Jesus – The Alpha &
Omega Book Introduction
page
l 1 l 2 l
- 1 -
|
Perhaps the
most controversial person to ever
live on Earth was Jesus Christ. Some
people say He was a blasphemer.
Others say He was a prophet. Some
people say He was a trouble maker and
others say He is the Son of God. Not
long after He ascended to Heaven, His
followers began to disagree about His
teachings, prerogatives and identity.
So, who is Jesus? Where did He come
from? Where did He go? What was He
all about? Jesus is a challenge to
explain because the Bible says so
many things about Him.
Jesus remains
a controversial figure because of the
claims He made and the things He did
while on Earth. If He is not the Son
of God as He claimed (Matthew 26:63,64), then He
has to be the greatest liar who has
ever lived. Conversely, if any person
denies that Jesus is the Son of God,
the Bible says that person is a liar!
(1 John 2:22,23) Jesus
leaves no one straddling an
ideological fence. He is either all
that He says or He is the
world’s greatest imposter.
Interestingly, either people love Him
or hate Him.
There is no
middle ground. The birth, life, death
and resurrection of Jesus play a
pivotal part in Earth’s destiny.
One man, Jesus Christ, changed the
course of human destiny. Jesus
brought the assurance of salvation
and eternal life out of the tomb. Of
course, the promise of salvation
existed before Jesus died on the
cross, but after His resurrection, we
have "living proof" that
the penalty for sin has been paid and
the promise of eternal life is a
coming reality.
Jesus taught
that this life is but a prep-school
for the life to come. The differences
between the life we know right now
and the life to come are almost too
good to be true. Life will be very
different when we finally dwell in
God’s physical presence because
the curse of sin and every blemish on
Creation will be removed. Jesus will
no longer be veiled from our eyes. We
will see His face and rejoice in His
instruction. Everlasting life will be
filled with everlasting joy and
endless vistas of learning.
In the Earth
made new, we will build houses and
inhabit them. We will know each other
even as we are known. (1 Corinthians
13:12) The redeemed will
live forever without seeing death,
sorrow, sickness, injury or
suffering! Better yet, the redeemed
will live forever seeing the One who
made life possible. The experience of
everlasting life and all that goes
with it is only possible because one
man, Jesus Christ, changed the
destiny of a planet in rebellion.
The Alpha and Omega
Less than 27%
of the world’s population claims
to be Christian. This indicates Jesus
is either unknown to most of the
world or He is not considered to be
the Son of God by billions of people.
Although Christian denominations may
not agree on the teachings of Jesus,
lively debate has no bearing on who
Jesus really is.
The source of
disagreement among Christians about
Jesus seems to be quite simple. Jesus
Christ is so magnificent and so
awesome that people cannot understand
Him. He is the Alpha and Omega, the
beginning and end of everything that
exists. Jesus is the artist that
paints the sunsets with the
properties of light.
Jesus is the
biological engineer who put the
world’s ecological systems into
operation. Jesus is the designer of
life’s DNA; the One who put the
intricate chemistry of the human body
into motion. He is the author of
life. He is the executor of
God’s justice. Jesus Christ is
everything. He has no beginning and
He has no end. Therefore, it is not
possible to fully define Jesus! He is
simply too much to comprehend.
Although God
has completely demonstrated His love
for mankind through the life and
death of Jesus, we still have much to
learn about God’s love. Even
more, Jesus Christ is not through
revealing the love of God! He has
plans. He has authority and power.
And most of all, He is not limited by
time or space.
He lives
forever and the people who love Him
will someday enjoy His presence
forever! I believe that because Jesus
Christ is so magnificent, the Bible
allows some wiggle room for
variations in our understanding of
His mission and teachings. Every
question that we might have about
Jesus is not answered in the Bible,
but we will soon be able to ask Him
any question that we might have.
Test All Things
When it comes
to religious ideas, I have observed
that many people use the "sour
milk method" for testing. In
case you were not raised on a farm,
the "sour milk method" of
testing works like this: A
five-gallon bucket of milk can be
tested with one teaspoon of milk
– if the milk in the teaspoon is
sour, all of the milk in the bucket
is sour. It is not necessary to drink
five gallons of milk to know whether
all the milk is sour.
Unfortunately,
people often test new ideas with
teaspoons or "sound bites."
I mention this because you will
probably find some new ideas in this
book about Jesus, and at first these
ideas may appear to be sour, but
please do not throw the whole book
out just yet. I would prefer you use
another farm method for testing. I
call it the "rotten apple"
exam. This method requires the
examination of each apple in the
barrel so that bad apples can be
separated from good ones.
This method
of investigation can produce very
good results because the good apples
are not discarded with the bad!
