fully accomplishes in his humanity what we failed to do. And as the perfect man, once his enemies are placed at his feet, he will deliver the kingdom to God, the Father, fully accomplishing everything humanity was supposed to do and then God will be all in all (1 Corinthians 15:24-25). The passage in Revelation, after speaking of Jesus being the “firstborn from the dead”, continues with “and ruler of kings on the earth.” His resurrection as a human, the firstborn of the dead, gave him the authority to be king, as is said in Psalm 89.

He shall cry to me, ‘You are my Father,

                                my God, and the Rock of my salvation.’

                     And I will make him the firstborn,

                                the highest of the kings of the earth. (26-27, ESV)

It has been testified somewhere,

                “What is man, that you are mindful of him,

                                or the son of man, that you care for him?

                You made him for a little while lower than the angels;

                                you have crowned him with glory and honor,

                                putting everything in subjection under his feet.”

(Hebrews 2:6-8, ESV)

Colossians states, “He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (Colossians 1:13-14, ESV). Also, “He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent” (Colossians 1:18)

The book of Hebrews considers these concepts. It opens with these words,

Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs. (Hebrews 1:1-4, ESV)

Jesus being the Son, being the heir of all things, being the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, the world being created through Jesus, Jesus as the beginning of creation, Jesus upholding the universe by the word of his power and being priest and king sitting at the right hand of God are themes that keep being repeated in all these passages.

The scripture has an interesting caveat in the word “until”. The scriptures say that Jesus will sit at the right hand of God until he has placed all his enemies under his feet.

“And to which of the angels has he ever said, ‘Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet?’” (Hebrews 1:13, ESV)

But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. (Hebrews 10:12–13, ESV)

Behold my servant, whom I uphold,

                                my chosen, in whom my soul delights;

                I have put my Spirit upon him;

                                he will bring forth justice to the nations.

                He will not cry aloud or lift up his voice,

                                or make it heard in the street;

                a bruised reed he will not break,

                                and a faintly burning wick he will not quench;

                                he will faithfully bring forth justice.

                He will not grow faint or be discouraged

                                till he has established justice in the earth;

                                and the coastlands wait for his law. (Isaiah 42:1-4, ESV)

For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. For “God has put all things in subjection under his feet.” But when it says, “all things are put in subjection,” it is plain that he is excepted who put all things in subjection under him. When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things in subjection under him, that God may be all in all. (1 Corinthians 15:25–28, ESV)

After David had come to defeat his enemies putting them under his feet, Solomon had become king. It was then that the temple could be built.

And Solomon sent word to Hiram, “You know that David my father could not build a house for the name of the LORD his God because of the warfare with which his enemies surrounded him, until the LORD put them under the soles of his feet. But now the LORD my God has given me rest on every side. There is neither adversary nor misfortune. And so I intend to build a house for the name of the LORD my God, as the LORD said to David my father, ‘Your son, whom I will set on your throne in your place, shall build the house for my name.’ (1 Kings 5:2–5, ESV)

The word “until” implies that Jesus will not always be sitting at the right hand of God. After Jesus has placed all his enemies under his feet, we see New Jerusalem, the New Temple, the new dwelling place of God coming down to earth, and in the midst of her is one throne, the throne of God and the Lamb. And God will be all in all.

No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. (Revelation 22:3–4, ESV)

And the LORD will be king over all the earth. On that day the LORD will be one and his name one. (Zechariah 14:9, ESV)

The beginning of the creation of God & Proverbs 8:22.

Paul writes in Colossians 1:18, “He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent”. Both Revelation 3:14 and Colossians 1:18 have the term “the beginning” connected with the terms “firstborn from the dead” and his rulership or preeminence. His being “the beginning of God’s creation” supports who he is as “firstborn from the dead” and “ruler of the kings of the earth”. But what does “the beginning of creation of God” mean? Fortunately, we are not left to guess the meaning. We can go to the Old Testament to find where this title comes from.

Proverbs 8:22 uses wording similar to Revelation 3:14, “The LORD created me at the beginning of His way, Before His works of old” (NASB). I believe that it is from these verses that the New Testament is referring to when it speaks of Jesus as being the “beginning of God’s creation”. Something significant is happening in this verse and the surrounding verses that impacted the writers of the New Testament and their understanding of the Messiah, the man who lived among them, so let’s explore the meaning behind this verse.

The wisdom of God

What is the subject of these verses? Well, the passage tells us, “I, wisdom”. These verses are about wisdom personified. Wisdom in the Hebrew language is feminine, so it is no surprise that she is portrayed as a woman. All agree that wisdom is an eternal attribute of God; there was never a time when God lacked wisdom, so what does it mean to “create” here in this passage? It cannot be not talking about mere wisdom. Let’s look back and see how this woman is described.

Chapters 1-9 of Proverbs give you a picture of Wisdom and Foolishness, both calling out to us to come to them. We have a choice of whom to follow. Choose life or choose death. This choice is not only a theme in these passages but throughout the scripture.

                Does not wisdom call?

                                Does not understanding raise her voice?

                On the heights beside the way,

                                at the crossroads she takes her stand;

                beside the gates in front of the town,

                                at the entrance of the portals she cries aloud: (Proverbs 8:1-3, ESV)

For whoever finds me finds life

                                and obtains favor from the LORD,

                but he who fails to find me injures himself;

                                all who hate me love death.” (Proverbs 8:35-36, ESV)

                She has sent out her young women to call

                                from the highest places in the town,

                “Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!”

                                To him who lacks sense she says,

                “Come, eat of my bread

                                and drink of the wine I have mixed.

                Leave your simple ways, and live,

                                and walk in the way of insight.” (Proverbs 9:3-6, ESV)

                The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom,

                                and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight. (Proverbs 9:10, ESV)

The context of 8:22-31 is a woman who cries out to the sons of men, calling them back to the fear of the Lord. The whole Bible proclaims this message from beginning to end. It is the message of the Gospel. Wisdom has its ultimate fulfillment in the Messiah, who did walk the streets and byways, calling men back to God.

Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. (Hebrews 1:1-2, ESV)

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. (Matthew 11:28)

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20, ESV)

Here is another passage describing this woman, describing her as the tree of life, a symbol of the Gospel.

                She is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her;

                                those who hold her fast are called blessed.

                The LORD by wisdom founded the earth;

                                by understanding he established the heavens;

                by his knowledge the deeps broke open,

                                and the clouds drop down the dew. (Proverbs 3:18-20, ESV)

The theme of choosing life or death and the call of the Gospel to choose wisdom over foolishness is the call to humanity throughout history.

Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end. As it is said,

                “Today, if you hear his voice,

                do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.” (Hebrews 3:12-15, ESV)

Those writing the New Testament understood that the Gospel did not begin after Adam sinned. The Gospel’s call, its message, and its plan were established before the foundation of the world. Before the world began. Before Adam chose foolishness and sinned. Before Adam came into existence. And it is with the Gospel at the forefront that God created the world. They could see this from reading Proverbs 8. They found in the words of this chapter that the Gospel was there in the beginning, the first of the works of God, and is the purpose for which the world was created. The Gospel is the wisdom through which the world was made.

For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. (Romans 1:20, ESV)

                The heavens declare the glory of God,

                                and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.

                Day to day pours out speech,

                                and night to night reveals knowledge.

                There is no speech, nor are there words,

                                whose voice is not heard.

                Their voice goes out through all the earth,

                                and their words to the end of the world.

                In them he has set a tent for the sun, (Psalm 19:1-4, ESV)

who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, (2 Timothy 1:9. ESV)

The word “possessed or created” in Proverbs 8:22 is beautiful and can mean “create, acquire, purchase, or possess”; all of these word nuances fit the theme here. Before the foundation of the world, God determined in his wisdom and love to create the Gospel plan and to acquire and purchase the fulfillment of the Gospel through the Messiah. You don’t have a Messiah without the Gospel, so the Messiah and the Gospel plan are the beginning of God’s creation. The Greek term “arche” in Revelation 3:14 is fitting, meaning beginning, ruler, origin, describing Jesus’ role in creation. The Gospel and the Messiah were established first, and through the Gospel and the Messiah now creation would begin. The roles the Father and Jesus would play in accomplishing the Gospel began and are displayed in the roles they played in creation. Wisdom is this purpose and the call of the Gospel throughout the ages.

Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away. But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. (1 Corinthians 2:6-7, ESV)

                “I will open my mouth in parables;

          I will utter what has been hidden since the foundation of the world.” (Matthew 13:35, ESV)

He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God. (1 Peter 1:20-21, ESV)

Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. (Matthew 25:34, ESV)

who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, (2 Timothy 1:9. ESV)

Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith— to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen. (Romans 16:25-27, ESV)

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love, he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. (Ephesians 1:3-10, ESV)

Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away. But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. (1 Corinthians 2:6-7, ESV)

Of this gospel I was made a minister according to the gift of God’s grace, which was given me by the working of his power. To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God, who created all things, so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him. (Ephesians 3:7-12, ESV)

For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face, that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery, which is Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments. For though I am absent in body, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the firmness of your faith in Christ.

Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.

See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority. In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead. (Colossians 2:1-12, ESV)

Paul states that Jesus became to us wisdom from God. Jesus was the embodiment of God’s redemption plan. And so Paul focused on this wisdom, the beginning of the creation of God.

And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” (1 Corinthians 1:30-31, ESV)

And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God. (1 Corinthians 2:1-5, ESV)

We see these roles from the beginning because God’s covenantal plan and love was the purpose through which the world was created, it was integrated into creation itself. The Messiah’s work of redemption did not begin at the birth of Jesus, it began before the foundation of the world when God created his plan to rescue mankind. It is through Jesus that the world was created, and it is through Jesus that we and all things in heaven and earth are reconciled to God.

Before continuing, I want to pause on this concept that both the Arians and Trinitarians can agree on. . . . The purpose of Creation is the Gospel. The Gospel, and setting apart the Messiah, is the purpose and source and beginning of all the works of God, the beginning of God’s creation, and indeed the first of the works of God. The last book of the Bible is the Revelation of Jesus Christ. Jesus is both the beginning and the end of creation. He is the alpha and the omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end (Revelation 1:8, Revelation 21:6, Revelation 22:13). Jesus is the center of creation.

Jesus preexisted creation

When God created the Gospel as the first of his works, the Messiah was also the beginning of God’s creation, for through the Messiah, all things were made.

For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. (Colossians 1:16–17, ESV)

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. (John 1:1-3, ESV)

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’”) (John 1:14-15, ESV)

The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks before me, because he was before me.’ (John 1:29-30, ESV)

I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed. (John 17:4-5, ESV)

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 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 2:5-11, ESV)

Jesus was more than a mere man, for he preexisted all. He said of Abraham,

Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad.” [57] So the Jews said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?” Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” (John 8:56–58, ESV)

Jesus has preeminence over creation because he existed before creation and is the creator of the world.

