The One And Only

Are there any parallels between Jesus and any other great man of religion? Muhammad amassed an army of 10,000 to set out to conquer (killing thousands), while Jesus conquered hearts in His invisible kingdom through love ("My kingdom is not of this world"). Buddha, which means "Enlightened One," (while Jesus claimed to be the Light) and Buddha's real name was Siddhartha Gautama, and he came from an affluent Hindu family and lived a sheltered life in childhood. Muhammad and his followers looted and pillaged caravans, while Jesus had no flaws in morality and his followers aimed to live by his code of love. Jesus was from a working-class family, while Buddha had privilege, Muhammad, a camel driver, married a rich woman 15 years his senior and then took to meditation. Buddha left his wife and son to become an ascetic, while Jesus never married, was tempted of the devil for 40 days in the wilderness, and had a close-knit band of followers, both male and female to the very end, and Muhammad set out with his army in at least 66 battles. Buddha was appalled at the suffering of his day, while Jesus was a man suffering, and acquainted with grief, even dying on a cross willingly. Buddha set out merely to reform Hinduism, while Christ was the fulfillment of Judaism and the prophecies. Buddha claimed that his mother was impregnated by a six-tusked white elephant, while Jesus was born of a virgin woman in fulfillment of a prophecy made 700 years prior--the kind of life He lived would be consistent with this.

George Gordon, Lord Byron, the great Romantic poet, said that "if ever a man were God or God were a man, Jesus was both!" John Stuart Mill, considered by some to be the most intelligent man to have ever lived, said Jesus was the "guide of mankind." Bertrand Russell, the atheist philosopher, said that "what the world needs is more Christian love and compassion"--people emulate Jesus like no other man as the epitome of love in action. Will Durant said that Jesus is the dominant figure of Western Civilization. No one predecessor is His equal and no successor meets His standards of perfection and lawlessness.

Jesus, Himself, challenged His enemies to convict Him of sin. Even the Koran says that He was without sin. The crassest heretics have not denied his sin-free life either. He was flawless, whereas Muhammad had his flaws. Buddha couldn't have been perfect and didn't even claim it--he was agnostic--because he claimed to have come to "Enlightenment" after his search under the bo tree near the river Gaya, and therefore couldn't have always known the way, while Jesus confounded the Pharisees at the age of 12 and knew the business of His Father, and didn't claim to know the way but to be the way--Buddha didn't believe in God, and said that, if there was one, He couldn't help you find enlightenment, because you must find it on your own.

You cannot compare Jesus with any other man (you can only contrast), for He is alone and incomparable: His character was unique (flawless, without sin, and it is said that He is in a moral category by Himself, and it has been well said that His character supports His claims); His conduct was unprecedented (He forgave His enemies on the cross, and He invariably practiced what He preached); His claims were unparalleled (made Himself the Son of God--no other religious leader such as Muhammad or Buddha, an agnostic, has said this); and His credentials were unequaled (His life didn't belie but confirmed His claims, His miracles were true signs and consistent with his nature, and not just for show or selfish reason of profit, and even His enemies acknowledge His character). The caliber of His life was such that no one could challenge His answers and authority, and accuse Him of wrongdoing or sin.

The founders of other faiths are known for what they said, Jesus is primarily known for who He was and what He did--that He claimed to be the Son of God, died on the cross, and rose from the dead! Any man can claim to be God for instance, (but you need credentials and character), but to prove it by rising from the dead is quite another! It has been said that the kind of life Jesus lived verified His claims and you would expect the Son of God to behave like Him--there is no ungodliness or weakness in His person. There is everything we would want in a man to worship and adore and He doesn't fall short of any ideal or standard, but only inspires even the greatest of men--even Napoleon proclaimed Him to be no mere man and he claimed to know men.

Jesus lived in obscurity as a common man without privilege: He had no army, yet He conquered millions; He never wrote a word, yet He inspired more books and inspired more literature than anyone else; He had no riches, yet He made many rich; He had no formal education, yet He was the greatest teacher to have ever lived. Jesus was not born into privilege or opportunity, but into an average working family and knew what the average man went through in daily life from personal experience. He confounded the Pharisees with His brilliance at the age of twelve with His questions and answers concerning the Scriptures. There was no duplicity in Him, for He practiced what He preached, yet He condemned hypocrisy in others. Though men have conquering armies, Jesus conquered hearts and many millions would die for Him.

Who was the greatest leader of all time? Who has done the kind of miracles that have never been duplicated? Who was the greatest teacher? Who gave us the highest ethic or moral code to live by? Who lived the holiest life of all men? Who has the most followers and worshipers of all time? Who was the greatest philosopher or "un-philosopher" of all time? Who has done the best for mankind? Who had the greatest personality of all time? Who sets the highest standards to live by? Who had a more profound impact on civilization, either direct or indirect (inspiring the building of hospitals, universities, orphanages, charities, and missions)?

All other men pale in comparison to Christ and no one can meet His standards of holiness. Usually, familiarity breeds contempt, but not so with the disciples who were near Him--they never stopped admiring His perfection and even worshiped Him. What Jesus did, no man can do and we don't compare Jesus with others but contrast them: We don't say, "Jesus the Great," though we say Alexander the Great, or Peter the Great, for even that is an insult and do Him injustice; what we do is contrast Jesus with others and make Him the standard to judge all of mankind by. If God became a man, what kind of man would you expect Him to be?

Of the greatest men who have ever lived, none have dared to claim to be God in the flesh or the one and only way to God. Jesus didn't claim to be the best way to God, nor one of many ways, but the one and the only way to the Father. Only Jesus had the "words of eternal life" and showed us the Way. He didn't claim to be telling us the truth, but that He was the incarnation of truth itself ("I am the truth"). He said that all who are "of the truth" will hear Him, but unbelievers are those who reject the truth. In all of recorded history, no one has matched His personality and life! Many books can claim to be true, but only God's Word is Truth with a capital T, and the testimony is this: nature forms you, sin deforms you, education informs you, prison reforms you, but only Christ transforms you!

The New Testament books are not to be compared with the writings of other religions where so-called miracles are attributed, for they were written within a generation of the events and by eye-witnesses--not compiled centuries later. The difference between Christ's miracles and those of other faiths is that they were signs of His deity, and not just fantastic, for a show, or for personal advantage. You can take the miracles out of Islam, for example, and the religion remains intact, but if you remove the miracles from the Bible you disembowel it and make it nothing. Without miracles, Jesus would have only been a footnote in history and not worth following. Even Muhammad believed Christ performed miracles and he did none himself (there are none in the Koran)--only years later did writers ascribe some to him.

After the crucifixion, His own followers were ready to write Him off and go on living as if they had wasted three years of their life. It was the miracle (the great sign that He would give) and the fact of the resurrection that turned a disbanded and demoralized group of followers into roaring lions of the faith, who were not afraid of the authorities anymore, nor of death itself. If God were to become a man, you would expect Him to be like Jesus and do miracles and Jesus foots the bill and doesn't let us down on any count. It is one thing to claim to be God and quite another to prove it and have people die for your claims! "He spoke like no other man ever spoke"--with authority (He didn't say, "Thus says the Lord, but, "I say unto you.").

The Christian scholar Philip Schaff portrays Christ graphically as follows:

This Jesus of Nazareth, without money and arms, conquered more millions than Alexander, Caesar, Muhammad, and Napoleon; without science and learning shed more light on matters human and divine than all philosophers and scholars combined; without the eloquence of schools, he spoke such words of life as were never spoken before or since and produced effects which lie beyond the reach of orator or poet; without writing a single line, he set more pens in motion and furnished themes for more sermons, orations, discussions, learned volumes, works of art and songs of praise than the whole army of great men of ancient and modern times.

Nothing can explain Him, except the profound hypothesis that He is the living Son of God! We don't compare Christ, we contrast Him who is in a league of His own as the one who claimed to be God in the flesh or incarnated--you can rest assured of this: No one will ever improve on Jesus! As John Stuart Mill (considered one of the most brilliant minds of all time and an atheist) said he is "a unique figure not more unlike all his predecessors than all his followers,"

The problem with most would-be messiahs is that their character doesn't support their claims and the problem is that familiarity breeds contempt with men, but there is no discrepancy with Christ--his character does not disprove His deity, but it is consistent with it and confirms it. No one, not even a psychiatrist could analyze Him as unbalanced despite His claims. Christ is beyond our analysis (no one can figure Him or peg Him) and we can only be in awe as we wonder what kind of man would we expect the Son of God to be. Who can understand a man who washes His disciple's feet, yet claims to be the Judge of mankind? Soli Deo Gloria!

Why Is Jesus The Son Of God?

First, we call Him that because He was incarnated by the eternal Spirit and born of a virgin.  In the biblical sense, the word "son" doesn't necessarily mean what it means in English as a begotten or natural-born progeny. We are "sons of Abraham" by faith and Peter called Mark his son and Paul called Timothy his son.   It means something that even we can be. Just as Barnabas was known as the "son of encouragement," which his name means.   Jesus nicknamed James and John "sons of thunder."  That means he embodies or personifies it, not that he is in some way begotten in an abstract way.  

Unfortunately, the creeds say that Jesus is begotten, not made to counter the Arian heresy and to clarify the deity of Christ.  When Jesus said He was the Son of God and also the Son of Man, it meant that He embodied or personified the essence of God and man. At His trial Jesus confessed to being the Son of the Blessed One; a direct claim to being God in the eyes of the Pharisees.   He is the icon of God or the express image of God meaning that all we need to know of God is seen in Him.  He is the representative of God and we can know God through Him.  For all the fullness of God's nature dwells in Him bodily (cf.Col. 2:9). Remember, God is spirit and invisible, to know God and see Him in glory, we must behold Jesus! "The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of His nature..." (cf. Heb. 1:3).