Really, the spiritual difference
between these two methods of
investigation is attitude. If you
find an idea about Jesus that is
different from what you have heard
before, look up the Scripture
references in your Bible. Do
your best to glean as much from this
study as you can.
The God of Both
Testaments
For many
years, I assumed the God of the Old
Testament was the Father and the God
of the New Testament was Jesus. In
other words, I assumed they were two
different Gods. I concluded that the
Father was more grumpy than Jesus.
Perhaps my assumptions began during
childhood because I remember hearing
preachers say the God of the Old
Testament was more likely to kill
people than the God of the New
Testament. Today, my view about the
Father and Jesus is very different.
One is not
grumpy and the other gracious. They
are both gracious beyond comparison!
Jesus said that He and the Father are
one. (John 10:30) I know some
people interpret this verse to mean
that Jesus and the Father are two
manifestations of one being, but I
disagree. I understand the oneness of
the Father and the Son to mean that
they are perfectly united in purpose,
plan and action. For example, my wife
and I are one (Genesis 2:24), yet we are
two separate human beings.
So, I do not
understand Jesus’ words to mean
that Jesus is the
Father and Jesus is also the
Son, as some people believe. My study
has led me to conclude that the
Godhead has three distinct and
separate members in it: God the
Father, God the Son, and God the Holy
Spirit.
Each member
of the Godhead shares in the name
"God" because each member
of the Godhead has the same
prerogatives and attributes as the
other two, yet they live and function
harmoniously in different ways.
What Did Jesus Do
before He Was Born?
I did not
question my early assumptions about
the Father being the God of the Old
Testament and Jesus the God of the
New Testament until I began to wonder
about the life and actions of Jesus
before He came to Earth as a baby. As
I studied this topic, I made an
amazing discovery. The
"God" of the Old Testament
is not the Father, but actually
Jesus! (John 1:1-14;
5:37-40; Colossians
1:17,18)
More than 90%
of the references found in the Old
Testament pertaining to
"God" refer to Jesus
Christ!
This
discovery profoundly changed my
understanding of the Bible and Jesus.
Consequently, I now have a much
different perspective about the words
and teaching of Jesus. It is
wonderful to understand how Jesus
discussed themes and issues when He
was on Earth (as recorded in the
Gospels) that He previously discussed
with Moses, Isaiah, Ezekiel, Jeremiah
and other Old Testament prophets
before He came to Earth. As we
proceed through this study on Jesus,
I will provide scriptural references
that demonstrate why I believe, in
most cases, the God of the Old
Testament is Jesus.
One Theme
Most
Christians do not question why the
Bible is divided into the Old and the
New Testaments, but after studying
both testaments for many years,
I have concluded the division is
artificial. Actually, the New
Testament is a continuation of the
Old Testament. Neither Testament
should be exalted above the other nor
is one book in the Bible inferior to
another. The Jesus I find in the Old
Testament is a Jesus of love,
compassion and long-suffering.
This is
consistent with what I find about Him
in the New Testament. The Old
Testament reveals a history of
God’s people repeatedly
rejecting their Benefactor, but the
same story is also found in the New
Testament (and throughout church
history, I might add). I find a God
of justice and deadly judgments in
the Old Testament, and I also find
the same thing in the New Testament.
As I wrote before, I believe the New
Testament is simply a continuation of
the Old Testament. The actions and
testimony of Jesus in both Testaments
reveal what the Godhead is like. (John 5:37-40)
Jesus, the Creator of
Heaven and Earth
The Bible
begins, "In the beginning
God created the heavens and the
earth." (Genesis 1:1) The first
verse in the Bible explains
Earth’s origin. This verse also
introduces our Creator and we call
Him by several titles or names:
Jesus, God, Lord, The Word, Son of
God, Master, Jehovah and Savior. Did
you know that the creative agent of
the heavens and Earth is not the
Father, but the Son? Notice what Paul
wrote, "In the past God
spoke to our forefathers through the
prophets at many times and in various
ways, but in these last days he has
spoken to us by his Son, whom he
appointed heir of all things, and
through whom he made the
universe." (Hebrews 1:1,2)
Jesus is the
"hands-on" creative agent
of the Godhead. The Father, Son and
Holy Spirit were in perfect harmony
about the creation of Earth, and yes,
all three were present! The Father
was observing, Jesus was creating,
and the Holy Spirit was hovering over
the Earth, ready to dwell within the
hearts of a new creation called man.
(Genesis 1:2) Notice this
statement by Paul affirming that
Jesus is the creative agent within
the Godhead, "For by Him [Christ] all
things were created: things in Heaven
and on earth, visible and invisible,
whether thrones or powers or rulers
or authorities; all things were
created by him and for him. He is
before all things, and in him all
things hold together."(Colossians
1:16,17, insertion
mine.)
