The Glorified Savior

.... In our previous posting we began a discussion on the gospel concept, but its main point always seems to need elaboration. Jesus saved us from our sins, but who is Jesus Himself, and why is He able to accomplish all of this?

.... To explain this most important of truths, we should examine the good news of Jesus Christ from God’s own perspective. To do this, let’s turn to the final book of the Bible, which is aptly called The Revelation of Jesus Christ:

.... " . . . Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood . . ."

(Revelation 1:5)

.... In the opening of this book (the premise), which is quoted above, you'll see the four points of the gospel that we have been discussing in our previous articles, but from God’s own point of view. He is telling us who Jesus is, that He died for our sins, that He was raised from the dead – and in this case, that Jesus Himself is the faithful witness (see 1 Corinthians 15:1-5). But we cannot help noticing that Jesus is also far more than this:

.... "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End," says the Lord, "who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty."

(Revelation 1:8)

.... "Then I turned" said John, "to see the voice that spoke with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the seven lampstands One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band. His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire; His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters; He had in His right hand seven stars, out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength." (Revelation 1:12-16).

.... Here was a glimpse of Jesus as He appeared before the ages, and the true picture of His glory as He appears today: here is the Christ unveiled, the persona of our Lord Himself as we should perceive Him now in all our devotion to Him (2 Corinthians 5:16; Hebrews 10:20). Even John, who knew Him so well, was utterly overwhelmed in His Divine presence and fell at His feet as one dead (v 17).

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.... In like manner Saul of Tarsus, on the occasion of his conversion, had approached Damascus ‘at about noon,’ as the mid day sun filed the eastern sky. Then suddenly Jesus appeared, and that sun became the second brightest object in the sky: "for along the road I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining around me." (Acts 22:6; 26:13). He, too, was overwhelmed and fell to the ground, trembling.

.... We often think of Jesus as He was in this world, walking among us in a veil of flesh. And indeed, He was fully human during that time. Yet He never ceased to be fully Divine as well, and we must grasp this more fully in our relationship with Him today:

.... "Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer."

(2 Corinthians 5:16)

.... Through the breaking of His flesh on the cross, the veil has been removed, so that a new and living Way has been consecrated for us to enter the holiest place of all (Hebrews 10:20). And the true power and glory of His person provides a stunning context for the gospel as the Book of Revelation unfolds (which we will continue is our next posting).

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Daily Bible Reading:Matthew 13