Jesus was always the Son of God and didn't become the Son of God at some point in time or He would not be eternal and then He couldn't be God. But He is God in the flesh and only in His humanity was there a beginning or incarnation. Nothing that begins can be eternal and must have a cause but God is the First Cause meaning He needs no agent and is not contingent or dependent upon anyone or anything. Jesus is co-equal with the Father and sees the Father as a father figure or role model in a sense that defines His relationship with Him, not that He was born of God.  

The Muslims are right in that they say God never had a Son.  Jesus was and is the Son and always was from all eternity.  He didn't become the Son. Muslims fail to see that the Father and the Son are One in essence, will, and attributes and this doesn't violate the law of noncontradiction.  To say God is one and to say Jesus and the Father are One is not a contradiction.  To say God is one and to say that God is personified in three manifestations is not a contradiction either. In one sense, God is one; in another, He is three--that is no contradiction according to the law of noncontradiction.  Which lawl states:  A cannot be A and non-A in the same sense at the same time. 

We are sons of God in that we bear His image and represent God and are adopted into His family which the angels are not!  We are privileged joint-heirs. We can be the image of God to people and manifest what God is like as witnesses and give a testimony that brings glory to God. Our purpose when is to glorify God! A Son glorifies and brings honor to a Father. In the beginning, both the Father and the Son enjoyed equal glory from all eternity. 

Since Jesus is the Son of God, to worship Him is to worship God, to honor Him is to honor God, to deny Him is to deny God, to blaspheme Him is to blaspheme God, to receive Him, is to receive God, and to reject Him, is to reject God. Jesus is God in other words and for all practical purposes. We must conclude that the world may be looking for a song to sing and a creed to believe or a calling to find but they must realize that Christianity is about a person to know.  Without Him in your heart, you just going through the motions and are empty inside. We must have the Son in our hearts and radiate His glory. We miss the boat if we don't realize who the Son is and what that means and should mean to us personally. We fail at our spiritual potential.    Soli Deo Gloria! 

Our Beatific Vision

The pagan Emperor Trajan once asked a Christian why his God was invisible and you couldn't see him (it sounded atheistic to him--just worshiping a spirit), and he was informed and given the scoop: "Look at the sun!" Trajan said he couldn't because it's too bright. "Then don't you now realize that, if you cannot behold God's creation, how much less the splendor and glory of God?" Jesus said that God is Spirit and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth (cf. John 4:24).

The Greek believers asked the disciples if they could see Jesus. "We would see Jesus!" We don't need to see Him in order to know Him, because Jesus said blessed is he who believes and hasn't seen (cf. John 20:29). We can see with the eyes of our hearts which are opened by the Holy Spirit's illuminating ministry. We are seeing the glory of God when our eyes are opened to see how He is manifest in believers, and we see Jesus in them and they see Him in us--this is only a taste of the glory which shall be revealed to us. As Hebrews 2:9 (ESV) says: "But we see him [i.e., Jesus, with our spiritual eyes] ...."

We shall all be satisfied in heaven by beholding the face of God (in Jesus), but only because we will not be in the flesh, but without any sin to corrupt our spiritual bodies and souls. God has revealed Himself throughout the Bible in many theophanies (revelation of God, such as in the burning bush) and Christophanies (revelation of Jesus, such as the Angel of the LORD). From the burning bush to appearances as the Angel of the LORD, to Gideon and as the Son of Man, to Daniel's friends in the furnace, and to Daniel in a vision. John saw Jesus in His glory at the transfiguration and then finally at Patmos in a vision of heaven.

Jesus is how God manifests Himself as the embodiment, personification, or icon of God. When Philip (cf. John 14:8-9) asked Jesus during the Last Supper in the Upper Room to show them the Father, Christ said, that he who has seen Him has seen the Father--they are one! All that God wants to reveal of Himself is presented in the Son--all that God has to say to us and all that we can know. God is Spirit, according to Jesus, and became a man for our sake so we would have something to relate to and what to think of when we meditate on God. Jesus is analogous to the sun because He gives light to all He shines on, and makes life possible too.

Jesus has the Shekinah (glory of God), not reflected the glory of God, as Moses had after being in His presence. Jesus does not reflect light--He is light: John 8:12 says, "... I am the light of the world...." Jesus willingly veiled His glory because they couldn't behold it in full. Jesus has all the glory of the Father, there is no diminishing of it, but He voluntarily laid it aside (known as the kenosis in Philippians 2) while incarnated on earth before His ascension. Actually, Jesus shines brighter than the sun, which is only an analogy or symbol of Him.

In glory, we shall behold Him: "... [B]ut we know that when he appears we shall be like him because we shall see him as he [Jesus]" (1 John 3:2, ESV). Moses wanted to see God's face but God said that no man shall see His face and live [in the flesh], as Jesus told Moses in Exodus 33:23. Jesus said in His Beatitudes that the pure in heart are blessed, for they shall see God [in the NT God usually refers to God the Father].

Don't forget the Aaronic benediction in Numbers 6:24-26 as a promise to claim: "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." What man has always yearned for is a God they can see; one that has skin on and we can relate to. Jesus is just that incarnation: God with skin on!  

Jesus said that "God is glorified in Him" (cf. John 10:34) and this is when He is glorified. At His priestly prayer in John 17 Jesus besought the return of His glory after He had glorified the Father by doing all His will and being obedient in His subordination and humility. He did it by accomplishing all God's work for Him on earth that was given Him to do (cf. John 17:4). By analogy we give up our glory to share His glory and to glorify God: "The chief end of man is to glorify God, and enjoy Him forever" (The Westminster Shorter Catechism, ca. 1646).

Everyone will bow to the glory of God, either at Judgment Day, or to become a believer and surrender the control over himself, and even others, to the lordship of Christ. We must give up the ownership of our lives and realize we owe all to Him because He purchased us at the cross with His blood. But Jesus wants more than our bodies dedicated to Him as reasonable service (cf. Rom. 12:1), He wants us (to surrender everything we have and are to His lordship)! This entails and involves giving up your personal throne and kingdom and surrender it to God's sovereignty and guidance or plan for your life--we don't ask God to bless our plans, but Him to reveal His plan.

We leave our throne to bow to His and ultimately get a crown to reign with Him, just like Jesus left His throne in Heaven to humble Himself in obedience all the way to the cross. This surrender and acknowledgment of His lordship are not only done at salvation but renewed daily, as we learn to walk in the Spirit and in fellowship with God and our brethren (cf. 1 John 1:7). We actually have more authority in Christ after surrendering our authority and this is a paradox indeed (i.e., if we are lords, we are to become servants for Christ's sake and humble and meek enough that no service is beneath our dignity). We have nothing in comparison to lose and everything in eternity to gain, including the right to rule in glory with Christ, as we go from glory to glory to an ultimate glorified state in the New Jerusalem.

He doesn't want sacrifice or offering, or even going through the motions of the rituals of worship--Jesus internalized religion to make it a matter of the heart (He said evil comes out from the heart of man) because the Pharisees had externalized it to outward obedience to the letter of the Law, and neglect of the spirit of the Law. He wants all there is of us--all of our minds, hearts, souls, spirits, strength, and wills. John was stunned at the sight of the Lord, so just imagine how we would react!

Jesus is the Great Inspector General of the church and we all need to pass muster and be ready for daily inspection of our daily walk--take regular spiritual check-ups so as not to jeopardize your testimony to the world. Paul said to "test yourselves whether you are in the faith." We are to examine ourselves (cf. 2 Cor. 13:5)--not others--regularly and especially before the Lord's Supper. We are fruit inspectors--not detectives. We must examine ourselves first because judgment begins at the house of God, and when we have cast the beam out of our own eye we can help someone else with the speck in theirs.

In other words, don't throw bricks if you live in a glasshouse, because we all have feet of clay or have vulnerabilities not readily apparent--we may see the sins of others as obvious; however, we just sin differently and have no right to look down on our brother or criticize him, and we are all vulnerable to Satan's attack, which Martin Luther called the Anfectung, and we should never succumb to this nor even his accusations. If we take care of our witness and testimony, God will take care of our reputation and open doors for us--we must just be ready! 

Men have always imagined what God must be like and Christians have longed to see visions and revelations of God, known as theophanies. But no one knows what God looks like because God is Spirit (cf. John 4:24)! Moses saw the backside of the glory of Christ, who does reveal Himself, but the Father doesn't and no man has ever seen the Father. Our faith concerns the God who is there!

A child was asked what he was drawing in class: "I'm drawing a picture of God!" The teacher told him no one knows that:   the child said, "They will now."   The child had to learn that no one can draw God, but the child answered that people will see now what He looks like. Children have an innocent faith and we are to mimic it (cf. Matt. 18:3). Hebrews says that we do see Jesus (cf. Heb. 2:9), and we sense His presence when two or three are gathered in His name as a promise (cf. Matt. 18:20).

He indwells each of us and we can have an existential encounter with Him as we read Scripture, fellowship, worship, or pray. Christians see the glory of God in His work on earth and will see God's glory in heaven, to our delight. The prophets who claimed they "saw God" were seeing theophanies, and not God in His fullness. We cannot bear to look at the sun in its brightness, much less look at the glory of God directly. That's one reason God reveals Himself propositionally and in the Word.

Christians want Christ to be seen in them and also to seek Christ being glorified. As Paul said in Col. 1:27, "Christ in you, the hope of glory." He also boasted that Christ was glorified in him. We wait till Christ be formed in us and in our brethren as a sign of maturity. God will never give up making us in His image and we are works in progress (cf. Phil. 1:6).