In the fourth
commandment, the creative works of
Jesus are recognized: "Remember
the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. .
. For in six days the Lord made the
heavens and the earth, the sea, and
all that is in them, but he rested on
the seventh day. Therefore the Lord
blessed the Sabbath day and made it
holy." (Exodus
20:8-11) John places the
creative handiwork of Jesus beyond
dispute by writing, "He was
in the world, and though the world
was made through him, the world did
not recognize him." (John 1:10)
Three points
need to be highlighted in the texts
just presented. First, Jesus is the
creative agent of the Godhead.
Second, Jesus is called by many
different names or titles because one
title cannot describe all that Jesus
is! Last, Jesus is a name that we use
to identify a member of the
Godhead after He was
born of Mary. In other words, the
name "Jesus," as it applies
to the Son of God, is only 2,000
years old. Jesus, of course, is much
older.
The Bible and Holy
Spirit Agree
The Bible
uniquely reveals information about
Jesus that cannot be found in any
other place. Yet, the Bible is
incomplete. John says an infinite and
omnipotent Jesus cannot be adequately
described on paper. (John 21:25)
Knowing about Jesus
is not the same as personally knowing
Jesus. There may be hundreds of
millions of people who claim to be
Christian, but a loyal follower of
Jesus is known by love and
obedience to God and by love for each
neighbor. (Matthew
22:37-40; John 13:35)
To help us
understand what the Godhead is all
about, Jesus promised to send the
Holy Spirit to help us. Jesus
said, "But when he, the
Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide
you into all truth. He will not speak
on his own; he will speak only what
he hears, and he will tell you what
is yet to come. He will bring glory
to me by taking from what is mine and
making it known to you." (John 16:13-14)
If it takes
time and experience to understand
what a friend is really like, you can
understand why it might take a very
long time and many diverse
experiences to grasp what Jesus is
like. For this reason, the historical
record in the Bible covers a period
of about 4,000 years. If we study the
whole Bible, we can get a good
picture of what Jesus is really like.
In the Old Testament Jesus
says, "I the Lord do not
change." (Malachi 3:6)
In the New
Testament Paul wrote, "Jesus
Christ is the same yesterday and
today and forever." (Hebrews 13:8) The nice
thing about studying 4,000 years of
Jesus’ behavior is that the
Bible presents many separate
situations and issues. By
thoughtfully examining a range of
events and experiences, we begin to
understand how Jesus deals with human
beings. Far too many people make the
mistake of defining Jesus with a
small sample of His words or actions.
Jesus does not live in our dimension
or operate on our timescale.
If we limit
our research about Jesus to the four
gospels or the book of Psalms, we
will not understand all that Jesus
is. We must examine every book in the
Bible.
Eternal God Revealed
in Old and New Testaments
The Old and
New Testaments are inspired by the
same Holy Spirit, have the same
authority and reveal the same Jesus!
Pay close attention to what John says
about Jesus. "{1} In the
beginning was the Word, and the Word
was with God, and the Word was God.
{2} He was with God in the beginning.
{3} Through him all things were made;
without him nothing was made that has
been made. {4} In him was life, and
that life was the light of men. . .
{10} He was in the world, and though
the world was made through him, the
world did not recognize him. {11} He
came to that which was his own, but
his own did not receive him. {12} Yet
to all who received him, to those who
believed in his name, he gave the
right to become children of God
– {13} children born not of
natural descent, nor of human
decision or a husband’s will,
but born of God. {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." (John 1:1-14)
These verses
contain profound information. If you
reread the verses in reverse order,
you will discover some interesting
things about Jesus. For example, many
people are confused about the title
"God" as it relates to
Jesus in verse one. How can "the
Word be God" and be "with
God?" Think of "God"
as a last name: Father God, Son God,
and Holy Spirit God. These three
entities have the same last name
because they are equal in every way,
but they each have different roles. (Matthew 28:19; John 15:26; 16:5-11; 17:1-5.)
In this
light, John 1 reveals that Jesus
was God and He was a part of the
Godhead from the very beginning.
After
reading John 1:14, you may
ask, "Why is Jesus called the
Word in verse one?" In simple
terms this title says volumes about
Jesus as the creative agent of the
Godhead. The Psalmist says, "For
He [Jesus] spoke, and it
came to be; he commanded, and it
stood firm." (Psalms 33:9, insertion
mine.)
If the person
who baked the cake is called
"the baker," and the person
who performed the surgery is called
"the surgeon," then the
One, who through the breath of His
mouth, spoke the world into existence
should be called "the
Word." The disciples were amazed
at the power of His words. He calmed
a terrifying storm on the Sea of
Galilee by speaking the word! (Mark 4:39)