The final Adam

A pattern we see developed in these scriptures is that Jesus as a man came into this world and is the perfect image of God and by his obedience as the final Adam, he has earned the right to be the heir and ruler of all things and has been appointed the firstborn of creation, his name being elevated above all other names.

In Colossians 1:15, the Greek syntax suggests that the terms “image of the invisible God” and “the firstborn of all creation” express similar concepts and give us a picture of Christ’s humanity. These descriptions are unique to Jesus. The Father is not the image of God or the firstborn of creation. This title belongs to Jesus alone, for only a human is made in the image of God. Jesus becoming human was the role set apart for him since before the beginning of the world. Christ, the Messiah, the man, the final Adam became a part of creation and through his obedience was made the preeminent creation and the inheritor or firstborn of creation. Being preeminent not only as a part of the creation but also as the one who is before all things and is the creator of all things. So that in every way, his name is above all other names, both as the creator and as a man created in the image of God.

It has been testified somewhere,

                “What is man, that you are mindful of him,

                                or the son of man, that you care for him?

                You made him for a little while lower than the angels;

                                you have crowned him with glory and honor,

                                putting everything in subjection under his feet.”

 (Hebrews 2:6-8a, ESV)

And so, the man Jesus was elevated above all.

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 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 2:5-11, ESV)

So much more . . .

Remember people walked with Jesus, ate with him, touched him. They were intimately familiar with his humanity, but as they write we can see they also knew that he was so much more. . .. Since they knew him in his humanity, you would expect them to describe his humanity, his being born of God, being firstborn of creation, and such. Yet as you read what they are writing, you can imagine them bursting at the seams, for we also see them in the next breath say, but he is so much more . . .. describing him as before all things and creator of all things. Jesus was no mere man. How grand it would have been to have walked intimately with this man!

This man is the center of all creation, Jesus being separated for this purpose before creation began in the Gospel, the first of the works of God, the beginning of the creation of God. He is the one through whom God created the world. It is in Jesus alone that all things, both in heaven and earth, are held together. John, a man who walked, ate, and touched Jesus, wrote, “All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made” (John 1:3, ESV). Paul confirms this in his letter to the Colossians after calling him the firstborn of creation.

For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. (Colossians 1:16-18, ESV)

These passages are saying, yes, Jesus is a man, and he has gained honor and inheritance and rule as a man, but he is also so much more than a mere man. His right to these titles has been earned as a man but were already his because he is more than a man. The writer of Hebrews warns us to take heed, that we do not neglect Jesus, for he is greater than Moses, the prophets, Melchizedek, and much more than the angels. Jesus, in John, states he is greater than the sons of God.

Arianism vs Trinitarianism

There are two groups, the Arians and the Trinitarians, that begin to differ on who they believe Jesus is at this point, and we will explore this. Both the Arians and Trinitarians could agree, or at least ought to, although there are variations amongst both camps, that the Gospel plan was created and began to be implemented before the foundation of the world as the first of God’s creations and that that plan would be accomplished through the Messiah who existed before the world began. Both agree that Jesus was set apart as the means and wisdom through which the Gospel would be accomplished before the foundations of the world, that he would come as a man and redeem his fellow people and brothers. Both agree that the roles that the Father and the Son would play in this redemption were set in place before the foundation of the world, and we see these redemptive roles play out from the beginning of creation. The key difference is that Trinitarians believe Jesus is Yahweh, while Arians do not believe that Jesus is Yahweh.

Arianism believes that Jesus is more than just a man, more than the angels, believing he is a created god, the first of the creation of God, and greater than all other creation. So, they believe that before creation, when the Gospel plan was formed, not only did Jesus’ role in the Gospel become established, but his very existence began. They believe God created Jesus and through him, God created everything else. One key aspect for Arius, an early and most famous proponent of this idea, is that because Jesus was created, he had a beginning. Arius said, “There was a time when the son was not.” Arians contend that being created, Jesus is not eternal. So, both agree that the concept of the Messiah was created with the Gospel plan of God before creation, but disagree on whether Jesus was in existence eternally before this plan. Trinitarians believe that Jesus eternally existed with God, as one of the three persons of the Godhead. The Gospel was the first of the works of God, and the roles each person of the Trinity would play in the Gospel is the first of God’s work, seen in their roles at creation and in history. Arians would say that Jesus was created as the first of God’s works and was set apart before the foundation of the world for the Gospel plan. Arians and Trinitarians also disagree on who Jesus is. Both agree that Jesus left his glory in the incarnation but disagree on what was the extent of that glory that Jesus had before the world began. Arians believe Jesus was a created lesser god. Trinitarians believe Jesus is Yahweh.

Neither beginning of days nor end of life

The writer of Hebrews, along with other passages dealing with the concept of the firstborn, states that all things were created through Jesus.

And,

                “You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning,

                                and the heavens are the work of your hands;

                they will perish, but you remain;

                                they will all wear out like a garment,

                like a robe you will roll them up,

                                like a garment they will be changed.

                But you are the same,

                                and your years will have no end.” (Hebrews 1: 10-12, ESV)

But does the writer of Hebrews believe that there was a time when Jesus did not exist? Later in his epistle, he writes of the order of Melchizedek, the king and priest of the Most High God,

For this, Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, and to him Abraham apportioned a tenth part of everything. He is first, by translation of his name, king of righteousness, and then he is also king of Salem, that is, king of peace. He is without father or mother or genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but resembling the Son of God he continues a priest forever. (Hebrews 7:1-3, ESV)

The writer of Hebrews argues it is on the basis of “having neither beginning of days nor end of life” that the order of Melchizedek has preeminence over the Levitical priesthood. It is not only in the fact that Jesus goes on to live forever that gives him authority, for both men and angels will go on to live forever, but the fact that is unique to all of creation: he is the only creation that has had no beginning of days. And if he has no beginning of days, then there is not a time when the son was not. The writer of Hebrews goes on to say, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8, ESV). In the first chapter, he states, “But you are the same, and your years will have no end (Hebrews 1:12b, ESV). He also says that Jesus is unchanging, an attribute that can only be said of God. The eternal existence of Jesus is a theme throughout this epistle.

Jesus is Yahweh

                When the writer of Hebrews speaks of the Son as the creator of the earth in chapter 1, verses 10-12, he quotes Psalm 102. The text seems to come out of nowhere. Why would the writer pull this text out and say that this speaks of the son? This Psalm is about Yahweh, and the writer of Hebrews seems to want you to make this connection because he adds the term Lord in his quote. Well, he doesn’t actually add it, he grabs it (a common practice in that culture, when wanting to emphasize the whole section) from verse 12 of the psalm, which says, “But you O LORD, are enthroned forever;” which is a continuation of the theme he previously discussed, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever,”, expressing the eternal nature of Jesus. This psalm also correlates the theme the writer has for worship, “And again, when he brings the firstborn into the world, he says, ‘Let all God’s angels worship him.’” (Hebrews 1:6, ESV) with “when the peoples gather together, and kingdoms, to worship the LORD.” (vs. 22). By expressing two different parts of this Psalm, he is also wanting you to look and meditate on the psalm as a whole and connect it to the son. The psalm begins in verse 2 with, “Do not hide your face from me” and talks of the Yahweh arising and having pity on Zion and appearing in his glory. These are describing the return of Christ. It must be noted that in using the phrase “You Lord” the writer of Hebrews is not only connecting his quote with verse 12 of the psalm, but he is also connecting us to the one who is the subject of the psalm. He is connecting Jesus with the sacred name of God, Yahweh. And so not only is Jesus said to have had no beginning of days, but he is also called Yahweh, and one day he will be revealed in the fullness of his nature. The writer of Hebrews is not alone in this, as we will see.

Many of the writers of the New Testament were men who knew the man Jesus, knew his humanity but also knew there was something more. In their experience with him, they had come to believe and proclaim that he was the son of God. Jesus was the son that all of history had been waiting for. Those who walked with him as a man also described him as God. While with them, Jesus had taught them, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me” (John 5:39). So, in coming to understand this man who had walked amongst them, they would have followed Jesus’ command and looked to the stories, prophecies, psalms, and wisdom of the scripture. In the passage of Hebrews above, he seems to pull a passage out of nowhere, yet he didn’t. He was following Jesus’ instructions to search the scriptures for they bear witness of who Jesus is. They found their foundation in understanding the nature of Jesus from the Old Testament.

No one has ever seen God?

John writes, “No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known” (John 1:18, ESV). But wait a minute, . . . did not men in the Old Testament see God?

I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear,

                                but now my eye sees you;

                therefore I despise myself,

                                and repent in dust and ashes.” (Job 42:5-6, ESV)

Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built there an altar to the LORD, who had appeared to him. (Genesis 12:7, ESV)

So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel, saying, “For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life has been delivered.” (Genesis 32:30, ESV)

Then Moses and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel went up, [10] and they saw the God of Israel. There was under his feet as it were a pavement of sapphire stone, like the very heaven for clearness. And he did not lay his hand on the chief men of the people of Israel; they beheld God, and ate and drank. (Exodus 24:9-11, ESV) [Note: Just as Jesus ate in his resurrection body to show its reality, so too did these men eat and drink.]

Thus the LORD used to speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. (Exodus 33:11a, ESV)

In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. (Isaiah 6:1, ESV) 

Moses asks to see God’s glory

So, if the scripture in the Old Testament speaks of men seeing God, where is John getting this from, that “No one has ever seen God”? John knows of the story of Moses asked to see God’s glory and what God said.

Moses said, “Please show me your glory.” And he said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name ‘The LORD.’ And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live.” And the LORD said, “Behold, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock, and while my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back, but my face shall not be seen.” (Exodus 33:18-23, ESV)

When Moses asked to see God’s glory, God said, “you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live.” God did show Moses his glory, but not the fullness of His face; Moses was covered by the hand of God. So, what did Job, Abraham, Moses, and Isaiah see? Who did they see?

Jesus speaks of Abraham seeing him.  “Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad” (John 8:56, ESV). After quoting from Isaiah 53 and 6, John says that Isaiah saw the glory of Jesus, “Isaiah said these things because he saw his glory and spoke of him” (John 12:42, ESV). When the Old Testament men and women encountered God, they were encountering Jesus. In the Old Testament, we see Jesus described as the right hand (or hand) of God, the angel of the LORD, the Name, the Word, the Savior, the Creator, and the glory of the LORD, descriptions not a part or separate from Yahweh, but Yahweh himself, revealing himself to humanity in a way that they would not be destroyed.