The Greek disciples who came to the apostles and said they "[wanted] to see Jesus"; we have a much greater thing in that we have the Word of God and full revelation of the wisdom and knowledge of God in it--we're better off than being with Christ in person also because we have the inner blessing of the Spirit. The apostles said that it would suffice to see the Father, but Jesus said that to see Him was to see the Father! All that we can know and see God is revealed in Christ! In eternity we'll see the big picture!

The infidel doesn't see God anywhere at work, but the believer sees His fingerprint everywhere, from the smallest atom to the largest galaxy, at work. No amount of proof will convince someone who doesn't want to do God's will or sincerely have a relationship with him; to the believer and honest seeker, there is ample evidence--no one can disbelieve due to lack of evidence!

In glory, we shall behold Christ as He is and we shall be like Him too, able to take it in. It is said that some angels always do behold the face of God and that Gabriel "[stands] in the presence of God"; we'll have more privilege than an angel! People generally say that seeing is believing; however, believing is seeing! Don't envy those who have seen a vision or revelation, as Jesus told Thomas: "Blessed are those who have not seen, and yet believed" (cf. John 20:29). Jesus rebuked the Pharisees who maintained they could see but were "blind guides," in fact, the "blind leading the blind"; think how much worse it is to think you see and be blind, or not knowing you're blind! Christ came to open our eyes and to make the blind see, and Satan has blinded the eyes of all who don't believe in Christ (cf. 2 Cor. 4:4).

Caveat: Don't reduce God to one dimension or put Him in a box, emphasizing one aspect, like seeing Him just as: the Old, Doting Grandpa who says, "Boys will be boys;" the Kind Father; the Man Upstairs; Cosmic Killjoy; the Great Spirit; the Strict, Mean Judge; the Higher Power; or even as the Great Mathematical Mind. Whenever we have an inadequate perception of God it's idolatry and our God is too small, thinking of Him in human terms. How big is your God, is just as important as seeing Him. God cannot be limited, defined, or confined, and we must know that He is beyond comprehension, known as His profundity, and we will never fully apprehend His glory, nature, or essence throughout eternity ("the finite cannot contain the infinite," says the maxim).

The eyes of our hearts are opened upon salvation and we can literally say we see and were blind, just like the blind man Jesus healed said, "I was blind, but now I see!" No one can argue the fact that we have spiritual eyes enlightened and illuminated by the Holy Spirit living in our hearts. Theologians have attempted definitions of God in vain, for He cannot be described, only known, loved, and worshiped!

It is the childish faith that seeks to know God through pictures, visions, or experiences, but the mature obedient believer clings to the Word and hears God speaking His message through it; just like Francis Schaeffer wrote: "He is there, and He is not silent!" The problem with man is not only is he blind to spiritual truth, but spiritually hard-of-hearing and turns a deaf ear to the gospel message that he does hear. Man isn't faithful to the God he does see and is without excuse. Soli Deo Gloria!

Is My Jesus The One You Know?

Right off the bat, John says He is the Creator and that He is the Word that became flesh; the whole point of our faith.  Some imagine the Trinity as Jesus the nice one, the Father the stern one, and the Holy Spirit the mysterious one!  But Jesus is Mr. Nice Guy!  What about when He chased the moneychangers out of the temple?   He knows how to be stern too and to rebuke with all authority.  There is essentially no difference in temperament in the triune God.  They all can be mysterious, nice at times, and stern.  We must not put Jesus in a box and limit His personality to what we can imagine.

His incarnation is a mystery how He God can become man, and the hypostatic union [of His deity and humanity] is another profundity.  We must refrain from confusing, dividing, mixing, or separating these natures, as He is two natures in one divine Personhood. Each nature retains its divine attributes.  Jesus is not only truly and fully God, but truly and fully man or He could not be our Mediator and Savior. Only God could die for the sins of the world and be perfect.  He has three offices for us:  Prophet to show us our sins and the truth as Savior from the ignorance of sin; as  Priest to save us from the penalty of our sins and be our sacrifice, and King to be our sovereign and ruler to save us from the power of sin and give us victory.   

But Jesus was not a man with divine powers like a Popeye figure, or even a God in human disguise as Superman, nor a demigod (half God, half man) like Hercules.  Nor is He a Cosmic Killjoy or Mean Judge.  Everything that makes us human is in Him and everything that makes the Father God is also in Him.   We cannot put Jesus in a box and limit Him for He is infinite and beyond definition or understanding.  We cannot know Him exhaustively, but we can know Him truly.  That's the whole idea of salvation: knowing Jesus personally.

His favorite title for Himself was "Son of Man" because He related to the human race and wanted us to know He is a man and not a ghost or humanized god or deified human!  This title was uniquely Messianic and the fulfillment of Dan. 7:13 and what condemned Him at His trial when He claimed it.  He was insulted and persecuted for calling Himself the Son of God.  But He was this because He had no human father and was God's Son equal in deity, attributes, holiness, powers, and eternity.  He always was the Son of God and used this title (in fulfillment of Psalm 2:7), the eternal Son, which means He is God because only God is eternal.  He claimed to be "one with the Father," and that the "Father is in Him and He is in the Father,"  and in effect made Himself [out to be] God, as the Pharisees saw it.

In so many words, He did claim to be the great I AM (cf. John 8:28, 58).  He didn't always beat around the bush but would ask people to believe in Him for His very work's sake  He didn't just make claims but assumed the authority of  God by judging, doing miracles, and forgiving sins.  Usually, you don't believe someone who claims to be born of a virgin but if one had the character, witnesses, works, and credentials of Christ it would carry some weight in a court of law as admissible evidence.  

He was an itinerant teacher who never traveled more than about one hundred miles from his home base in Capernaum. Known to some simply as the Carpenter, He was what one would respect in a man as one who got down and dirty with men when calling them to follow Him.  To call Him a good teacher is an insult, but The Teacher. He is not the greatest anything as one would say Jesus the Great, for this is unworthy of Him and doesn't do His greatness justice.  He introduced a new preaching style using object lessons and parables as well as teaching sermons and doing miracles to illustrate the point.  He taught mainly just the Twelve (disciples) but did it one-on-one and did such a good job that it was all the size He needed to change the world with His teachings. 

His ethic raised the bar and is considered one that cannot be lived, but Jesus lived what He preached and preached what He practiced. His disciples referred to Him as Lord or Rabbi and this was a sign of reverence. His disciple Peter confessed Him as the Christ, the Son of the Living God.  He commanded respect and confounded all those who challenged His authority, for He didn't teach as the Pharisees or religious leaders, and not by authority, but with authority, not as any man ever spoke!  Finally, when He answered all their questions, they dared not to ask Him anymore.  

The Father is the eternal Father meaning there never was a point in time when He wasn't the Father; He didn't "become" the Father. Jesus was called the Son of David also, which was Messianic and didn't deny the title.  He was the rightful sovereign of the throne of David and the rightful King of the Jews.  He fulfilled the Law of Moses perfectly without flaw or sin and was born with the one purpose in mind: to die for us. He challenged His critics to accuses Him of sin. Usually, when you get to know someone you see flaws, but not so with Jesus: the idea that familiarity breeds contempt didn't hold water as Peter said, "Depart from me O Lord, for I am a sinful man."   The only charge that stuck and that He was crucified for in the end, was one of insurrection, that He claimed to be a King.  

Jesus was par excellence a man on a mission!  He came to die.  He could've taken the throne of David but His prioritized purpose was to die for our sins as the Lamb of God and Savior.  He resisted efforts to establish His kingdom at the time and would not even die before His time.  He prophesied His crucifixion and knew what He had gotten Himself into and what He signed up for.  He even prayed to be delivered from the Passion, but relinquished to God's will and suffered in our stead. He would first be our Savior and then our priest, then our King.  Right now, I believe in and understand Jesus as my Advocate and Intercessor when I go astray and the Good Shepherd who keeps me on the right track and in God's will. 

His mission was Job One:

Jesus came to save sinners and set them free from themselves, God's wrath, their enslavement to Satan, and sin. His message only has something to say to those who are lost, sick, and unrighteous and see their need for a Physician to heal them. Sin is a virus that must be healed and we cannot approach God while affected--He must cleanse us or He will have no part of us. He saves us despite ourselves and our own efforts, for there is no pre-salvation work we can achieve or preparation we can make to qualify for grace--that's why it's grace and not merit-based. In fact, the only qualification for salvation is to realize our need and bankruptcy in God's tribune. Jesus is on a rescue mission and meets us in our deepest need--the effects of sin.

Sin is both alienating and enslaving, it estranges and separates us from others and God. Jesus is the Great Reconciler and has done something about the sin question on the cross by shedding blood. Yes, He owns us because He purchased us with His very own blood was shed voluntarily on our behalf. Our greatest need was to be forgiven and made righteous, both accomplished at the cross. We are forgiven for our sins (what we've done or called being justified) and delivered from what we are (sanctification or from our sin nature). The cross is a great rescue operation! "If our greatest problem had been ignorance God would've sent an educator, or if it had been technology, He would've sent a scientist, but our greatest need was the restoration of our relationship with Him" (source unknown).

That's what salvation is: the healing of our relationship with God and getting back into fellowship with Him, for sin precludes and prevents that. We were in no position to save ourselves or salvage our souls, in fact, we needed divine intervention to meet our needs and do for us what we couldn't do for ourselves. Jesus raised the bar on love and sacrifice, giving His all for us and pouring out His compassion on the cross when He was suffering the most--the ultimate sacrifice.

He thought of us to the very end and would rather die than live without us! His love is unconditional and sacrificial and costs something! We can give without loving, but we cannot love without giving! In the final analysis, Jesus knew what His mission was--to do the Father's will and be subordinate to it in all things (that was His mission statement or motto of life--to do God's will!), which would bring about the salvation of His sheep, by laying down His life, for whom He shed His blood and poured out His very life. 

