2017-03-24
Good Morning Dear Ones,
Last week, I was commanded by the Holy Spirit to write about forgiveness. This week, we’ll look at Christ’s relation to Creation. We’ve already begun to see how transformational a relationship with Jesus Christ can be. But, there are still outstanding questions that arise about the creation of the world. Remember that the farthest toward mankind’s beginning and in the future that we discuss, the more indistinct our information can be, except for God’s word, the OT and the NT. JN 1: 1-14 helps us to know what God reveals. JN 1: 1-5, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God. He was with God in the beginning. Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made. In Him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.”
Those of you who have read my devotions for a time know that I see this in terms of a metaphor that helps explain the relationships of the Trinity. Think of God as the CEO of a company, the Decision-maker. The first VP is Jesus Christ, His only begotten Son. He receives God’s order to convey God’s teaching on earth and to redeem believing mankind by His physical death on the cross. The second VP is the Holy Spirit, God’s own Spirit, Who is sent by Jesus to earth to inhabit the souls of believers, to act as their consciences, and to convey understanding of God’s teaching along the way of our earthly lives. In reality, the members of the Trinity are God’s three personalities; we have only One God! Having written this metaphor, go back over the Scriptures above and take a second look at them. The capital “W” on Word is very intentional, because we should consider Christ and God’s word as the same. While God made the decision to create the world, Christ carried out the task itself. Verse 5, regarding the light shining in the darkness and the latter not understanding it, dovetails exactly with 1 COR 2: 14, “The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.”
JN 1: 6-7 tells us John came to tell us about the Light, but he wasn’t the Light Himself. We should listen to him. John announced the coming of Christ, and then Christ (the Light of the world) would make Himself known. Christ would not be recognized by His own; they didn’t receive Him. Verse 12-13, “Yet to all who received Him in His name, He gave the right to become children of God—children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision of a husband’s will but born of God.” If you remember, the night that Nicodemus came to Christ, Christ explained being born again [JN 3: 1-15]. As for becoming children of God, believers are adopted into God’s family as described in RO 8: 14-16, 26-27. God is so eager for us to recognize His Son, Jesus, for Who He is and what He does that He adds, in JN 1: 14, “The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the One and Only, Who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
Another huge question that comes up is: Is Jesus in the OT? The answer is “yes.” The only difference is that this second personality of God isn’t referred to as Jesus Christ. GN 1: 1 and 26, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth…Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our own image, in our likeness, and let them rule over (all living creatures).’” Of key importance here are the words in italics; the use of “our” here indicates the presence of God’s second and third personalities in the process of creation. If we read HE 1: 8-12, we can gain further understanding of Christ’s supremacy over angels, of His righteousness, of the eternal nature of His Kingdom, of His unchangeability, and of His eternal nature. This dovetails perfectly with PS 110: 1, which I hope you will read.
PRAYER: O Lord, the more we study at the foot of the Master, the more we can see Your importance to our very lives. It is through our faith in and obedience to Christ that we are given life. Like the dry bones, discussed in EZK 37: 10, He breathed life into all who profess His Lordship and believe in Him. We become alive in Christ and dead to sin [RO 6: 6 and 11]. You, Dearest Abba, are a Promise-keeper. You gave Your oath that You would “give us a new heart and put a new Spirit in us, that You would take away our heart of stone and give us a heart of flesh.” Afterward, we would want to obey Your decrees and laws; we would want to make Your will our own [EZK 36: 26-27]. We pledge to open our hearts to Your Spirit and to follow His direction. At the same time, we also pledge to avoid the temptations of the evil one to stray from that path. Your Son, Jesus, is indeed our life! COL 3: 3-4, “For you died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ Who is your life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.” How comforting is that?! We thank and praise You for sending Him to create the world, to minister to us, and then, to die for us. In the holy/mighty name of Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen.
NEXT WEEK: I’m commanded to write about how Christ affects us by Who He is next week. Those of us with profound faith in Jesus Christ, no matter what our background or attributes, are truly blessed. We are given God’s greater perspective and strength that can only come from our Lord. Many times we complain about the painful challenges we must face, the losses we must endure, and/or the illnesses that plague us. While it’s easier for me to write about them than for us to go through them, we need to understand that working through them does give us added strength. God knows exactly which challenges He should allow in our lives to grant us the maximum benefit from them. As one ages in this earthly life, there are acts of prejudice, disrespectful behavior from younger people we must endure, and other issues in an ever-changing world. We must get on our knees and ask God to help us better understand the lessons He has for us in going through these challenges. I believe He will answer us and help us, if we will listen for His replies. That is because our Lord loves us unconditionally; He loves each and every one of us! Praise be to His name!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn
JS 24: 15
© Lynn Johnson 2017. All Rights Reserved.
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