God’s patience and love in hiding His face

Because of Adam’s fall, and because of our sin, men cannot see God’s face and live. Jesus said that the more we know, the more our judgment. When we see God face to face, there is no more to be known, and we will be judged. “And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, (Hebrews 9:27, ESV). And so, for now, because of God’s patience with mankind, and to call a people to himself, God’s face is veiled. Yet, we are given hope that this will not always be the case. God gave Israel a blessing to encourage them that one day, both heaven and earth would be reconciled, and we would one day see the face of God.

The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, Thus you shall bless the people of Israel: you shall say to them,

                The LORD bless you and keep you;

                the LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;

                the LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.

                “So shall they put my name upon the people of Israel, and I will bless them.”

 (Numbers 6:22–27, ESV)

Because of His love for us, God has not abandoned us, nor left us on our own. We will see his face once again. But for now, He has revealed Himself to us through Jesus. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, . . .” (John 3:16, ESV). And he has fulfilled his promise to put his Name upon his people through Jesus.

He has given us His name

In the Old Testament, the Tabernacle was the place where God’s name dwelt. When Jesus came, God’s name tabernacled amongst us “For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily” (Colossians 2:9, ESV).

For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. (Colossians 1:19–20, ESV)

And the Word became flesh and dwelt [to set up a tent] among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14, ESV, italics added)

It is God pursuing us, revealing himself in a way that we will not die. And God has done so much more. Now, through Jesus, He has given us His name and put his name upon his people. Jesus said, “I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word” (John 17:6, ESV). And because of what Jesus has done, his name dwells in us and we have become the body of Christ, the temple of God.

As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. (1 Peter 2:4–5, ESV)

We are all under this one hope, all mankind throughout history who have put their hope in Jesus.

There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— (Ephesians 4:4, ESV)

But for now, we have not seen Jesus in his fullness, for when he was with us, the fullness of the deity was hidden, tabernacled in a human body. “For now we see in a mirror dimly” (1 Corinthians 13:12, ESV). But Jesus has promised to return, and at his return will be the revelation of Jesus Christ, where he will appear, and we will see him for who he is. It will not be an invisible return, for every eye shall see him.

Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen. (Revelation 1:7)

Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. (Matthew 24:30, ESV)

When Jesus returns, God’s face will no longer be hidden. The verse goes on,

“For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known. (1 Corinthians 13:12, ESV).

John states,

“Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2, ESV).

Revelation states,

“No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. (Revelation 22:3–4, ESV)

This is our one heavenly and earthly hope: when God reconciles heaven and earth through Jesus, we will see God face to face. His face shall shine upon us, and his Name shall be upon us.

The Name

                The writers looked to the Old Testament to find Jesus, and they found him. They read verses like Isiah 45:22-23 and Joel 2:32 and saw Jesus

                “Turn to me and be saved,

                                all the ends of the earth!

                                For I am God, and there is no other.

                By myself I have sworn;

                                from my mouth has gone out in righteousness

                                a word that shall not return:

                ‘To me every knee shall bow,

                                every tongue shall swear allegiance.’

                “Only in the LORD, it shall be said of me,

                                are righteousness and strength; (Isaiah 45:21–24, ESV)

And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those who escape, as the LORD has said, and among the survivors shall be those whom the LORD calls. (Joel 2:32, ESV)

                therefore, thus says the Lord GOD,

                “Behold, I am the one who has laid as a foundation in Zion,

                                a stone, a tested stone,

                a precious cornerstone, of a sure foundation:

                                ‘Whoever believes will not be in haste.’ (Isaiah 28:16, ESV)

The apostle Paul, a learned Pharisee who once killed those calling on the name of Jesus, takes hold of these three verses to show that they refer to Jesus, the name above all other names, and that it is by calling on the name of Jesus that salvation comes,

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 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 2:5–11, ESV)

To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.” (Acts 10:43, ESV)

because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Romans 10:9–13, ESV)

This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:11–12, ESV)

Because the Old Testament used Yahweh while describing Jesus, the New Testament writers who follow their example do not have a problem substituting JEHOVAH with Jesus. Paul takes the name of Yahweh in Joel 2:32 and replaces it with Jesus.  In both Romans 10:11 and Acts 4:11, he supports this substitution by referring to Isaiah 28:16.

This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:10-11, ESV)

For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame” (Romans 10:11)

But he goes further and says, “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:11, ESV) . . . . Wow! No other name. . . . This would be blasphemy if Jesus is not Yahweh, for Paul would not only be contradicting the Old Testament but also stating that Yahweh’s name had been replaced by another being and that other beings name is now the only name that can save, JEHOVAH’s name can no longer save. He is not saying this. Paul was a learned man and knew the scriptures. He fully understands the implications of what he is saying.  He is saying that Jesus is Yahweh.

The Confession: Jesus is Lord

                The New Testament refers to Jesus as Lord. The term Lord as seen in “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” or “if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord” often refers to the covenant name, JEHOVAH. Lord also often refers to rule and specifically the throne of David. The apostles take hold of these two meanings and associate both meanings to the confession, “Jesus is Lord”. Jesus is Lord and sits on David’s throne, but he is also Lord, JEHOVAH, the name whom men must call upon to be saved. Lord both declares Jesus’s humanity and divinity. Both aspects are important and require the Holy Spirit’s work for one to confess.

Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says “Jesus is accursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit. (1 Corinthians 12:3, ESV)

Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already. (1 John 4:1–3, ESV)

When speaking of the Father and the Son, the apostles often use a phrase similar to “God, our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ”, for this is an apt description describing each of their roles in creation and the Gospel. It also follows the pattern of the Shema, “The LORD our God, the LORD is one”.

Paul uses this formula in describing the Father and Son and connects it with the confession of the Shema, confirming that he believes “there is no God but one”,

“there is no God but one.” For although there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth—as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords”— yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist. (1 Corinthians 8:4b–6, ESV)

As Jesus being one Lord is not to the exclusion of the Father being Lord, nor is the Father being one God to the exclusion of Jesus being God but both are descriptions apt to their roles in the Gospel. Paul is clear that he is including them both, when he says “there is no God but one” and then goes on to describe who that one God is, following the pattern of the Shema, which also includes Lord and God, the terms God and Lord both refer to one God, just as they do in the Shema. The Shema states, “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. (Deuteronomy 6:4, ESV).

The Confession: my Lord and my God

Jesus is not only called Lord, he is called God as well. When Thomas sees Jesus after his resurrection, he proclaims of Jesus, “My Lord and My God” or in Greek “the Lord of me and the God of me”. The grammar is clear that Thomas was speaking only to Jesus and that he is calling Jesus “the God”. Jesus confirms his confession, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” If Jesus is not the God, then either Jesus or John or both are guilty of blasphemy for not clarifying or rebuking Thomas’ statement. This was a bold and clear statement by Thomas. No one in that culture would have just let it be if it were not true. Men picked up stones to stone Jesus for less. And no one in that culture would have said what Jesus said or written what John wrote if it were not true.

                John uses the phrase “I am” or “I am he” throughout his Gospel. It is tightly interwoven in the text. Jesus did not use the phrase “I am” casually. In one instance, a mob had come to arrest Jesus. As they came to arrest him, Jesus said, “I am he”, and all the mob fell to the ground. John is very clear that it is the statement “I am he” that causes the mob to fall to the ground. John had a purpose in including this phrase in his Gospel.

Now Judas, who betrayed him, also knew the place, for Jesus often met there with his disciples. So Judas, having procured a band of soldiers and some officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees, went there with lanterns and torches and weapons. Then Jesus, knowing all that would happen to him, came forward and said to them, “Whom do you seek?” They answered him, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus said to them, “I am he.” Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them. When Jesus said to them, “I am he,” they drew back and fell to the ground. (John 18:2–6, ESV)

The ”I am” statements culminate with the confession of Thomas. And Thomas is not the only apostle to call Jesus God.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (John 1:1, ESV)

waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, (Titus 2:13, ESV)

Simeon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ: (2 Peter 1:1, ESV)

You shall not take the name of the LORD in vain

                The Law says, “You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain” (Deuteronomy 5:11, ESV). This is the only command in the ten commandments with this kind of warning. The apostles understood this when they called Jesus Lord and God.

This commandment is similar both in command and in warning to the words of Jesus when he said, “unless you believe that I am, you will die in your sins” (John 8:24, NASB).  Jesus wanted his disciples to understand that he is the I am. Jesus told his disciples, “I am telling you this now, before it takes place, that when it does take place you may believe that I am he” (John 13:19).

This is sobering. . . . for there is no other name by which men can be saved. “. . . no one can say ‘Jesus is Lord’ except in the Holy Spirit.” And  “every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God.” Both of these are necessary to call upon the name of the LORD. Shortly after referring to Jesus as firstborn and creator (his humanity and divinity), Paul makes this statement again referring once again both to Jesus’ divinity and humanity . . .

See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, (Colossians 2:8-9, ESV)

We cannot ignore the name of the Lord, and we cannot use the Name of the Lord in vain. While it is still called Today, we must follow the great confession found in scripture, “Jesus is Lord”. And though we did not walk, touch, or eat with Jesus while he was on earth, we must boldly and clearly proclaim the confession of Thomas: “My Lord and my God.”

The firstborn of creation as part of creation

                Jesus, being both the creator and having been born as a part of creation, is the only one of whom it can be said that he is “the firstborn of creation”. It cannot be said of God the Father or God the Holy Spirit, for they did not become a part of creation, and no other human or angel has the right to this title, for they are created, not born of God. This title is unique to the man, Jesus. I said before that he has a right to this title not only by his perfect life but also that it was his at birth. Jesus is the only unique son of God. He is the only human or creation that was born of God. As the only one who is born of God, he is the only one who can be called the firstborn, for there are no others. So not only does the term “firstborn of creation” show Jesus’ supremacy over creation, but it also describes his unique nature as a man and son of God. Likewise, the term “son of God” also speaks to both his divine and human nature. This is why the Jews picked up stones, saying this title made him equal to God. A charge Jesus did not deny but confirmed. Those writing in the New Testament understood that this man, Jesus, was unlike any other human in history. He was the man promised back in Genesis 3:15, the one foretold in the scripture. It was fitting when Pilate said of the man next to him who was wearing a royal robe and a crown, “Behold the man!” (John 19:5). The Apostles intimately beheld this man who had walked with them and proclaimed this man that they had known to the nations.

                We must ask ourselves: will we behold this man? Who we say this man is matters. . .. For it is only in his name that men can be saved. Jesus said, “Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am, you will die in your sins” (John 8:24, NASB). For those who believe in the “I am”, God who is faithful will keep his covenant of Love with his people.

                 “You are my witnesses,” declares the LORD,

                                “and my servant whom I have chosen,

                that you may know and believe me

                                and understand that I am he.

                Before me no god was formed,

                                nor shall there be any after me.

                 I, I am the LORD,

                                and besides me there is no savior.

                 I declared and saved and proclaimed,

                                when there was no strange god among you;

                                and you are my witnesses,” declares the LORD, “and I am God.