He rose from the dead to give us hope of a resurrection and to prove the reconciliation and redemption for our sins to the Father. His resurrection was the final sign He would give of His deity and divine mission as our Savior.  His kingdom was not to be of this world, but as the Emperor of Love, He would reign in the hearts of men and conquer kingdoms and turn the world upside-down and topsy-turvy.  His influence changed the course of history as the biggest revolutionary of all time and the central figure of Western Civilization or what is called Christendom.  The pagan and barbarian world of Rome was to become Christianized or converted by the year AD 313 with the Edict of Milan by Emperor Constantine, who became a Christian.    Soli Deo Gloria! 

Does Jesus Need Credentials?...

 Jesus was well-known in Judea but especially in Capernaum and Nazareth where the ministry got off to a start and onto its feet as the first HQ.  His reputation preceded Him! He needed no introduction or publicity agent!   Fame was something that traveled fast in those days as the common folk spread the word, especially that there was a prophet in the nation, maybe even the Prophet that is to come.  Even today, people don't regard Him as Jesus the Great but simply Jesus.  He has no equal, neither predecessor nor successor.

John was His forerunner and character reference so to speak and he was the most highly regarded man in the land at the time, so much that the Pharisees dare not interfere with him, for the people loved him and respected his preaching the baptism of repentance. But Jesus needed no letter of recommendation or to refer to credentials as a way to impress Himself on others. His miracles spoke for themselves. 

What kind of credentials were these then? They consisted of perfect morality and keeping to a faultless degree every point of the Law of Moses, the Torah. No one could genuinely find fault in Him and He asked the Jewish leaders to accuse Him of sin with conviction and they failed; the only charge that could tick before the Sanhedrin was that He was an insurrection threat to Rome. Jesus was so holy that it made everyone who knew Him realized their own faults, shortcomings, and sins; Peter said, "Depart from me O Lord, for I am a sinful man!"  Now, normally familiarity breeds contempt but not in His case!  He could not have been anything but perfect to fulfill the Law and only one sin would have disqualified Him from being our Savior 

Another credential was His works, so ass to say that we should believe on account of the sake of the works alone, that they were of the Father.  He did many signs, wonders, and miracles that elicited faith in some and skepticism and cynicism in others; He had enemies because of the truths He spoke. He never footnoted His sayings but spoke directly as God Himself.  He spoke nothing but the truth but didn't say that He knew the truth or would say it or found it, but that He is the truth (cf. John 14:6); He didn't speak by authority, but with authority "as one who had authority" (cf. Mark 1:22; Matt. 7:29)! His word was binding, authoritative, and final.  He had and was the last word! 

Now, His miracles were not helter-skelter or for no reason scattered in the narrative, but God had a purpose for each of them and without them, the story wouldn't be the same and Christ would be but a footnote in history  If we remove the miracles from Christ then He is nothing and the faith is disemboweled and neutered. Other faiths remain intact even without the miracles--they are unnecessary for the religion. Jesus never did anything for selfish or self-serving reasons, but as acts of compassion and often to be object lessons to His sermons or sayings--no showy or biggie miracles!  

Now, Jesus had many character witnesses, and even if we look at His enemies (the witness of an enemy has a lot of weight in a court of law due to no personal gain by it), we learn quite a deal because they have no agenda or motive to lie about Him; they would unwittingly tell the truth. For instance, Judas said he had betrayed innocent blood, the soldier at the crucifixion called Him an innocent man or even the Son of God, Pontius Pilate said he found no fault in Him, even King Herod was unwilling to convict Him. When at the trial, they found no legitimate witnesses to tell the truth but they contradicted each other--they had to resort to getting a confession and self-condemnation which was illegal.  

But the biggest credential of Christ was His resurrection (cf. Romans 1:4; Acts 17:31), the final sign to a wicked generation.  He prophesied this and rose on the third day to prove His vindication for us and to give us hope of a resurrection, which doctrine had been vague to the Jews. The cornerstone of our faith is the historical truth of the resurrection and this is arguably the most attested fact in antiquity.  Either it's the most astounding fact in history or the biggest, cruelest hoax ever perpetrated according to Josh  MacDowell. If we remove this miracle then our faith is futile and we have no reason to trust Christ and we are indeed the most miserable of all men and most to be pitied (cf. 1 Cor. 15:14). 

But all this is only consistent with who Jesus claimed to be!  Most people mocked at having virgin births like Alexander the Great and Buddha, but if you lived the life of Jesus, you'd take it more seriously.  He claimed to be the Son of God, the Judge of mankind, the Lord of the Sabbath, to be without sin, and many more direct or indirect claims of deity.  Even though He mostly spoke in figures so speech, He didn't always beat around the bush though. His claims were consistent with His character.  Claims in themselves are not proof but in this case, they are consistent. Some cults teach that Jesus never claimed to be God, but Scripture makes it clear that He knew His mission and kept a low profile for that reason when they tried to kill him.

He made the most outstanding and bold claims and man since, or before ever did--even though the Caesars claimed deity, they didn't go this far! But He didn't go around bluntly announcing He was God, for His time had not come and he was looking for faith, not some who would believe had they had enough "evidence." It was obvious to the Pharisees just who Christ claimed to be and they plotted to kill Him for this reason. Jesus had to be both God to fulfill the Law and bear our sins, and man to relate to us as our Mediator. He must be the Go-between, the Daysman.   Soli Deo Gloria! 

Not At Liberty To Our Own Jesus Image

For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached ... ye might well bear with him," (cf. 2 Cor. 11:4). 

 Everyone thinks of someone when they think of Jesus, whether some characterization, movie personification,  caricature, or even image we invent, or even the one of conventional or historical reference--the historical Jesus, as if this one is not the one the apostles believed in but somehow they were deceived and got it all wrong and even latter deified Him when Jesus never really claimed to be God.  We don't have the prerogative or right to think of Jesus any way we choose or in some invention of our liking or as whom we personally prefer to think of!  We must receive Christ for who is He is in all reality, or not at all!  He is Lord of all (cf. Romans 10:12; Acts 10:36).

Paul said, "I know in whom I have believed..." and "I want to know Him and the power of His resurrection."  Jesus said that to know Him is eternal life.  We must be anchored in reality for our image of God or our interpretation and what we think of Jesus is the most important thing about us, it may not matter in the long term what you think of the president, but your conception of Jesus is the criterion of your judgment. this is what determines your destiny! It can have consequences, personally speaking, because it may affect our testimony and how we live our lives, and what our goals are. 

To see Jesus as some all-encompassing and accepting all no matter what, or as some sentimental, maudlin, non-judgmental, politically-correct, unoffending, loving Jesus, as some Jesus Christ Superstar or celebrity, or as some impotent but friendy man upstairs we envision or a flexible man that can fit into our stereotypes or boxes of definitions makes Him one-dimensional and not who He meant to be as the Almighty.  Some may sincerely say, "I like to think of Jesus as my friend" or "as my buddy" or as my "Advocate," or brother" but we must realize He is "Lord of all" and must submit all things to Him and make Him the number one priority; He owns us because we are slaves whom He has redeemed! The more submitted we are to His lordship, the freer we are.   But we live in a pluralistic society where people deny absolute truth and think no religion can be right or has the right to claim it, so we must not be dogmatic in order to get along.  In this reality, contradictions are a-okay and there's no absolute truth or values! 

To accept Jesus or to receive Him as Lord and Savior is not an option.  We must recognize Him as the only begotten Son of God, God the Son manifest in the flesh coequal to the Father in every way.  He is not one of many ways, nor even the best way, but the only way according to A. W. Tozer.  Even some evangelicals don't realize the necessity of receiving Him as Lord of our lives or to make a lordship decision in our salvation. 

For instance, Jesus is not the surrogate of God, a form of lesser deity or creation of God as a god, not God Himself, or as a deified man or even humanized God or demigod. Jesus must be received and recognized as the God-man or as fully and truly God as well as fully and truly man: two natures not to be mixed but to remain in their completeness and integrity, and in one person fully united without compromise of either nature and not to be confounded or diminished. The mystery of this union of two natures into one Person is known as the hypostatic union and the process of when God became a man is known as the incarnation; both vital doctrines to true Christian orthodoxy. 

We must believe in Him for who He claimed to be and He did claim and assert His deity as well as show it by divers miracles, signs, and wonders. He was like us in every manner except that He never sinned  He also suffered as a human without any special treatment from the Father.  All this so He could relate to us and intercede faithfully.   Soli Deo Gloria! 

Are We Supposed To Worship Jesus?

FROM A QUORA POST OF GODWIN GOZIEM JIREH

 Know that Jesus Christ who came from heaven to earth is God the Son (John 1:1, 14, 18; Hebrews 1:1–3; 1 John 5:20). He was worshipped, is still worshiped, and will be worshipped throughout eternity.

God the Father commanded all His angels to worship His Son Jesus when He was born on earth (Hebrews 1:6) and as soon as the Wise men from the East laid eyes on the infant Jesus, “they fell down and worshiped him” (Matthew 2:11).

All through the public ministry of Jesus, people from all walks of life recognized His divinity voluntarily and spontaneously worshipped Him. For example, Jesus accepted the freewill worship of the following persons:

• a leper who was healed - Matthew 8:2
• a nobleman whose son was healed - Matthew 9:18
• Jesus' disciples who saw Him walked on water- Matthew 14:33
• a Canaanite woman who requested Jesus to heal her daughter - Matthew 15:25
• the mother of James and John - Matthew 20:20
• a man tormented by evil spirits - Mark 5:6
• a blind man who was healed - John 9:38
• some women who met Jesus after His resurrection - Matthew 28:8-9; cf. Mark 16:1; Luke 24:10
• Jesus' disciples who saw Him after His resurrection - Matthew 28:17
• Apostle Thomas acknowledged Jesus as "My Lord and my God!" - John 20:28

Also know that all the angelic beings are currently worshipping the Father and Son Jesus (Revelation 5:11–14; 7:9–10) who are, spiritually speaking, “the temple of heaven” (Revelation 21:22). Eventually, all will worship Jesus someday; “so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:10–11).

