BOTH believers (Christians) and nonbelievers generally agree that Jesus of Nazareth walked the face of the earth as a human being. For us in the faith, He’s God incarnate and indeed God Himself. Because of that He’s therefore the only way to God the Creator and Father. The Word of God or the Bible attests to that. John 14:6 reads, “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” Any other way doesn’t lead to Jehovah God the Creator.
It is this Jesus who was from the beginning and before. Let’s verify this from the Bible in John 1:1-4, “[1] In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. [2] The same was in the beginning with God. [3] All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made. [4] In him was life; and the life was the light of men.” Last week I said the word predates and precedes matter. Life came out of the Word. Nothing was there before the Word. The Word is God. Bluntly, Jesus is God. God came to live among humanity. This is made plain by John 1:14, “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.” The Word settles all disputes.
You are aware that there are some who erroneously suppose that the Bible is stale. The Gospel of John settles unequivocally that Jesus is the Word of God and the light of humanity. They claim that they hear direct from the Spirit of God. This is heresy which doesn’t deserve wasting precious pages here. You are aware that the Spirit of God doesn’t contradict the Word of God. If you check my previous instalment on this platform you will realise that Jesus came to give us His Spirit. Furthermore John 15:26 states, “But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me.”
Please note that the Spirit gives testimony of Jesus Christ who’s the Word. The Spirit comes from God the Father. That should settle the matter if you thought that gatherings masquerading as called by God that do not read or use the Bible are churches or human or man-made social or economic gatherings. Jesus performed mighty miracles such as healing all manner of sickness and disease, raising the dead, walking on water and much more but He still validated His Sonship and ministry by quoting the Bible. His ministry had more than enough miracles, signs and wonders to prove that He came from heaven. Nonetheless He quoted the Bible. As shocking and mind boggling as it was to the Jews, He stated that He was the Saviour or Messiah recorded by the Scriptures. Luke 4:21 records, “And he began to say unto them, this day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.” He didn’t do anything outside biblical fulfilment.
After His resurrection, He used the Bible to show that He was and is the risen Christ. Let’s look at Luke 24:25-27, “[25] Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken: [26] Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory? [27] And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.”
That miracles, signs and wonders happen isn’t proof that something is of God. Please read correctly. The preaching of the Gospel of Christ, that is, the Grace of God is accompanied by miracles, signs and wonders. As I close please consider the issue of the brasen serpent in the wilderness. The story reads in part in Numbers 21:7-9, “[7] Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, we have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD, and against thee; pray unto the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people. [8] And the LORD said unto Moses, make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live. [9] And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.”
Some have taken the use of the image designed as walking sticks as power of God. Looking unto the brasen serpent saved them because of the spoken Word of God. The Word of God is the power not symbolism. James 1:21 points, “Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.” Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen. Grace and peace be multiplied to you through knowledge.
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