                 Also henceforth I am he;

                                none can deliver from my hand;

                                I work, and who can turn it back?”   (Isaiah 43:10–13, ESV)

“I, I am he

                                who blots out your transgressions for my own sake,

                                and I will not remember your sins. (Isaiah 43:25, ESV)

I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am he you will die in your sins.” (John 8:24, ESV)

For more on Melchizedek go (here)

BACKGROUND: The son of God, the son of man

Then God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

                So God created man in his own image,

                                in the image of God he created him;

                                male and female he created them. (Genesis 1:26-27, ESV)

The Man

Who are we? What is our fundamental nature, the essence of who we were meant to be? We were made to image God and reflect his rule and care. “Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion . . .’” “The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.” (Genesis 2:15, ESV) Humanity was made in the image of God, to rule, to work, and keep this world. We were to be a royal priesthood imaging God.

 When the serpent showed up in Eden, he challenged our father and mother, Adam and Eve, with a choice, would they image God fully trusting in Him and looking to Him alone as their way, truth, and life or would they be like God in choosing for themselves between good and evil and doing what was right in their own eyes. Doing what is right in our own eyes is contrary to being made in the image of God. Sadly, Adam and Eve chose to abandon God and His word in order to do what was right and pleasing in their own eyes. And we, their sons and daughters, have gone down the same path, every one of us choosing to do what is right in our own eyes.

 Since Adam’s fall, that image of God we were meant to be has been profoundly corrupted infected at the very core of who we are. We are hopeless on our own, with no means of restoring ourselves to who we are meant to be. But we were not left on our own. When Adam fell mankind was not abandoned. God in his love promised he would one day send a man, one born of woman, who would crush the serpent’s head. He would be the perfect man, perfect in obedience and trust in God, the perfect image of God. The perfect priest-king.

                     I will put enmity between you and the woman,

                                and between your offspring and her offspring;

                he shall bruise your head,

                                and you shall bruise his heel.” (Genesis 3:15, ESV)

As time moved on, God continued to proclaim and elaborate on his promise through the scripture and prophecy. The godly men of the Old Testament looked forward to the reality when this man would come into the world.

And so, when the long-awaited man arrived, he came like any other man, He was born into a humble family. He was cared for as a baby. He grew up. He learned. He lived in history and walked among and with people. Jesus was a man in every way. Mary raised Jesus amongst family and friends. As a son, he loved his mother and earthly father. He loved those around him. He had compassion on others, touching them, healing them. The apostles sat at his feet, walked with him, and they touched Jesus with their hands. They were loved by Jesus. They had a relationship with this man. In every way, he was a man.

He experienced the hardships of being a man and was tempted in every way as we are, yet without sin, for, unlike any other man, no sin or fault could be found in him (Hebrews 4:15). This man did not live like other men who had been corrupted by sin as their father Adam. He did not do what was right in his own eyes, but he looked to the Father and did nothing without the Father. “So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise” (John 5:19, ESV) He was the perfect imprint of His Father, He was the perfect image of God, the perfect human. He was born of a woman, but unlike any other human in history, his father was God. He is the son of God.

The son

Having lived 2,000 years of theological history, many of us when we hear the term “son of God”, we think of the person of the Trinity God, the Son, but when men like Peter intimately walked with this man, they experienced his humanity firsthand. They ate with him, sweat with him, celebrated with him, sang with him, lived with him.  Peter had met his mother, Mary. He would have known of Joseph. But when he said, “You are the Messiah, the son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16), Peter was declaring that this man’s father was not Joseph. Peter was declaring that this man was unlike any human in all history.

We need to lay hold of this. To understand the human nature of the term “son of God”, for it is in becoming a part of creation, one of us, that he gained the right to save mankind from their sins. As the scripture says, “though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. (Philippians 2:6,7)” Jesus became human, made in the image of God, just like the rest of us. And like every human, he had a father and mother. His mother was Mary. His father was God. He was the only unique human in all history whose father was God. Jesus was the only begotten son of God. Hebrews 1:5 proclaims,

   For to which of the angels did God ever say,

                “You are my Son,

                                today I have begotten you”?

                                Or again,

                “I will be to him a father,

                                and he shall be to me a son”? (ESV)

At Jesus’s birth, the angel’s proclaimed, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:10–11, ESV). A babe came into the world, the son of God . . . the only human, the only created thing born of God.

Firstborn: born into the world

Before Jesus was born, great men came into the world. All these men failed to be the perfect image of God. Adam failed. Noah failed. Abraham failed, Isaac and Jacob failed. Moses failed. David failed. The prophets failed. None of these men were the perfect image of God. Israel was called God’s firstborn son. Israel failed. All humankind, like our father Adam, have failed. But the prophets proclaimed a man who would come who would not fail and who would have the right to the title of firstborn. Ethen the Ezrahite speaks about this man, the messiah, who would be appointed as the firstborn. He would replace the first man, Adam, becoming the firstborn, and in his name, not Adam’s, would those who trust in him find their identity and be a new creation.

                     He shall cry to me, ‘You are my Father,

                                my God, and the Rock of my salvation.’

                     And I will make him the firstborn,

                                the highest of the kings of the earth. (Psalm 89:26-27, ESV)

When Jesus was born, he became the firstborn and only human son of God. No other human could claim God as their father. So just in the fact that he was born, he had the right to be called the firstborn son of God. Though he was the natural firstborn of God by birth, he also earned the right to the title of firstborn, by being the perfect image of God. “I will make him the firstborn”. Unlike Adam and all other humans, he did not fail. And because he did not fail, he won the right to the inheritance of the firstborn.

Firstborn: the inheritor of the world

Let us look more into what it meant for him to be the firstborn. In Deuteronomy 32:8-9, we learn this

                When the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance,

                                when he divided mankind,

                he fixed the borders of the peoples

                                according to the number of the sons of God.

                But the LORD’s portion is his people,

                                Jacob his allotted heritage. (ESV)

When the nations were divided, God took Jacob aside from all the nations of the world as his own possession. YHWH was to be their God and Israel was to be His people. God did not choose them because they were great. They were little and weak among the nations.

For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the LORD set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but it is because the LORD loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers, that the LORD has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. (Deuteronomy 7:6–8, ESV)

Though God took this nation, and became the Shepherd of this little flock, God had not forgotten the other nations. In his covenant with Abraham, whom he loved, he promised that the nations would be blessed through Abraham’s seed (Genesis 12:3; 18:18; 22:18) The covenant was a promise to bring the nations to himself. This promise of making the little flock and the large flock one would be accomplished through Abraham’s descendent, a man the YHWH would call his son.

                I will tell of the decree:

                The LORD said to me, “You are my Son;

                                today I have begotten you.

                Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage,

                                and the ends of the earth your possession. (Psalm 2:7-8, ESV)

And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. (John 10:16, ESV)

Jesus wins the nations by being the final Adam

Through Jesus, no longer is it just Israel, the little flock, that is God’s inheritance, but Jesus as the son of God has been given all the nations as his inheritance. YHWH has rescued his people from their slavery to sin. In the culture of the time and scripture the one who inherits is given the title of firstborn, regardless of birth order. Jesus was not the first man. He was not Adam, but he did earn the right to be called firstborn and became the final Adam. Adam had failed to be the perfect image of God and lost his right to the title. Jesus being the perfect image of God, the perfect human, earned the right to the title and YHWH made him the firstborn. And as firstborn, we who trust in him no longer look to Adam for our inheritance, but to Jesus. He became the final Adam through whom we have become alive. When we trust in the promises of God, we are no longer in the image of Adam, we are in the image of Jesus, who is the firstborn among many brethren.

Thus it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. (1 Corinthians 15:45, ESV)

Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit. (2 Corinthians 3:17–18, ESV)

The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven. As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust, and as is the man of heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven. (1 Corinthians 15:47–49, ESV)

For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. (Romans 8:29, ESV)

And so, through the Gospel, Jesus has inherited the nations. All one flock, under one shepherd.

There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call—one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. (Ephesians 4:4–6, ESV)

Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called “the uncircumcision” by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands—remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. (Ephesians 2:11–16, ESV)

He was appointed firstborn in his humanity

Psalm 89 states that God would appoint a man as the firstborn. It is important to understand that Jesus earned the right to this inheritance and the title of firstborn as a human when he came to earth. Unlike Adam, who lost the right of being firstborn through sin, Jesus did not sin. Jesus, therefore, gained the nations as an inheritance because he lived a perfect life of obedience as a man. So though he was the only firstborn human son of God by birth when he came into the world, he was not given the title of inheritance till he earned the right to his title by being the perfect image of God.

It has been testified somewhere,

                “What is man, that you are mindful of him,

                                or the son of man, that you care for him?

                You made him for a little while lower than the angels;

                                you have crowned him with glory and honor,

                                putting everything in subjection under his feet.” (Hebrews 2:6-8, ESV)

For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham. Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, (Hebrews 2:16-17a, ESV)

                Behold my servant, whom I uphold,

                                my chosen, in whom my soul delights;

                I have put my Spirit upon him;

                                he will bring forth justice to the nations.

                He will not cry aloud or lift up his voice,

                                or make it heard in the street;

                a bruised reed he will not break,

                                and a faintly burning wick he will not quench;

                                he will faithfully bring forth justice.

                He will not grow faint or be discouraged

                                till he has established justice in the earth;

                                and the coastlands wait for his law. (Isaiah 42:1-4, ESV)

The son laid down his glory, became less than angels, humbling himself, “who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,” (Philippians 2:6, ESV) He became a man. Jesus is the only man who fully submitted to his God, considering the Father greater than himself, unlike the rest of humanity who had gone their own way in their pride, considering themselves greater than God, and doing what was right in their own eyes. Jesus, the man, is the only human who worshiped the only true God with his whole heart, mind, and soul. He learned obedience and God declares this human his perfect son,

“This is My beloved son in whom I am well pleased!” (Matthew 3:17; 17:5, Luke 3:22; 2 Peter 1:17)

It is in his humanity and his perfect life that God grants the man, Jesus, the titles of the son of God, firstborn, and the perfect image. Those writing in the New Testament understood that this man, Jesus, was unlike any other human in history. He was the man promised back in Genesis 3:15, the one foretold in the scripture. It was fitting when Pilate said of the man next to him who was wearing a royal robe and a crown, “Behold the man!” (John 19:5). The Apostles intimately beheld this man who had walked with them and proclaimed this man that they had known to the nations.

                We must ask ourselves; will we behold this man? Who we say this man is matters. For it is only in his name that men can be saved. Jesus said, “Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am, you will die in your sins” (John 8:24, NASB)

——————————-

WHO IS THIS MAN?