So, from all the scriptural data presented so far, it is very obvious that we are posed to worship Jesus. Moreover, we find several passages in Scripture revering Jesus in worship as Lord and where the names attributed to Him indicate that other believers recognized Jesus as Deity- John 1:1–3, 14, 18; Acts 20:28; Philippians 2:5-8; Colossians 2:9; 1 Timothy 3:16; Titus 2:13; Hebrews 1:3, 8.

Fulfilled Prophecy in Christ

 More than 333 prophecies were fulfilled by Christ showing some 451 details, not vague generalities that can be misunderstood or misinterpreted, but exact accountings. 

1. Born in Bethlehem (Mic 5:2; Matt 2:1,5)
2. Of the tribe of Judah (Gen. 49:10; Heb. 7:14)
3. Of a virgin  (Isaiah 7:14; Matt 1:18-22)
4. A prophet like unto Moses (Deut. 18:15; John 7:15-17)
5. The King of Israel   (Zech 9:9; John 12:12-15)
6. Rejected (Isaiah 53:3; Jn 1:11)
7. Silent  (Isaiah 53:7; Matt 27:12-14)
8. Betrayed  (Psalm 41:9; Matt.  14:17-20)
9. Tried and condemned  (Isa. 53:8; Matt. 27:1-2)
10. Crucified  (Psalm 22:16; Jn 19:17-18)
11. His garments divided  (Psalm 22:18; Jn 19:23-24)
12. Given vinegar and gall  (Psalm 69:21; Jn 19:28-29)
13. His bones not broken (Exodus 12:46; Jn 19:31-36)
14. He is our sacrifice  (Usa 53:5-6; 1 Pet 2:24-25; John 1:29)
15. Was raised from death! (Psa. 16:10; Luke 24:1-7,47)

Note: the gospel of Matthew was written to show that Jesus is the Messiah the King of the Jews who fulfilled prophecies and repeatedly refers to them as they are fulfilled. 

Until Shiloh Comes

Too many sincere evangelicals and even mainline denominations get the whole mission of Christ wrong.  There is no "social gospel," though there is a "social commission" to fight for social justice and defend and remember the poor and needy, reaching out to all in desperate straits.  But we are not to usher in God's kingdom on earth for His kingdom is spiritual in our hearts, as Andrew Murray eloquently wrote in his book, The Kingdom of God is within You. He already rules the hearts of His children and is called the Emperor of Love because He has conquered more with love than Muhammad by the sword.  

We are entreated to pray that God's kingdom to come in the Lord's prayer, and what is meant is that it begins with us and us doing our part in the Great Commission.  The kingdom is a reality to those who inherit it, and the only way is to come as a child and in faith, not head first that is! We must all take that initial leap of faith, not into the unknown or the darkness, but as a step into the light.  We realize that the kingdom of God is righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit and is not in word but in power and wherever Christ rules hearts, there it is.  We are enjoined to preach the gospel of the kingdom till He comes to assume it. Entering the kingdom doesn't refer to heaven, but to the abundant life in Christ that is available to every believer if they seize and claim it by faith. It must be received in the heart and one must make room in his heart for the Lord who knocks at its door. 

When the fulness of time had come, (cf. Gal. 4:4), the first advent of Jesus was completed.  The "Desire of all Nations," (cf. Haggai 2:7), surprised the Jews who had anticipated the Messiah for centuries but the wrong vision of Him.  They fully expected deliverance from Rome and return to national glory as was in the days of King Solomon. Little did they know that Jesus had come but that He must be a Savior first and King second.  His mission in coming was to die!  

He was the One to whom the kingdom belonged and was the rightful heir, and was even proclaimed the King of the Jews, the Son of David that is.  Jesus had said that His kingdom was not of this world and that it was not "of this world." We have business trying to usher in the kingdom of God by political maneuver or fiat and to advance the kingdom of Christ ourselves as Bradford of the Mayflower fame, and Winthrop of  Massachusettes Bay Colony fame had attempted. 

Many sincere but misguided believers have attempted to establish a Christian nation; e.g., John Calvin and Oliver Cromwell--both utter failures and counterproductive to the work of God and the Great Commission which is supposed to be Job One and when we keep the main thing the main thing, this is our priority and focus. We are to save souls not nations.  We are mere lights to show God's truths and salt to preserve the institutions of the government established by God. Thus we are called to wreak havoc on the social order nor to be revolutionaries even if we live in a communist country  

It is now a reality that the kingdom of God is within us!  John the Baptist and Jesus had both announced that the kingdom of God was at hand!   Believe me, Hab. 2:3 says "the vision is for an appointed time .. and ... it shall surely come, it shall not tarry."  We see God's kingdom already established worldwide in the hearts of the Church at large throughout the world. Jesus has been given all authority and has doesn't just reign but he truly rules as the King of kings and Lord of lords.  

If His kingdom were of this world, Jesus said we'd fight for it, but it isn't!  We are, first of all,  citizens of heaven before any earthly loyalties.  The church started out as a Jewish sect in Jerusalem to become the official religion of the Roman Empire by AD 325 under Emperor Constantine, who converted. Now His church is a worldwide phenomenon and power to be reckoned with in religious and cultural influence.  It's the largest religion by affiliation in the world with over 1.6 billion adherents who claim the moniker, Christian.  He rules in our hearts only when we surrender the throne of our hearts to Him and give Him our sole allegiance and ownership of our lives putting Him at the helm.  

Israel was expecting the Messiah and missed Him for the most part except for God's remnant because of ignorance, and let's hope that Christ's church is expecting and ready to meet the Lord when He comes again to reign in His Millennial Kingdom.  But what ought we do till He comes? We are to be engaged in our doing business as would be usual, worship the best we can, watch for signs of the times,  pursue righteousness as a witness, and occupy till He claims His throne.    Soli Deo Gloria! 

Believing In "Another" Jesus

 "And this is eternal life, that they may know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent," (cf. John 17:4). 

"... For if you believe not that I am he, you shall die in your sins," (cf. John 8:24). 

"... For unless you believe I AM who I claim to be, you will die in your sins," (John 8:24, NLT). 

"Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God," (cf. 2 John 9). 

"Who do you say that I Am?"  This is the whole point of Jesus and our faith, the one litmus test in our creed, to know Jesus, and what distinguishes us from false religions, sects, cults, and heresies.  Remember: It's not how big your faith (but how big your God) nor how sincere or fanatical you are, but the object of your faith that saves; faith doesn't save, Jesus does--and it needs to be the real Jesus, the only begotten Son of God (coequal, coexistent, and coeternal to the Father).  

When Jesus claimed to be God without even beating around the bush or using figurative language, only the Pharisees knew His claim and they plotted to kill Him for His "blasphemy."  The disciple were clueless till the resurrection. The point is that you must believe in the real Jesus, who He claimed to be, and not just who you think He is or want Him to be. He was not God's surrogate or a deified man that was misunderstood by His disciples.  They were not expecting the one they saw, for He was not the Messiah of conventional wisdom and that they were taught (a mighty conquer who would liberate Israel from Rome).  

Jesus was who He claimed to be or He is a demon, liar, or even lunatic (and there is no evidence to lend credence to any of these false beliefs) because He clearly claimed deity. It was only because of preconceived notions and ignorance of prophecy that they couldn't see the truth. Jesus did fulfill over 333 prophecies to the letter. The Jews you will know were monotheistic and couldn't conceive of a triune Godhead.  Jesus was truly man as well as truly God and they only saw His humanity and that He was a man but didn't see that He is One with the Father. He demonstrated and proved His divine claim by the ultimate and final evidence of the resurrection, which Luke said had "many infallible proofs." 

They may have seen Him as a Son of God, even calling Him "Lord" and worshiping Him, but not God made man--God with skin on or personified in the flesh. But it is only because He is God that He's fully adequate and qualified to be our Savior! He can suffer the infinite penalty and price for sin on our behalf. This is theologically called the atonement and Jesus death is substitutionary. He took on our sins so we would need not punishment. The principle of representation goes back to Adam who took our place as the head of the human race and sinned thus making us all sinners because of his one sin. 

If a so-called Christian who claims to believe in Jesus receives Him without His claims to deity, they are denying Him and do not know the real Jesus but "another Jesus" (cf. 2 Cor. 11:4).  The book of 2 John v. 9 says that if we do not abide in the doctrine of Christ we do not have the Father, meaning this is the litmus test for Christians--they know Jesus for who He is, not some deified man, demigod, or humanized God or man with superhuman powers. 

But we must recognize that Jesus had to be God because it fulfilled the prophecies. The Jews were blinded to the truth and needed to be enlightened. Since He is the Almighty and our Creator, we must worship Him and surrender to Him our lives.  In application, the Jehovah's Witnesses and the LDS do not have the right to go by the moniker Christian for they deny Jesus full Deity inclusion in the Godhead as coequal and coeternal to the Father.  These belief systems are not bona fide denominations but sects.  The only reason they really are not cults is that they don't steal your money and have slaves and people who don't know how to escape like the Church of Scientology.  But LDS are erroneous in claiming secret knowledge and this was the error of the Gnostics who believed in salvation via secret knowledge or enlightenment.  

Sooner or later all of us must come to the decision of whether we will accept the Jesus He claimed to be: Lord of all!  But we cannot come to Jesus on our own initiative; the Father must woo or draw us to Him--the call must be granted by the Father.  "As many as were appointed to eternal life believed," (cf. Acts 13;48).   Paul said in Rom. 11:7 that the elect obtained unto it and the rest were blinded or hardened--God must open the eyes of our hearts and kindle faith.  It literally takes a miracle to change someone's heart and open it to receive the Lord.  The general call of the gospel goes out to all (cf. Titus 2:11) but whomever God calls always gets saved (cf. Rom. 8:29-30). "You did not choose Me, but I chose you," (cf John 15:16).  That's why it's said, "Many are called but few are chosen," (cf. Matt. 22:14).     Soli Deo Gloria! 

Worshiping the Real Jesus

Note that 2 John 9 says that we must remain in the doctrine of Christ to have the Father.  Paul warns against "another Jesus, another gospel, another spirit." (Cf. 2 Cor. 11:4)  Test the spirits!

Jesus as revealed in Revelation 1:12-17 in the vision that John the Elder saw is the true Jesus as He really is.  Reigning over everything and mighty to judge and oversee all the earth.  The description is in imagery,  figures of speech cryptic language, and symbolism and hard to decipher but scholars have decoded it and made its lessons clear.  Jesus is glorified now and forevermore. We are to put Him in our boxes of convenience and limit His sovereignty, power,r and glory.

Know this:  a different Jesus is going to come the second time in the consummation of history than from the first advent. He came first as Savior and now as King of kings and Lord of lords with a name that no one knows but himself and as called "the Word of God." The point of His two advents is that the Jews never anticipated this and was looking for a deliverer from Rome, as was the conventional wisdom and talk of the day.  They failed to receive the First Advent of Christ.  The Jews were subject to Rome and saw the Messiah figure as another Moses or King David that would liberate them militarily and restore old glory days. 

Worship isn't about us, but to focus our minds on Christ in the spirit and being filled with the Spirit of the Father seeks such to worship Him in spirit and in truth, implying that truth is important. "Perfect love casts out fear" and we are to be in love with our Lord and do it in this spirit, not out of a sense of duty or in a perfunctory manner, merely memorizing the Dance of the Pious.  All of us are equal at the foot of Jesus and He is no respecter of persons and we all may have different gifts, but the same Spirit.  

Real worship is for what He has done (especially for us) and for who He is (we must worship Him as God in the flesh, not some demigod, surrogate of God, or any kind of lesser deity not to be equal to the Father).   We can reevaluate our conception of Him during our worship and actually encounter God.  Worship can reinforce our faith in God and in knowing Him for who He is and what He has done and even will do in the future.  "But we do see Jesus," (cf. Heb. 2:9). 

We will surely see Him in a new light every time and benefit from the encounters of other saints. We must anticipate the beatific vision in heaven seeing Him the way He is in glory  We should never take our experience in worship for granted but as a blessing that God has shared with us and expects us to share.  Worship can become a medication to service and orientation to God's will and plan for our lives.  Worship restores us in the image of God for this is what we are made for: to worship God, and if we don't we will find someone else to worship, for we are hard-wired to do it.  Soli Deo Gloria!

Having Lordship Issues With Jesus

Be careful when you question authority: here's why as follows.  We must surrender the ownership of our lives to Jesus to be one of His. This entails handing over the helm of our life to His sole lordship and control as the rightful owner of it. Jesus said that all authority had been given Him and this means His lordship.  Many mistakenly believe they can accept Jesus as Savior but not as Lord of all.  Even though no one is without sin and we are all works in progress, we must give Christ the sole proprietorship of our destiny. Some of us may have lordship issues such as a distaste of taking orders or not submitting to legitimate authority, even the government.

In salvation, we trust Him as Savior but also submit to Him as Lord.  These two go together and cannot be divorced. We have taken a loyalty oath as it were and given Christ authority to do with us as He pleases and are we called according to His purpose, not ours. Not doing so is called easy-believism (or cheap grace) and that is counter to the correct doctrine of lordship salvation. It is not biblical to "accept Jesus," but we receive Him for who He is:  Lord of all.  If not we have rejected Christ and not given Him His rightful domain of authority. This is who He is and the Father has made this Jesus, who was crucified at the hand of sinners, both Lord and Christ.

He rules our lives regardless of whether we consent: His sovereignty is always at work and Providence is in control of all world events as He orchestrates history according to His will and purpose. God has no Plan B and will achieve His will with or without us.  We can do nothing to interfere with or frustrate God's will. God's will is sure to happen.  In application, our Number One loyalty is to our Lord and Savior not to the state, our party, our church, or even our family, but to Jesus alone: Jesus is Lord and He has entered the door of our heart and taken over in every room because we have given Him the passkey. All of our pursuits are to the glory of God and we ought not to find ourselves fighting God's will rather than submitting and trusting.  We must not lean unto our own understanding but trust in the Lord working everything out for the good.

Knowing Him as Lord assures us of divine guidance and blessing on our lives and we can bear much fruit.  Receiving Him as Lord is measured in our obedience and our faithfulness, not our success, which is up to God and in His control.  We all have a calling and can only fulfill it by obeying our Lord.  God will fulfill His purpose for us and call us to His will and glory.   Our calling is to bring glory to God in whatever we do. When we have completed our calling and God's purpose is fulfilled, we are called home.  Our goal should be to complete our mission and to someday announce, "Mission accomplished."

As a test of your loyalty to Christ's lordship: whom do you love?  whom do you not love? who are your enemies?  what are your priorities? where is your true loyalty? to whom do you submit?  whom do you obey? whom do you refuse to obey?  whom do you trust? whom do you know and trust?  whom do you respect? whom do you listen to?  whom do you love? what are your habits?  what are your addictions? how do you spend your money?  who are your heroes?  what are your past-times?  who are your friends?  who are your enemies?  who are your associates?  who influences you?  What are your plans? what are your dreams? what are your ambitions?  what are your goals?  All these questions impact your lordship issues. 

In summation, I must ask you:  Do you own Him as Lord; do not only confess Him,  but follow Him as a true professor in word and deed, not just for show in name only as a nominal Christian.    Soli Deo Gloria! 

Jesus, Who Is Called The Christ

"What's in a name?  Would Jesus by any other name, still be Jesus?" "His name shall be called Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sins,"  (cf. Matt. 1:21). "A rose by any other name is still a rose"

Today we refer to a common man as the average Joe, even in WWII they referred to GI's as GI Joe's. We might  even compliment someone and say, "He's no ordinary Joe!"  Jesus wasn't a distinguished name back in the day and someone needed special epithets to go by.  In comparison, Jesus was a common name in NT times and they would call Jesus:  Jesus of Nazareth; Jesus, the Son of David; Jesus, who is called the Christ; Jesus called the Prophet (cf. Deut. 18:18); or even the Jesus, the Teacher of Israel.  They had found out that this Jesus is different and stands out from the crowd.  His disciples called Him Lord and Rabbi. 

Today, if we know someone is a genuine article and true blue, we call them the real McCoy.  This may be a warning not to mess with Him or to insult Him because He stands out from the crowd.  People might even say, "Which Jesus are you talking about?" Today, we distinguish Jesus as the Son of God and most cultures don't even call their children by that name out of respect or reverence.  Pontius Pilate offered the crowd:  "Whom do you prefer?  Jesus, who is called Barabbas (son of a father--your everyday, common man) or Jesus who is called the Christ (and believed Himself the Son of the Father)? It was clear to Pilate that the people rejected the summation of Jesus revealed as the one and only Son of God. The true Jesus isn't one of our fancy or agenda, but the one in truth.

Jesus is different things to different people and. even in context to their cultures, they may interpret Jesus to identify with their nation or people group.  They may enlist Him for their political cause and agenda, thus putting Him in a box or make Him one-dimensional.  Every religion has some concept of Jesus, and they are all good, though not accurate.  You can use the same vocabulary and a different dictionary like cults do to gain recognition and acceptance. You must get your Christology or doctrine of Christ correct to be a believer (cf. 2 John 9).  It's not as easy as in the game show, To Tell the Truth, when the host would say, "Will the real so and so [Jesus] stand up?"  We must do our homework, especially to read the Bible and to a Bible-teaching church to hear the truth and receive faith: "Faith comes by hearing and by hearing of the Word of God," (cf. Romans 10:17).

Among five religious faiths:  Mormons and Jehovah Witnesses deny the deity of Christ but think He's just "a god," not God Almighty Himself. Muslims believe that He was a great prophet but the records concerning Him have become corrupted (but they have no evidence to support this claim!). In Unitarianism, they believe Jesus is no more divine than we can be or attain to become.  Hindus see Him as some enlightened guru!  There is not one faith in the world that portrays Jesus as a bad guy, by the way, and many, even Islam, that He is sinless or faultless; they all have something good to say concerning Him. Most just see Him as a misunderstood man by His followers like the Jews, who believe He was mistakenly deified.  . 

Secularists see a great moral teacher and example or even some ground-breaking philosopher, radical reformer, or leader,  They may even believe that the disciples wrongly interpreted Jesus' intentions and deified Him unintentionally.  Secularists may see Jesus, not as a way to heaven, but as a path of ethics through earth and this life.  They may see Him as a historical figure and not doubt His impact on civilization and history, but always fail to acknowledge Him for who He is and claimed to be, even denying He claimed to be God..

In pop culture, He may seem to be enlisted for a political cause such as when some Christians even hijack the faith and claim He's one of us and even a Republican, the anointed one from God come to save our society and reclaim it for God.  Just like people say, "My party, right or wrong!" now they are saying, "My Jesus, right or wrong!" Truth must be paramount.  We must acknowledge Jesus for who He is and not who we want Him to be to suit our fancy.

Finally, there's the Jesus of the atheists who deny any deity or deification but even see Him as a charlatan and legend, some even deny His historicity without any evidence to support such a claim; they go so far as to be on the warpath against Him and to hate Him and His followers. What's wrong with all these false concepts of Jesus  They all put Jesus into their box for their convenience and suitability so that He can come to the aid of their agenda. They want to eradicate Christ from the open marketplace of ideas and public square of debate, even to the point of becoming anti-theists out to destroy Christians with a vengeance, eradicating His influence.