Support verses for Jesus not being God

                The question of who this man is has loomed through the ages. Just like in Jesus’ day, some call him a good man or a prophet or see him as an enemy. There have been many theories. Two that stand out in church history are the Arian and Trinitarian beliefs. Both agree that Jesus is more than a mere man. Trinitarians believe Jesus is God. Arians believe that Jesus is not God but is the first creation of God and through Jesus, God created everything else. Texts such as Colossians 1:15, Revelation 3:14, and Proverbs 8 are used to support the claim that Jesus is the first being created by God, and through whom all other things in creation were made.

                He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. (Colossians 1:15, ESV)

“And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: ‘The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God’s creation. (Revelation 3:14, ESV)

                “The LORD possessed me at the beginning of his work,

                                the first of his acts of old. (Proverbs 8:22, ESV)

We will take a look at these verses so that we might believe that Jesus is who he claimed to be.

Revelation  3:14

Let’s start by looking at Revelation 3:14. In the letters to the churches, Jesus’s description of himself in the letters to the churches is linked to the descriptions of him in Revelation 1. So, we can look at both of these parallels together to understand what they mean. Below shows the parallels in the first six letters to the churches and Revelation 1, in order to show this pattern, then we will look at the pattern in the 7^th church.

Comparison of descriptions of Jesus in the letters to the descriptions in Revelation 1

And for the 7^th church the church of Laodicea (Revelation 3:14; Revelation 1:5)

Revelation 3:14 connection to Colossians 

Interestingly, Paul instructs that his letter to the Colossians be read to the church in Laodicea. “And when this letter has been read among you, have it also read in the church of the Laodiceans; and see that you also read the letter from Laodicea” (Colossians 4:6, ESV). So when the church at Laodicea hears these words from Revelation they are already familiar with the terms Jesus is using. So when Jesus is dictating his letter to the church of Laodicea, he is aware that they are familiar with these terms and concepts and the meanings behind them. So, the descriptions in Colossians and the descriptions here in the letter to Laodicea are connected and when used together can help us discover what these terms mean. So, let’s elaborate on these terms. The letter of Hebrews also uses these terms and similar phrases while exploring who this man is and can be used as we explore these terms.

The words of the Amen, the Faithful and true witness| The faithful witness

As we see in the pattern above, “the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God’s creation” is connected to “the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings on the earth.” And these descriptions are also similar to the descriptions we find in Colossians 1. The descriptions in Revelation “the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness” and “the faithful witness” are reflected in “He is the image of the invisible God” in Colossians. These images are expressing that Jesus is a faithful and true witness of who God is both in his words and deeds. These phrases are describing Jesus as the perfect and true man, who fully and completely portrays who God is. John states, “No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.” (John 1:18, ESV) As said before, mankind was originally made to be in the image of God. We failed. Jesus in his humanity did not fail. Jesus, the man, is the perfect witness, imprint, and image of the invisible God. He is the perfect human. Jesus said, “I am the truth”, and by him, we know the truth about God. He told his disciples that if they have seen him, they have seen the Father.

Firstborn from the dead

The phrase “the firstborn from the dead” is found in both Revelation and Colossians. There are accounts of people being raised from the dead in the Bible, the widow Zarephath’s son, the Shunamite woman’s son, the man raised out of Elisha’s grave, widow of Nain’s son, Jairus’ daughter, Lazarus, Tabitha, and Eutychus. This verse is not talking about this type of resurrection. These resurrected but had the same weak bodies as before. When Jesus resurrected, he no longer had the same kind of body, but his body, not seeing decay nor dissolving or disappearing and being the same body, was transformed into a new kind of human body (John 2:18-22, ESV, will be quoted shortly). This is the same kind of body we will have at our resurrection. For if we will not have the same type of body, then Jesus did not resurrect as well. Paul states,

And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. (1 Corinthians 15:14-16, ESV)

He goes on to say,

But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. (1 Corinthians 15:20-23, ESV)

Paul connects our resurrection to Christ. And it is “by a man” that our resurrection has come. Jesus did not cease being a man at the resurrection. His human body did not cease to exist but was transformed into a spiritual body. If our bodies are to be resurrected, it is in vital connection with the body of Christ’s resurrection, for our resurrection is the same. And if this is not true, our faith is in vain. Paul says in Romans, “he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.” Jesus was the first human to be born into the New Creation, through his bodily resurrection from the dead. And because he is one of us, both in his earthy life and in his resurrection, “he is not ashamed to call them brothers,” (Hebrews 2:11b, ESV). We who are being made in the image of Jesus are the congregation of the firstborn, enrolled in heaven (Hebrews 12:23).

Ruler of the kings on the earth

Because Jesus is one of us, Hebrews goes on to state he is our perfect high priest in the order of Melchizedek and he has the authority to sit on David’s throne at the right hand of God, reflecting Psalm 110, and foretold by Zechariah,

And the word of the LORD came to me: “Take from the exiles Heldai, Tobijah, and Jedaiah, who have arrived from Babylon, and go the same day to the house of Josiah, the son of Zephaniah. Take from them silver and gold, and make a crown, and set it on the head of Joshua, the son of Jehozadak, the high priest. And say to him, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, “Behold, the man whose name is the Branch: for he shall branch out from his place, and he shall build the temple of the LORD. It is he who shall build the temple of the LORD and shall bear royal honor, and shall sit and rule on his throne. And there shall be a priest on his throne, and the counsel of peace shall be between them both.”’ (ESV)

Zechariah says of this man, the priest-king, “he shall build the temple of the LORD”. When asked by the Jews by what authority Jesus had done the things he had done, he answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” John goes on to explain,

The Jews then said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?” But he was speaking about the temple of his body. When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken. (John 2:18-22ESV)

And we know that his body resurrected for the disciples “thought they saw a spirit”, but Jesus, the one who is the Amen and Truth, the faithful witness assures them, “spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.”

But they were startled and frightened and thought they saw a spirit. And he said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. And while they still disbelieved for joy and were marveling, he said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate before them. (Luke 24:37-43, ESV)

It is the power of Jesus’s human bodily resurrection that gave him the authority to be both priest and king in the order of Melchizedek.

This becomes even more evident when another priest arises in the likeness of Melchizedek, who has become a priest, not on the basis of a legal requirement concerning bodily descent, but by the power of an indestructible life. (Hebrews 7:15-16, ESV)

Both these positions king and priest require a human to take on the role. Adam was commanded to rule and be a keeper over the earth, to be a priest-king. He sinned by disobeying God’s command, but he also failed in his role to rule and to keep when he did not stomp the serpent on the head. The final Adam came to accomplish this. Jesus not only fully obeyed the law of Moses as a human, but he also sits on the throne of David as king and priest, fully accomplishing in his humanity what we failed to do. And as the perfect man, once his enemies are placed at his feet, he will deliver the kingdom to God, the Father, fully accomplishing everything humanity was supposed to do and then God will be all in all (1 Corinthians 15:24-25). The passage in Revelation after speaking of Jesus, being the “firstborn from the dead”, continues with “and ruler of kings on the earth.” His resurrection as the firstborn of the dead gave him the authority to be king as is said in Psalm 89.

He shall cry to me, ‘You are my Father,

                                my God, and the Rock of my salvation.’

                     And I will make him the firstborn,

                                the highest of the kings of the earth. (Psalm 89:26-27, ESV)

Colossians states, “He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (Colossians 1:13-14, ESV). Also, “He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent” (Colossians 1:18)

The book of Hebrews considers these concepts. It opens with these words,

Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs. (Hebrews 1:1-4, ESV)

Jesus being the Son, being the heir of all things, being the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, the world being created through Jesus, Jesus as the beginning of creation, Jesus upholding the universe by the word of his power and being priest and king sitting at the right hand of God are themes that keep being repeated in all these passages.

The scripture has an interesting caveat in the word “until” The scriptures say that Jesus will sit at the right hand of God until he has placed all his enemies under his feet.

“And to which of the angels has he ever said, ‘Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet’?” (Hebrews 1:13, ESV)

But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. (Hebrews 10:12–13, ESV)

For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. For “God has put all things in subjection under his feet.” But when it says, “all things are put in subjection,” it is plain that he is excepted who put all things in subjection under him. When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things in subjection under him, that God may be all in all. (1 Corinthians 15:25–28, ESV)

After David had come to defeat his enemies putting them under his feet, Solomon had become king. It was then, that the temple could be built.

And Solomon sent word to Hiram, “You know that David my father could not build a house for the name of the LORD his God because of the warfare with which his enemies surrounded him, until the LORD put them under the soles of his feet. But now the LORD my God has given me rest on every side. There is neither adversary nor misfortune. And so I intend to build a house for the name of the LORD my God, as the LORD said to David my father, ‘Your son, whom I will set on your throne in your place, shall build the house for my name.’ (1 Kings 5:2–5, ESV)

The word “until” implies that Jesus will not always be sitting at the right hand of God. After Jesus has placed all his enemies under his feet, we see New Jerusalem, the New Temple, the new dwelling place of God coming down to earth, and in the midst of her is one throne, the throne of God and the Lamb. And God will be all in all.

No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. [4] They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. (Revelation 22:3–4, ESV)

And the LORD will be king over all the earth. On that day the LORD will be one and his name one. (Zechariah 14:9, ESV)

Proverbs 8:22: The beginning of creation | the wisdom of God

I will discuss “the beginning of creation” and “the firstborn of creation” further, but first let’s look at Proverbs 8 for insight on what these mean. We need to look at Proverbs 8 because something is going on here that is important to note. Arius believed this passage describes Jesus being created as the first of God’s creations, tying it in with Colossians 1:15-18, Revelation 3:14, and John 1:1. He believed that Proverbs 8:22 described the creation of Jesus. Proverbs 8:22 says, “The LORD created me at the beginning of His way, Before His works of old” (NASB). I would agree that something significant is happening in these verses and that these verses impacted the writers of the New Testament and their understanding of the Messiah, the man who lived among them, so let’s explore the meaning behind this verse.

What is the subject of these verses? Well, the passage tells us, “I, wisdom”. These verses are about wisdom personified. Wisdom in the Hebrew language is feminine, so it is no surprise that she is portrayed as a woman. All agree that wisdom is an eternal attribute of God, there was never a time when God lacked wisdom, so what does it mean to “create”. It is not talking about mere wisdom. Let’s look back and see how this woman is described.

Passages 1-9 give you this description of Wisdom and Foolishness are calling out to us. We have a choice of who to follow. Chose life or choose death. This choice is not only a theme in these passages but throughout the scripture.

                Does not wisdom call?

                                Does not understanding raise her voice?

                On the heights beside the way,

                                at the crossroads she takes her stand;

                beside the gates in front of the town,

                                at the entrance of the portals she cries aloud: (Proverbs 8:1-3, ESV)

For whoever finds me finds life

                                and obtains favor from the LORD,

                but he who fails to find me injures himself;

                                all who hate me love death.” (Proverbs 8:35-36, ESV)

                She has sent out her young women to call

                                from the highest places in the town,

                “Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!”