On the TV show, To Tell The Truth, they scrutinize a contestant to see who is lying and who is the genuine real McCoy telling the truth and who are the consummate liars and counterfeits.  Likewise, the only evidence and way to scrutinize the real Jesus is to search the Scriptures and to believe the testimony of the Evangelists who witnessed the glory of the Lord; that's because "Faith comes by the hearing and the hearing of the Word of God," (cf. Romans 10:17).

We can solve all these issues by knowing the real Jesus, and we shall be able to detect the counterfeit by knowing the real Jesus, the real McCoy, so to speak.  We must recognize imposters, frauds, and charlatans, but Jesus is for real and knowing Him protects us from error.   We must beware of another Jesus, another gospel, and another spirit, and test all things according to the Word of truth.  In the final analysis, we must come to grips with what kind of Jesus we are presenting to the world: what is the gospel according to you?

In sum, it doesn't really matter what your name is because that can be misleading in our culture but what kind of reputation and legacy you have and leave behind.   Amen!  (Someday, we will bow before the name which is above every name: the name of Jesus)  Soli Deo Gloria! 

The So-called Audacious Claims Of Christ...

With all due respect to the religious founders, Christ is the only one who claimed deity, to be God in the flesh.  He wasn't just God's surrogate, spokesman, representative, a son of God, sent from God, a prophet of God, humanized God, or even a deified human, but fully man and fully God--God in the flesh and made man:  the God-man.  George Gordon, Lord Byron said, "If ever man were God or God were man, Jesus Christ was both."  This may seem to be the height of audacity, but if it's true, He has every right to tell us who He is, justly and rightly so.  He is such a historical figure, we dare not ignore Him, His claims, nor the evidence even as an antiestablishment, revolutionary figure who turned the world upside-down.

The possibility of Him being a liar is nill or unreasonable (no one successfully accused Him of sin--wouldn't His disciples have known because familiarity can breed contempt?), since even His enemies concede Him to be a "great moral teacher," which wouldn't be true if He were wrong of His own identity--in fact, He'd be a lunatic or madman or even demon-possessed!  But we must not just take Him at His word and be gullible; we must ask for some evidence to back up His claims (such as to forgive sins, to accept worship, to have the authority to judge mankind, to plainly say He is the Son of the Father).  You can claim anything you choose, and somebody is bound to believe you, but Jesus is the great so-called myth that became true because of the abundant and overwhelming evidence that cannot be ignored or denied.  If Jesus wasn't who He claimed to be, He would be a blasphemer and worthy of death, of stoning according to the Law.

I could offer ALL the evidence that exists and more but there is no "smoking gun" evidence that's going to force you to believe if you don't want to. But there is no evidence that is beyond a shadow of a doubt; in a court of law, we look for a reasonable doubt and there is enough evidence to come to a reasonable conclusion.  Jesus said that if we are willing, God will help us believe.  Now, evidence can be compelling, is often just circumstantial (and verdicts can be rendered based on this alone) and not always convincing, certain, or complete, but there is enough to make a decision so that the jury doesn't have to remain out or hung. Witnesses are weighed as to their credibility and documents tested as to authenticity.  But no one can not make up their minds due to lack of evidence though. The mind can be so hardened that even if Jesus were to perform a miracle some will not believe, not can not believe.

What evidence is there?  Let's do our homework and check it out!   Not to mention some 35 miracles performed for the sake of love and charity, not selfish reasons and they are called "signs" by John because they illustrate an aspect of His deity; He had a personal charisma that drew people to Him to love and obey; for the sake of His consistent character which no psychologist would fault because He's too balanced an individual and completely normal with nothing suspect, dubious, or questionable (thus they seem to verify the normalcy of His character and that He was no lunatic or nut-case, in fact, He raised the bar on character and ethics; Bible prophecy being fulfilled (some 333 texts illustrating some 456 details); His character references (both friendly and unfriendly)--no one could successfully accuse Him of sin ( cf. John 8:46)--any so-called accusation wouldn't hold water if Jesus was God anyway even His enemies could testify in a court of law for good and favorable evidence Judas, Pilate and the centurion who killed Him all testified He had no fault; the evidence from the New Testament writers, all of whom accepted and wrote of His deity;  His resurrection is the final proof of His deity as Luke said in Acts 17:31 and Paul in Romans 1:4. Luke even stressed the point that there are "many infallible proofs."  (cf. Acts 1:3). 

But in a court of law, and we must consider the evidence in light of that as a legal scholar would, we must consider the character references, the signs, the claims, the documents presented as to whether they have internal as well as external evidence such as corroborating evidence or documents and testimony and check out any so-called contradictions, forgeries, inconsistencies, or misrepresentations.   As far as character references go, we have the friendly and the unfriendly witnesses making their cases. Why the unfriendly? They have nothing to gain and no reason to say anything positive, with no motive to perpetuate the claim.

But what is the strongest evidence of the resurrection?  You can be the strongest evidence!  We can point to the dramatic conversion of the apostles, but this is still going on today among believers: "Let the redeemed of the LORD say so!"  Who can deny that He opened the eyes of the blind that he can now see?  The way He changed lives!  You could tell that the disciples had been with the Lord after the resurrection because they were changed people, from timid and fearful, to become brave and fearless. They seemed to be intoxicated with Jesus and that they had completely turned over their lives to Him and even willing to lay them down for His sake. Jesus was such that you could tell a person had been around Him.  The response was that they worshiped Him and their love was kindled. We can encounter Christ in our lives too: knowing that He rose again is history but that He rose in you is salvation.  The disciples had come to a conviction of the truth and put it into action, turning their creeds into deeds.

Jesus is the light that lights every man and no one can remain the same after meeting Him.  We can have an approximate encounter or existential experience as they did if we surrender our lives to Him and commit them to His will.  We must do more than feel sorry for our sins, we must turn our back on them, renouncing them and do an about-fact or turnaround and commence following Christ in faith.  It's God's work in us to quicken faith and repentance, but we must make good on it and do the works of repentance and faith (cf. Acts 26:20); no fruit means no faith and we shall be known and judged by our works, not our faith.

The ultimate response is to love and worship for who He is or as Richard of Chichester said, "to know Him more clearly, to love Him more dearly, to follow Him more nearly."   We come to know Him personally that the Lord is good and loved us first.  This leads to full surrender of our wills to His, giving Him the ownership of our lives, putting Him at the helm as Captain of our lives and Master of our fates. Our will becomes one with His as Jesus said, "Thy will be done," as we relinquish control and trust wholly in God's will and wisdom. This may require us to crucify our own flesh with its desires and to change our priorities.

In sum,  His enemies would ask Him who He thinks He is, but Jesus claimed to be the personification of truth itself ("I am the truth.") which means if we want to live according to the truth and in reality which corresponds to truth, we must realize who Jesus really is, taking His personal claims seriously and examine the evidence as in a court of law. He didn't just claim to be telling us the truth, or to know the truth but to be the truth incarnate.  It would seem to be the conclusion that we would want to be on the right side of truth as people desire to be on the right side of history, for Jesus did say we shall know the truth and the truth shall set us free.
Soli Deo Gloria!

Interesting Facts About Jesus By Godwin Goziem Jireh

Here are 10 interesting facts about Jesus hidden in the pages of the Bible.
1. The Birth of Jesus

While reporting of the miraculous conception and virgin birth of Jesus, the Gospel of Matthew alludes to this miracle as a fulfillment of the prophecy in Isaiah 7:14. Jesus’ birth led to the division of history into two: Before Christ (B.C) and Anno Domini, meaning “in the year of the Lord” (A.D).

However, it is widely believed that Christ was born earlier than 4 B.C, the date Herod, the wicked ruler who played an active part in Christ’s birth story (Matthew 2), died. But some scholars also hold the view that since the census mentioned in Luke 2:2 probably occurred about 6 B.C., the Lord Jesus was probably born between 6 and 4 B.C.

Although Jesus’ birthday is globally celebrated on December 25 each year, the Bible does not mention His exact birthday. Different scholars have suggested the birth of Christ sometime in winter or early spring. Celebrating His birth at Christmas has come to stay because the date offers an alternative to many pagan festivals happening at this time.

2. The Magi at Jesus' Birth

The Bible does not tell us how many wise men visited newborn King Jesus, though we often see Christmas crèches with three wise men. Perhaps it is because the Magi came to worship Him with three gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh (Matthew 2:11).

3. The Name of Jesus

Jesus, a common first-century name, is the English transliteration of the Greek name Iesus, derived from the Hebrew name Yeshuah, meaning "Yahweh/Jehovah saves" or "Yahweh/Jehovah is salvation." It is the same name as Joshua, but especially given by God's angel to reveal the mission of the Divine Child (Matthew 1:18-21; Luke 1:28–33)


Christ is not Jesus’ surname, but it is a title derived from the Greek term Christos, meaning “anointed one.” It refers to the promised Messiah in the Old Testament. Several other appellative and metaphorical titles for Jesus are seen in the Bible. Examples: Alpha and Omega (Revelation 1:8; 22:13); Author and Perfecter of Faith (Hebrews 12:2); Beginning of the Creation of God (Revelation 3:14); Captain of Salvation (Hebrews 2:10); Creator of all things (John 1:3, 10; Colossians 1:16-17; Hebrews 1:2); Firstborn from the dead (Colossians 1:18); Great High Priest (Hebrews 4:14 ); Image of God (2 Corinthians 4:4; Hebrews 1:3); King (Luke 1:33; Revelation 17:14; 19:16); Lamb of God (John 1:29, 36); Last Adam (1 Corinthians 15:45 , 47); Light of the World (John 8:12 ); Lord (Matthew 22:14, 43); Mediator (1 Timothy 2:5); Prophet (Deuteronomy 18:15; Luke 24:19);Redeemer (Isaiah 59:20; Titus 2:14); Saviour (Luke 2:11; John 4:42; Acts 5:31); Son of David (Matthew 9:27; 21:9); Son of God (Matthew 3:17; Luke 1:35; Colossians 1:15; 1 John 5:20); Son of Man (Matthew 8:20; John 1:51; Acts 7:56); The Way, Truth and Life (John 14:6); The Word (John 1:1, 14).