                                To him who lacks sense she says,

                “Come, eat of my bread

                                and drink of the wine I have mixed.

                Leave your simple ways, and live,

                                and walk in the way of insight.” (Proverbs 9:3-6, ESV)

                The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom,

                                and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight. (Proverbs 9:10, ESV)

The context of 8:22-31, is a woman who cries out to the sons of men, calling them back to the fear of the LORD. The whole Bible proclaims this message from beginning to end. It is the message of the Gospel. Wisdom has its ultimate fulfillment is in the Messiah, who did walk the streets and byways calling men back to God.

Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. (Hebrews 1:1-2, ESV)

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. (Matthew 11:28)

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20, ESV)

Here is another passage describing this woman describing her as the tree of life, a symbol of the Gospel.

                She is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her;

                                those who hold her fast are called blessed.

                The LORD by wisdom founded the earth;

                                by understanding he established the heavens;

                by his knowledge the deeps broke open,

                                and the clouds drop down the dew. (Proverbs 3:18-20, ESV)

The theme of choosing life or death and the call of the Gospel, to choose wisdom over foolishness is the call to humanity throughout history.

Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end. As it is said,

                “Today, if you hear his voice,

                do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.” (Hebrews 3:12-15, ESV)

Those writing the New Testament understood that the Gospel did not begin after Adam sinned. The Gospel call, its message, and its plan were established before the foundation of the world. Before the world began. Before Adam chose foolishness and sinned. Before Adam came into existence. And it is with the Gospel at the forefront that God created the world. They could see this from reading Proverbs 8. They found in the words of this chapter that the Gospel was there in the beginning and is the purpose for which the world was created. The Gospel is the wisdom through which the world was made.

For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. (Romans 1:20, ESV)

                The heavens declare the glory of God,

                                and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.

                Day to day pours out speech,

                                and night to night reveals knowledge.

                There is no speech, nor are there words,

                                whose voice is not heard.

                Their voice goes out through all the earth,

                                and their words to the end of the world.

                In them he has set a tent for the sun, (Psalm 19:1-4, ESV)

The word “create” in Proverbs 8:22 is beautiful and can mean “create, acquire, purchase, or possess” all of these word nuances fit the theme here. Before the foundation of the world, God determined in his wisdom and love to create the Gospel plan and to acquire and purchase the fulfillment of the Gospel through the Messiah. You don’t have a Messiah without the Gospel, so The Messiah is the beginning of God’s creation. The Greek term “arche” in Revelation 3:14 is fitting meaning beginning, ruler, origin describing Jesus’ role in creation. The Gospel and the Messiah were established first, and through the Gospel and through the Messiah now creation would begin. The roles the Father and Jesus would play in accomplishing the Gospel began and are displayed in the roles they played in creation. Wisdom is this purpose and the call of the Gospel throughout the ages.

Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away. But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. (1 Corinthians 2:6-7, ESV)

                “I will open my mouth in parables;

          I will utter what has been hidden since the foundation of the world.” (Matthew 13:35, ESV)

He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God. (1 Peter 1:20-21, ESV)

Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. (Matthew 25:34, ESV)

who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, (2 Timothy 1:9. ESV)

Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith— to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen. (Romans 16:25-27, ESV)

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love, he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. (Ephesians 1:3-10, ESV)

Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away. But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. (1 Corinthians 2:6-7, ESV)

Of this gospel I was made a minister according to the gift of God’s grace, which was given me by the working of his power. To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God, who created all things, so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him. (Ephesians 3:7-12, ESV)

For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face, that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery, which is Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments. For though I am absent in body, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the firmness of your faith in Christ.

Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.

See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. [9] For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority. In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead. (Colossians 2:1-12, ESV)

Paul states that Jesus became to us wisdom from God. Jesus was the embodiment of God’s redemption plan. And so Paul focused on this wisdom, the beginning of the creation of God.

And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” (1 Corinthians 1:30-31, ESV)

And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God. (1 Corinthians 2:1-5, ESV)

Both the Arians and Trinitarians could agree, or at least ought to, that the Gospel plan was created and began to be implemented before the foundation of the world as the first of God’s creations and that that plan would be accomplished through the Messiah who existed before the world began. Both agree that Jesus was set apart as the means and wisdom through which the Gospel would be accomplished before the foundations of the world, that he would come as a man and redeem his fellow people and brothers. Both agree that the roles that the Father and the Son would play in this redemption were set in place before the foundation of the world and we see these redemptive roles play out from the beginning of creation.

For although there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth—as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords”—yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist. (1 Corinthians 8:5-6, ESV)

We see these roles from the beginning because God’s covenantal plan and love was the purpose through which the world was created, it was integrated into creation itself. The Messiah’s work of redemption did not begin at the birth of Jesus, it began before the foundation of the world when God created his plan to rescue mankind. It is through Jesus the world was created and it is through Jesus we and all things in heaven and earth are reconciled to God.

                Before continuing I want to pause on this concept that both the Arians and Trinitarians can agree on. . . . The purpose of Creation is the Gospel. The Gospel, and setting apart the Messiah, is the purpose and source and beginning of all the works of God, the beginning of God’s creation, and indeed the first of the works of God. The last book of the Bible is the Revelation of Jesus Christ. Jesus is both the beginning and the end of creation. He is the alpha and the omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end (Revelation 1:8, Revelation 21:6, Revelation 22:13). Jesus is the center of creation.

The final Adam

A pattern we see developed in these scriptures is that Jesus as a man came into this world and is the perfect image of God and by his obedience as the final Adam, he has earned the right to be the heir and ruler of all things and has been appointed the firstborn of creation, his name being elevated above all other names.

In Colossians 1:15 the Greek syntax suggests that the terms “image of the invisible God” and “the firstborn of all creation” express similar concepts and give us a picture of Christ’s humanity. These descriptions are unique to Jesus. The Father and the Holy Spirit are not the images of God or the firstborn of creation. This title belongs to Jesus alone. It is the role set apart for him since before the beginning of the world. Christ, the Messiah, the man, the final Adam became a part of creation and through his obedience was made the preeminent creation and the inheritor or firstborn of creation. Being preeminent not only as a part of the creation but also as the one who is before all things and is the creator of all things. So that in every way, his name is above all other names, both as the creator and as a man created in the image of God.

It has been testified somewhere,

                “What is man, that you are mindful of him,

                                or the son of man, that you care for him?

                You made him for a little while lower than the angels;

                                you have crowned him with glory and honor,

                                putting everything in subjection under his feet.”

 (Hebrews 2:6-8a, ESV)

And so the man Jesus was elevated above all.

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 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 2:5-11, ESV)

Jesus preexisted creation

We see that Jesus, the man, the son of God, was the only firstborn of God in creation. When God created the Gospel as the first of his works, the Messiah was also the beginning of God’s creation. And as we have said he is more than just a man having existed before creation.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. (John 1:1-3ESV)

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’”) (John 1:14-15, ESV)

The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks before me, because he was before me.’ (John 1:29-30, ESV)

I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed. (John 17:4-5, ESV)

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 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 2:5-11, ESV)

Jesus has preeminence over creation as the firstborn because he is the creator of the world. Being both the creator and having been born as a part of creation, Jesus is the only one with the right to this title. No other creation nor God the Father or the Holy Ghost can be called the firstborn of creation.

THE NAME

So much more . . .

Remember people walked with Jesus, ate with him, touched him. They were intimately familiar with his humanity, but as they write we can see they also knew that he was so much more. . . . Since they knew him in his humanity, you would expect them to describe his humanity, his being born of God, being firstborn of creation and such. Yet as you read what they are writing, you can imagine them bursting at the seams, for we also see them in the next breath say, but he is so much more . . . . describing him as before all things and creator of all things. Jesus was no mere man. How grand it would have been to have walked intimately with this man!

This man is the center of all creation, Jesus being separated for this purpose before creation began in the Gospel, the first of the works of God, the beginning of the creation of God. He is the one through whom God created the world. It is in Jesus alone that all things both in heaven and earth are held together. John a man who walked, ate, and touched Jesus wrote, “All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made” (John 1:3, ESV). Paul confirms this in his letter to the Colossians after calling him the firstborn of creation.

For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. (Colossians 1:16-18, ESV)

These passages are saying, yes, Jesus is a man and he has gained honor and inheritance and rule as a man, but he is also so much more than a mere man. His right to these titles has been earned as a man but were already his because he is more than a man. The writer of Hebrews warns us to take heed, that we do not neglect Jesus, for he is greater than Moses, the prophets, Melchizedek, and much more than the angels. Jesus in John states he is greater than the sons of God.

At this point, the Trinitarians and the Arianism again should agree. Arianism believes that Jesus is more than just a man, more than the angels, believing he is a created god, the first of the creation of God, and greater than all other creation. When the scripture refers to all things being created through Jesus, Arians believe these verses refer to all other things created after Jesus was created. One key aspect for Arius is that Jesus had a beginning. Arius said, “There was a time when the son was not.” Arians contend that being created; Jesus is not eternal. So, both agree that the concept of the Messiah was created with the Gospel plan of God, before creation, but disagree on whether Jesus was in existence eternally before this plan. Trinitarians believe that Jesus eternally existed with God, as one of the three persons of the Godhead. The Gospel was the first of the works of God, and the roles each person of the Trinity would play in the Gospel is the first of God’s work, seen in their roles at creation and in history. Arians would say that Jesus was created as the first of God’s works and was set apart before the foundation of the world for the Gospel plan. Arians and Trinitarians also disagree on who Jesus is. Both agree that Jesus left his glory in the incarnation but disagree on what was the extent of that glory that Jesus had before the world began. Arians believe Jesus was a created god. Trinitarians believe Jesus is YHWH.

Neither beginning of days nor end of life

                The writer of Hebrews along with other passages dealing with the concept of the firstborn, state that all things were created through Jesus.

And,

                “You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning,

                                and the heavens are the work of your hands;

                they will perish, but you remain;

                                they will all wear out like a garment,

                like a robe you will roll them up,

                                like a garment they will be changed.

                But you are the same,

                                and your years will have no end.” (Hebrews 1: 10-12, ESV)

But does the writer of Hebrews believe that there was a time Jesus did not exist? Later in his epistle, he writes of the order of Melchizedek, the king, and priest of the Most High God,

For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, and to him Abraham apportioned a tenth part of everything. He is first, by translation of his name, king of righteousness, and then he is also king of Salem, that is, king of peace. He is without father or mother or genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but resembling the Son of God he continues a priest forever. (Hebrews 7:1-3, ESV)

The writer of Hebrews argues it is on the basis of “having neither beginning of days nor end of life” that the order of Melchizedek has preeminence over the Levitical priesthood. It is not only in the fact that Jesus goes on to live forever that gives him authority, for both men and angels will go on to live forever, but the fact that unique to all of creation, he is the only creation that has had no beginning of days. And if he has no beginning of days, then there is not a time when the son was not. The writer of Hebrews goes on to say, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8, ESV). In the first chapter, he states, “But you are the same, and your years will have no end (Hebrews 1:12b, ESV). He also says that Jesus is unchanging, an attribute that can only be said of God. The eternal existence of Jesus is a theme throughout this epistle.

YHWH: Jesus is LORD

                When the writer of Hebrews speaks of the Son as the creator of the earth in chapter 1 verses 10-12, he quotes Psalm 102. The text seems to come out of nowhere. Why would the writer pull this text out and say that this speaks of the son? This Psalm is about YHWH, and the writer of Hebrews seems to want you to make this connection because he adds the term Lord in his quote. Well, he doesn’t actually add it, he grabs it from verse 12 of the psalm, which says, “But you O LORD, are enthroned forever;” which is a continuation of the theme he previously discussed, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever,”, expressing the eternal nature of Jesus. This psalm also correlates the theme the writer has for worship, “And again, when he brings the firstborn into the world, he says, ‘Let all God’s angels worship him.’” (Hebrews 1:6, ESV) with “when the peoples gather together, and kingdoms, to worship the LORD.” (vs. 22). By expressing two different parts of this Psalm, he is also wanting you to look and meditate on the psalm as a whole and connect it to the son. The psalm begins in verse 2 with, “Do not hide your face from me” and talks of the YHWH arising and having pity on Zion and appearing in his glory. These are describing the return of Christ. It must be noted that in using the phrase “You Lord” the writer of Hebrews is not only connecting his quote with verse 12 of the psalm, but he is also connecting us to the one who is the subject of the psalm. He is connecting Jesus with the sacred name of God, YHWH. And so not only is Jesus said to have had no beginning of days, but he is also called YHWH and one day he will be revealed in the fullness of his nature. And the writer of Hebrews is not alone in this.

The Apostles found Jesus in the Old Testament

                Many of the writers of the New Testament were men who knew the man Jesus, knew his humanity but also knew there was something more. In their experience with him, they had come to believe and proclaim that he was the son of God. Jesus was the one that all of history had been waiting for. While with them, Jesus had taught them, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me” (John 5:39). So, in coming to understand this man who had walked amongst them, they would have followed Jesus’ command and looked to the stories, prophecies, psalms, and wisdom of the scripture. In the passage of Hebrews above, he seems to pull a passage out of nowhere, yet he didn’t. He was following Jesus’ instructions to search the scriptures for they bear witness of who Jesus is. They found their foundation in understanding the nature of Jesus from the Old Testament.

No one has ever seen God?

John writes, “No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known” (John 1:18, ESV). But wait a minute, . . . did not men in the Old Testament see God?

I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear,

                                but now my eye sees you;

                therefore I despise myself,

                                and repent in dust and ashes.” (Job 42:5-6, ESV)

Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built there an altar to the LORD, who had appeared to him. (Genesis 12:7, ESV)

So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel, saying, “For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life has been delivered.” (Genesis 32:30, ESV)

Then Moses and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel went up, [10] and they saw the God of Israel. There was under his feet as it were a pavement of sapphire stone, like the very heaven for clearness. And he did not lay his hand on the chief men of the people of Israel; they beheld God, and ate and drank. (Exodus 24:9-11, ESV) [Note: Just as Jesus ate in his resurrection body to show its reality, so too did these men eat and drink.]

Thus the LORD used to speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. (Exodus 33:11a, ESV)

In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. (Isaiah 6:1, ESV) 

Moses asks to see God’s glory

So, if the scripture in the Old Testament speaks of men seeing God, where is John getting this from, that “No one has ever seen God”? John knows of the story of Moses asked to see God’s glory and what God said.

Moses said, “Please show me your glory.” And he said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name ‘The LORD.’ And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live.” And the LORD said, “Behold, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock, and while my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back, but my face shall not be seen.” (Exodus 33:18-23, ESV)

When Moses asked to see God’s glory, God said, “you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live.” God did show Moses his glory, but not the fullness of His face, Moses was covered by the hand of God. So, what did Job, Abraham, Moses, and Isaiah see? Who did they see?

Jesus speaks of Abraham seeing him.  “Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad.” (John 8:56, ESV). And after quoting from Isaiah 53 and 6, John says that Isaiah saw the glory of Jesus, “Isaiah said these things because he saw his glory and spoke of him” (John 12:42, ESV). When the Old Testament men and women encountered God, they were encountering Jesus. In the Old Testament, we see Jesus described as the right hand (or hand) of God, the angel of the LORD, the Name, the Word, the Savior, the Creator, and the glory of the LORD, descriptions not a part or separate from YHWH, but YHWH himself, revealing himself to humanity in a way that they would not be destroyed.

God’s patience and love in hiding His face

                Because of Adam’s fall, and because of our sin, men cannot see God’s face and live. Jesus said that the more we know the more our judgment. When we see God face to face, there is no more to be known and we will be judged. “And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, (Hebrews 9:27, ESV). And so, for now, because of God’s patience with mankind, and to call a people to himself, God’s face is veiled. Yet we are given hope that this will not always be the case. God gave Israel a blessing to encourage them that one day, both heaven and earth would be reconciled, and we would one day see the face of God.

The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, Thus you shall bless the people of Israel: you shall say to them,

                The LORD bless you and keep you;

                the LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;

                the LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.

                “So shall they put my name upon the people of Israel, and I will bless them.”

 (Numbers 6:22–27, ESV)

Because of His love for us God has not abandoned us, nor left us on our own. We will see his face once again. But for now, He has revealed Himself to us through Jesus. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, . . .” (John 3:16, ESV). And he has fulfilled his promise to put his Name upon his people through Jesus.

He has given us His name

 In the Old Testament, the tabernacle was the place where God’s name dwelt. When Jesus came, God’s name tabernacled amongst us “For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily,” (Colossians 2:9, ESV).

For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. (Colossians 1:19–20, ESV)

And the Word became flesh and dwelt [to set up a tent] among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14, ESV, italics added)

It is God pursuing us, revealing himself in a way that we will not die. And God has done so much more. Now, through Jesus, He has given us His name and put his name upon his people. Jesus said, “I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word” (John 17:6, ESV). And because of what Jesus has done his name dwells in us and we have become the body of Christ, the temple of God.

As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. (1 Peter 2:4–5, ESV)

We are all under this one hope, all mankind throughout history who have put their hope in Jesus.

There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— (Ephesians 4:4, ESV)

But for now, we have not seen Jesus in his fullness, for when he was with us the fullness of the deity was hidden, tabernacled in a human body. “For now we see in a mirror dimly,” (1 Corinthians 13:12, ESV). But Jesus has promised to return, and at his return will be the revelation of Jesus Christ, where he will appear, and we will see him for who he is. It will not be an invisible return, for every eye shall see him.

Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen. (Revelation 1:7)

Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. (Matthew 24:30, ESV)

When Jesus returns, God’s face will no longer be hidden. The verse goes on,

“For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known. (1 Corinthians 13:12, ESV).

John states,

“Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2, ESV).

Revelation states,

“No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. (Revelation 22:3–4, ESV)

This is our one heavenly and earthly hope, when God reconciles heaven and earth through Jesus, we will see God face to face. His face shall shine upon us, and his Name shall be upon us.

The Name

                The writers looked to the Old Testament to find Jesus and they found him. They read verses like Isiah 45:22-23 and Joel 2:32 and saw Jesus

                “Turn to me and be saved,

                                all the ends of the earth!

                                For I am God, and there is no other.

                By myself I have sworn;

                                from my mouth has gone out in righteousness

                                a word that shall not return:

                ‘To me every knee shall bow,

                                every tongue shall swear allegiance.’

                “Only in the LORD, it shall be said of me,

                                are righteousness and strength; (Isaiah 45:21–24, ESV)

And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those who escape, as the LORD has said, and among the survivors shall be those whom the LORD calls. (Joel 2:32, ESV)

                therefore, thus says the Lord GOD,

                “Behold, I am the one who has laid as a foundation in Zion,

                                a stone, a tested stone,

                a precious cornerstone, of a sure foundation:

                                ‘Whoever believes will not be in haste.’ (Isaiah 28:16, ESV)

The apostle Paul, a learned Pharisee, who once killed those calling on the name of Jesus, takes hold of these three verses to show that they refer to Jesus, the name above all other names and that it is by calling on the name of Jesus name that salvation comes,

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 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 2:5–11, ESV)

To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.” (Acts 10:43, ESV)

because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Romans 10:9–13, ESV)

This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:11–12, ESV)

Because Old Testament used YHWH while describing Jesus, the New Testament writers who follow their example do not have a problem substituting YHWH with Jesus. Paul takes the name of YHWH in Joel 2:32 and replaces it with Jesus.  And in both Romans 10:11 and Acts 4:11, he supports this substitution by referring to Isaiah 28:16.

This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:10-11, ESV)

For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” (Romans 10:11

But he goes further and says, “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:11, ESV) . . . . Wow! No other name. . . . This would be blasphemy if Jesus is not YHWH, for Paul would not only be contradicting the Old Testament but also stating that YHWH’s name had been replaced by another being and that other beings name is now the only name that can save, YHWH’s name can no longer save. He is not saying this. Paul was a learned man and knew the scriptures. He fully understands the implications of what he is saying.  He is saying that Jesus is YHWH.

The Confession: Jesus is Lord

                The New Testament refers to Jesus as Lord. The term Lord as seen in “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” or “if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord” often refers to the covenant name, YHWH. Lord also often refers to rule and specifically the throne of David. The apostles take hold of these two meanings and associate both meanings to the confession, “Jesus is Lord”. Jesus is Lord and sits on David’s throne, but he is also Lord, YHWH, the name whom men must call upon to be saved. Lord both declares Jesus’ humanity and divinity. Both aspects are important and require the Holy Spirits’ work for one to confess.

Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says “Jesus is accursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit. (1 Corinthians 12:3, ESV)

Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already. (1 John 4:1–3, ESV)

When speaking of the Father and the Son, the apostles often use a phrase similar to “God, our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ” for this is an apt description describing each of their roles in creation and in the Gospel. It also follows the pattern of the Shema, “The LORD our God, the LORD is one”.

Paul uses this formula in describing the Father and Son and connects it with the confession of the Shema confirming that he believes “there is no God but one”,

“there is no God but one.” For although there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth—as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords”— yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist. (1 Corinthians 8:4b–6, ESV)

As Jesus being one Lord is not to the exclusion of the Father being Lord, nor is the Father being one God to the exclusion of Jesus being God but both are descriptions apt to their roles in the Gospel. Paul is clear that he is including them both, when he says “there is no God but one” and then goes on to describe who that one God is, following the pattern of the Shema, which also includes Lord and God, the terms God and Lord both refer to one God, just as they do in the Shema. The Shema states, “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. (Deuteronomy 6:4, ESV).