4. The Four Images of Jesus

In correspondence to the faces of the cherubim in visions recorded in Ezekiel 1:10; 10:15; 41:19; Revelation 4:7, Jesus is seen to be symbolically represented in the Gospel of Matthew as a man, in Mark as an eagle; in Luke as an ox, and in John as a lion.

A close examination of the four Gospels will show that they focus on different aspects of Jesus' identity.

Matthew emphasises that Jesus is the Son of David, the promised Messiah (Matthew 1:1; see Psalm 89:29, 36; 103:11; Acts 2:30); thus presenting Jesus as a humble man (see 1 Corinthians 15:45; 1 Timothy 2:5).

Mark asserts that Jesus is the Son of God (Mark 1:1; see Psalm 2:4, 11-12; Proverbs 30:4; Daniel 3:25; thus portraying Jesus as a swift eagle (see Exodus 4:22; 19:4; compare Psalm 68:18; Ephesians 4:8; 1 Timothy 1:13).

Luke teaches that Jesus is the suffering Savior (Luke 19:10; see 9:44, 56; 24:44-48); thus typifying Jesus as a sacrificial ox (Exodus 20:24; Isaiah 53:7-10).

John reveals that Jesus is God (John 1:1-3, 14; 20:28); thus symbolizing Jesus as a bold lion (Revelation 5:5; compare Proverbs 30:30)

5. Family Members of Jesus

Jesus had half-siblings (Matthew 12:46-47; 13:55–56; Luke 8:19, Mark 3:31). John the Baptist was Jesus’ second cousin, since Mary the earthly mother of Jesus and Elisabeth the mother of John were cousins (Luke 1:36).

James, Joses, Simon, and Judas are named as His brothers. His sisters are only mentioned, but not named. It is believed that they all became Christians after the death and resurrection of Jesus (compare Acts 1:14). According to history, one of them, James, later became the head of the church in Jerusalem.

6. The Appearance of Jesus

Based on the prophetic description of Christ in Isaiah 53:2, it is likely that He was just a normal human being with no special appeal. His betrayer Judas had to kiss Him to help the authorities identify Him (Matthew 26:48) Even after His resurrection, Mary Magdalene mistook Him for the gardener (John 20:14-15). Although nothing in His appearance was extraordinary, His teachings and actions were supernatural.

7. Food Habits of Jesus

The prophet Isaiah predicted that the Holy Child Jesus would eat butter and honey (Isaiah 7:14-15). As an adult, Jesus ate bread (Matthew 26:26) and clean meats (Luke 22:15). After His resurrection, Jesus ate broiled fish and honeycomb (Luke 24:42-43). Therefore, we submit that Jesus ate normal food and was never a vegan, but He once fasted 40 days and 40 nights (Matthew 4:1-2).

Interestingly, Jesus was born in Bethlehem, meaning “house of bread,” in fulfillment of prophecy (Micah 5:2) and He addressed Himself as the “Bread of Life” (John 6:35, 48, 51). The multiplication of 5 loaves of bread by Jesus to feed 5,000 men is the only miracle recorded in all the four Gospels (Matthew 14:14-21; 16:9; Mark 6:34-44; 8:19; Luke 9:11-17; John 6:5-14).

8. Communication Skills of Jesus

Jesus spoke multiple languages- Aramaic the main language spoken by Jews in first-century Palestine, Hebrew the native language, Greek the lingua franca at that time, and possibly, Latin the language spoken by the Romans (Matthew 8:5-13; 27:11-14).

Moreover, Jesus was a witty and eloquent speaker who employed parables so as to make His teachings have a direct and enduring impact on the audience.

9: The Anointment of Jesus

To execute His messianic ministry as a Prophet, Priest and King, Jesus was anointed with the Holy Spirit (Luke 4:18; Acts 10:38); thus He is called the Christ, "the Anointed One" (Matthew 1:16; 16:20; 27:17; Luke 2:11, 26; 9:20; 23:2; John 1:41).

Before the death of Jesus, Mary of Bethany anointed Him with a strong fragrance (Luke 7:37-38; John 11:2) such that He remained fragrant as a victorious king when He rose from the dead (compare Psalm 45:1-8).

10. The Duration of Jesus' Ministry

The earthly ministry of Jesus was quite brief but very exciting and eventful. Jesus Film Project notes:

John’s gospel tells us that Jesus attended at least three Passover feasts during His ministry. There’s one mentioned in John 2:13, another in 6:4, and then the one occurring during the time of his crucifixion:

"When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, many went up from the country to Jerusalem for their ceremonial cleansing before the Passover. They kept looking for Jesus, and as they stood in the temple courts they asked one another, 'What do you think? Isn’t he coming to the festival at all?' But the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that anyone who found out where Jesus was should report it so that they might arrest him" (John 11:55–57).

This means that His ministry lasted at least two years, but there may have been more Passover celebrations that go unmentioned. We do know that many time-consuming things would have happened before they got to their first Passover:

His ministry took him all over Judea.
He was baptized by John.
He fasted (40 days) and was tempted in the wilderness.
He called His disciples.
He started His preaching ministry.
He made a trip to Capernaum with His family and disciples.

All of these things would have added up to multiple months worth of ministry—and we can’t forget the 40 days between the time Christ was resurrected and when He ascended.

In the end, scholars believe Jesus’ ministry only lasted about 3.5 years—an unbelievably short amount of time to change the world.

King Of Kings And Lord Of Lords by Godwin Goziem Jireh

The most common definition of the word king is: "A chief ruler; a sovereign; one invested with supreme authority over a nation, country, or tribe, usually by hereditary succession; a monarch; a prince." The word is applied to human rulers as well as to the Supreme Ruler of the Universe, God. According to Baker's Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical, “The concept of the kingship of God is regarded by many scholars as so basic to biblical revelation that it is viewed as an organizing theme for all of Scripture.”

To enable us to have a thorough understanding of what the phrase "the King of Kings" means in the Bible, we will have to examine several scriptural references to king and kingship. But this excerpted response to What does it mean that Jesus is King of kings and Lord of lords? not only saves us the time to do so but also answers the question excellently well:

The phrase king of kings is used in Scripture six times. Once, the title is applied to God the Father (1 Timothy 6:15), and twice to the Lord Jesus (Revelation 17:14; 19:16). The other three (Ezra 7:12; Ezekiel 26:7; Daniel 2:37) refer to either Artaxerxes or Nebuchadnezzar, kings who used the phrase to express their absolute sovereignty over their respective realms (Persia and Babylon). The phrase lord of lords is used by itself in Scripture twice and refers to God the Father (Deuteronomy 10:17; Psalm 136:3).

In Revelation 19:16 Jesus is given the full title “KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS” (Revelation 17:14 switches it: “Lord of lords and King of kings”). The title indicates someone who has the power to exercise absolute dominion over all His realm. In the case of the Lord Jesus, the realm is all of creation. In John’s vision, Jesus is returning to judge the world and establish His earthly kingdom, as He predicted in Mark 13:26.

When Jesus is called “King of kings and Lord of lords,” it means that, in the end, all other rulers will be conquered or abolished, and He alone will reign supreme as King and Lord of all the earth. There is no power, no king, and no lord who can oppose Him and win. There are myriad references to this absolute rule of Jesus and His preeminence over other rulers throughout Scripture. To mention just a few, Isaiah 40:23–24 says that the Lord brings “princes to nothing” and makes earth’s rulers “emptiness.” The mere breath of the Lord will “carry them off like stubble.” Daniel’s vision of the son of man in Daniel 7:13–14 is of one whom he calls “the Ancient of Days” whose everlasting dominion is over all people, nations and languages. In the New Testament, we get a better view of the One these passages refer to. The writer of Hebrews speaks of the Lord Jesus: “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” (Hebrews 1:3). The next verse speaks of Jesus being “much superior” to the angels. Clearly, His rule over creation is absolute.

Paul makes the point that Jesus was humbled in His earthly ministry and that His humiliation will result in glorification. In Philippians 2:5–11, Paul discusses the extent to which Jesus went to atone for sinners; Jesus’ perfect obedience is the reason that “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” (vv. 9–11). The Suffering Servant becomes the King of kings (see Isaiah 53:10–12).

Finally, in the book of Revelation we see the Kingship of Jesus made manifest. In chapter 5, the Lamb (Jesus) is the only one in all creation found worthy to open the scroll containing the judgments of God (vv. 2–5). In chapter 11, we hear voices in heaven proclaiming that the kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of Christ and that He will reign forever and ever (v. 15). In chapter 12, we read that the authority of Christ is what causes Satan to be thrown down to earth (vv. 9–10). In Revelation 17:12–14, the Lamb conquers all those arrayed against Him, and John stresses that He conquers because He is King of kings and Lord of lords. Finally, in chapter 19, we read of Jesus’ triumphant coming to strike the nations and tread the winepress of the wrath of God, having the authority to do so because He is King of kings and Lord of lords (vv. 11–16).

Fundamentally, the idea of Jesus being King of kings and Lord of lords means that there is no higher authority. His reign over all things is absolute and inviolable. God raised Him from the dead and placed Him over all things, “far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all” (Ephesians 1:21–23).