The Confession: my Lord and my God

                Jesus is not only called Lord, he called God as well. When Thomas sees Jesus after his resurrection, he proclaims of Jesus, “My Lord and My God” or in Greek “the Lord of me and the God of me”. Jesus confirms his confession, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” If Jesus is not God, then either Jesus or John or both are guilty of blasphemy for not clarifying Thomas’ statement. This was a bold and clear statement by Thomas. No one in that culture would have just let it be if it were not true. Men picked up stones to stone Jesus for less. And no one in that culture would have said what Jesus said or wrote what John wrote if it were not true.

                John uses the phrase “I am” throughout his Gospel. It is tightly interwoven in the text. Jesus did not use the phrase “I am” casually. One instance, a mob had come to arrest Jesus, Jesus said, “I am”, and all the mob fell to the ground. John had a purpose in including this phrase in his Gospel.

[Now Judas, who betrayed him, also knew the place, for Jesus often met there with his disciples. So Judas, having procured a band of soldiers and some officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees, went there with lanterns and torches and weapons. Then Jesus, knowing all that would happen to him, came forward and said to them, “Whom do you seek?” They answered him, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus said to them, “I am he.” Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them. [6] When Jesus said to them, “I am he,” they drew back and fell to the ground. (John 18:2–6, ESV)

The ”I am” statements culminate with the confession of Thomas. And Thomas is not the only apostle to call Jesus God.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (John 1:1, ESV)

waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, (Titus 2:13, ESV)

Simeon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ: (2 Peter 1:1, ESV)

You shall not take the name of the LORD in vain

                The Law says, “You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain” (Deuteronomy 5:11, ESV). The apostles understood this when they called Jesus Lord and God.

This commandment is similar to the words of Jesus when he said, “unless you believe that I am, you will die in your sins.” (John 8:24, NASB).  Jesus wanted his disciples to understand that he is the I am. Jesus told his disciples, “I am telling you this now, before it takes place, that when it does take place you may believe that I am he.” (John 13:19).

This is sobering. . . . for there is no other name by which men can be saved. “. . . no one can say ‘Jesus is Lord’ except in the Holy Spirit.” And  “every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God.” Both of these are necessary to call upon the name of the LORD. Shortly after referring to Jesus as firstborn and creator (his humanity and divinity), Paul makes this statement again referring once again both to Jesus’ divinity and humanity . . .

See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, (Colossians 2:8-9, ESV)

We cannot ignore the name of the Lord, and we cannot use the Name of the Lord in vain. While it is still called Today, we must follow the great confession found in scripture, “Jesus is Lord”. And though we did not walk, touch, nor ate with Jesus while he was on earth, we must boldly and clearly proclaim the confession of Thomas, “My Lord and my God.” And God who is faithful will keep his covenant of Love with his people.

                 “You are my witnesses,” declares the LORD,

                                “and my servant whom I have chosen,

                that you may know and believe me

                                and understand that I am he.

                Before me no god was formed,

                                nor shall there be any after me.

                 I, I am the LORD,

                                and besides me there is no savior.

                 I declared and saved and proclaimed,

                                when there was no strange god among you;

                                and you are my witnesses,” declares the LORD, “and I am God.

                 Also henceforth I am he;

                                there is none who can deliver from my hand;

                                I work, and who can turn it back?”   (Isaiah 43:10–13, ESV)

“I, I am he

                                who blots out your transgressions for my own sake,

                                and I will not remember your sins. (Isaiah 43:25, ESV)

I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am he you will die in your sins.” (John 8:24, ESV)

Reading:

Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
— Philippians 2:4-8

The Gospel is very personal. Christ was not aloof, acting from a distance in order to bring about salvation for His people. He came near, was born as a babe, and walked and lived among us. He “made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.” God came into our world. This means that obeying God in ministering to the poor and catching His heart for the poor does not happen from a distance. There is no aloofness. This is at the heart of the command of Christ,

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

This command challenges us to engage people, because it can only be fully obeyed by coming near and being involved in people’s lives.

In Jesus’ ministry, he didn’t just preach, he was involved in the lives of those around Him. The Pharisees often used this fact as a means for accusing Jesus. “Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, ‘This man receives sinners and eats with them.’” The Pharisees were upset because Jesus engaged “sinners” in such a personal way. This disturbed them. How could a righteous man associate with these “sinners”? This truth doesn’t just strike and disturb the heart of the Pharisees, it disturbs my heart as well. I prefer being aloof, distant, and safe. I don’t want to touch someone who is dirty or smelly. I don’t want to bring someone who is needy and annoying into my life. . . .

But God loves us, and He knows the richness of what it means to minister to the poor. And He knows that these riches cannot be gained from being far away from the poor. He knows the joy of what it will be like in our lives if we love as Christ loved. If we engage people as Christ engaged people. And this is why He commands it and why He has ordained that there will always be the poor in the land. There is richness as the poor and rich interact with each other. They both desperately need each other, neither one being better than the other, but both being richer for the other. James writes,

“Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation, and the rich in his humiliation, because like a flower of the grass he will pass away. For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits. . . . My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, “You sit here in a good place,” while you say to the poor man, “You stand over there,” or, “Sit down at my feet,” have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him? But you have dishonored the poor man. Are not the rich the ones who oppress you, and the ones who drag you into court? Are they not the ones who blaspheme the honorable name by which you were called?”

Where do we find our riches in how we interact with people – are we seeking prestige and comfort or are we seeking something that far outweighs the riches of this world? We need the poor, the physically, emotionally, and mentally challenged, the orphan, the unwanted, and the downtrodden in our lives. These people are not people to be sat down at our feet, they are to sit with us and near us. Do we realize that what we have from this world is so fragile and fading, but it is in these interactions with others in the church both rich and poor that we gain something that is eternal? This happens as we in a very personal and engaging way preach the Gospel to one another and come together as the Body of Christ.

So we don’t see ministry to the poor as something we do for others to help them. We do pursue relationships because we desperately need them as a part of our lives, and we need them to speak the Gospel into our lives, reminding us of the love of Christ. Therefore aloofness or setting the poor at our feet or in the back of the room is not ok with us. We see them as a treasure and desperately want them to be a part of our lives, so that in their riches, they can serve us. And my hope is that those who are poor materially in this world, but rich in faith, will also not stand aloof and keep their distance from those of us who need the riches of faith that they have to offer. Because when it comes down to it, we are all poor and in need of one another in the body of Christ, and we must engage each other and be involved in each other’s lives.
Paul writes,

“So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 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.”

We have to remember, we are not equal with God, our kingdoms are not what we live for. We no longer live for ourselves. We live for something far better. We have laid our lives down for the Gospel. When it comes to the poor, the destitute, the broken, our purpose is not to just address a physical or social need or injustice (although this is important), but to address and engage the person and show them Jesus, because God in such a mighty and personal way engaged us with a powerful love.

Scripture reading:
Read these verses and discuss what they mean to you and in regards to ministering to the poor.

1 Corinthians 1:26-31
For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”

Luke 6:32-36
“If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount. But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.

Questions:
Jesus didn’t just preach he met physical needs as well, why?

When is giving a handout engaging the poor and when is it only making our consciences feel better, but in reality not engaging the person? When is it showing the Gospel?

Who do we value in this world? Are the poor and destitute, people that we desire as a treasure?

In ministering to the “undeserving poor” what does it mean to engage them?

Do you engage with people that are different from you, awkward, or make you feel uncomfortable? Why? What is your view of this attitude?

Johnathan Edwards wrote,

in many cases, we may, by the rules of the gospel, be obliged to give to others, when we cannot do it without suffering ourselves. As if our neighbor’s difficulties and necessities be much greater than our own, and we see that he is not like to be otherwise relieved, we should be willing to suffer with him, and to take part of his burden on ourselves. Else how is that rule of bearing one another’s burdens fulfilled? If we be never obliged to relieve others’ burdens, but when we can do it without burdening ourselves, then how do we bear our neighbor’s burdens, when we bear no burden at all? Though we may not have a superfluity, yet we may be obliged to afford relief to others who are in much greater necessity. As appears by that rule, Luke 3:11, “He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none; and he that hath meat, let him do likewise.” — Yea, they who are very poor may be obliged to give for the relief of others in much greater distress than they. If there be no other way of relief, those who have the lightest burden are obliged still to take some part of their neighbor’s burden, to make it the more supportable. A brother may be obliged to help a brother in extremity, though they are both very much in want. The apostle commends the Macedonian Christians, that they were liberal to their brethren, though they themselves were in deep poverty. 2 Cor. 8:1, 2, “Moreover, brethren, we do you to wit of the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia: how in a great trial of affliction, the abundance of their joy, and their deep poverty, abounded unto the riches of their liberality.”

What do you think about this statement?

God came into the world . . . in the mundane and in the midst of glory. “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel.” (Matthew 1:23). “And she gave birth to her first-born son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger” (Luke 2:7). This babe, God in flesh, did not come into comfort or safety, but instead He chose not to be sheltered from the reality of this world and to became acquainted with sorrows, grief, and suffering. In His life, He did not turn His head from these things, but went to those who were broken hearted, hurting, blind, sick, and in bondage.

This gives me hope in this world where we preach the glory of the Kingdom, in the midst of a fallen and ugly world; a world that, at least for my part, most of the time does not make sense, a place where we are not protected from the reality of life. There are hard family situations, hard friendships, and hard circumstances. We witness to people whose hearts seem so hardened and darkened and held captive by sin. We walk with people through addictions. We persevere in prayer for those in bondage. We suffer with those who suffer. And we see the sickness of this world.

Our place in this world is as our Lord’s was, not in greatness or comfort, but in the poverty of laying our lives down for the gospel. As the scripture says, “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” Philippians 2:5-8

I do not know about you, but I need a gospel like this that meets the gates of hell, that meets the world as it is and does not put any façade on it. It is a comfort to know that we have a gospel, and a Lord, that does not hide from the reality of this world but is able to touch the brokenness, hurt, bondage, and suffering. And in this we can cry out, “He is with me. He is with me.”

This does not mean that there is not beauty and joy. At Christ’s birth, glory came to earth. Let us not forget, that in the midst of the manger was a King, so beautiful. Whose heart would not be gripped with tears at the site; it stirred angels to sing? The manger makes it all the more beautiful, not less so. In its meeting the world in reality, it presents a beauty that is real and relevant. It is not so lofty that it cannot be reached, but instead comes down to reach us. It is this beauty and joy that He presents in us as we give the gospel to others. So let us not look for comfort or safety but let us pursue beauty and love and truth and a vision and a dream bigger than our own: something that is real.

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.”