Tag: Expressed Image

The Visible – Invisible God…

Romans 1:20 (NIV)

For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—His eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.

Our Verse of the Day has always resonated with me … when I think of the “apologetics” we have available in the Scriptures to speak with others about God. Do you need evidence for the existence of God? Do you need assurance for your faith? The Apostle Paul, through the wisdom given to him, affirms that you and I can look at creation and know the unseen attributes of God. We can understand both His eternal power and His eternal divine nature just from observing creation … with our eyes … eyes that He designed and formed for us to be able to view all the wonder and majesty of creation. The intricate design … the delicate order … the raw and fascinating beauty of the earth were created just for our habitation as living beings. It truly is incomprehensible; and yet, we can know this all comes from a God who passionately loves us!

Oh, how I delight in God every night when I look out into the universe and study the stars, their positions, and their ordered movements.  I think about ancient people who gazed on the same constellations and their parades across the night skies over the seasons of time.  It reminds me that God is faithful and steadfast … His mercies endure forever … His love is everlasting! Likewise, when I think about living creatures and the complexities of all life forms, I cannot help but be amazed at the diversity of life. I contemplate how no plant, animal, or human being had any choice, power, or control in being brought forth into existence here on earth. Our time here had already been determined (ordained) without our knowledge or consent. Everything that exists is by the will of God the Father; and I believe we would do well to embrace His loving will that we have been created in His image … created in Christ Jesus to do good works with God prepared in advance for us to do. (Cf. Ephesians 2:10) There have been no accidents or mistakes. Every person (soul) is precious to our Sovereign Creator.

We will not ever know or fully comprehend the unsearchable things of God. (Cf. Romans 11:33) As Moses affirmed: “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this Law. (Cf. Deuteronomy 29:29) Still, I believe there are truths that God has given us the capacity to understand:

God is Spirit              (Cf. John 4:24)

God is Love                (Cf. 1 John 4:8; 4:16)

God is Holy                (Cf. Leviticus 19:2; 1 Samuel 2:2; Psalm 99:9; Revelation 4:8)

God is Merciful         (Cf. Deuteronomy 4:31; Daniel 9:9)

God is Faithful          (Cf. Deuteronomy 7:9, 32:4; 1 Corinthians 1:9, 10:13)

All of these invisible aspects of His divine nature can be understood through His visible creation and through the testimonies of His Prophets. But even more, God has granted us to see Him through someone more tangible and visible: Jesus – His Son!

John 14:1-11 (NIV)

Jesus said, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.” Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know Him and have seen Him.” Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.” Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing His work. Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves.

My friends, “Jesus is the image of the invisible God and the firstborn over all creation. For in Him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.  (Cf. Colossians 1:15-17) Jesus is the revelation and declaration of God! And when we come to the conviction of His majesty and glory, then we will humble ourselves and fear Him with all the reverence and honor due His name! Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honor and glory forever and ever. (Cf. 1 Timothy 1:17) Yes, it is my prayer that each of us will see the God who sees us – El Roi!

So Now You Know…

Have a Blessed Day!

In the past God spoke to our ancestors 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 also He made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His being, sustaining all things by His powerful word. After He had provided purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in Heaven. ~ Hebrews 1:1-3

Happy Resurrection Day!

Hebrews 1:3 (NIV)

The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His being, sustaining all things by His powerful word. After He had provided purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.

Happy Resurrection Day! Our Verse of the Day is one of my favorites; and I love the opening of this inspired book and its profound theological content! Let’s look deeper look at Jesus … the Resurrection.  His is the image of God the Father:

Hebrews 1:1-4 (NIV)

In the past God spoke to our ancestors 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 also He made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His being, sustaining all things by His powerful word. After He had provided purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. So, He became as much superior to the angels as the name He has inherited is superior to theirs.

If we continued into Verses 5-9, we would understand that the name Jesus inherited is SON. God sent His Son … His ONLY begotten son … into the world to speak to us and to show us the Father. And the Gospel of John affirms this truth:

John 14:1-11 (NIV)

Thomas said to Jesus, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know Him and have seen Him.” Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.” Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?

John 3:17-18 (NIV)

For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him. Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.

Jesus, the Son of God, was sent to provide purification for sins, so that the world might be saved through Him. This is the only means of salvation: To believe in Jesus and the atoning power of His blood – which was shed on the cross! Those who put their faith in Him will not be condemned. (Cf. Romans 8:1) But those who do not believe in Him remain under the condemnation of their sin. Yes, this is how God the Father views sin! His holiness condemns it! “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Cf. Romans 6:23) Note the contrast: Forgiveness versus death. The outcome is predicated upon our faith … and the transformation that faith causes in us through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit when we are born of God. Yes, this is hard to explain to the unbeliever, but Scripture demonstrates it is true nonetheless. As Paul observed:

1 Corinthians 2:12-14 (NIV)

What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words. The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit.

To believe in Jesus is to believe the Father who sent Him. Indeed, this is the work of God … to produce faith within us. (Cf. John 6:29) When we resist Jesus … we are resisting the work of God to bring us to Himself … to purify us from sin … and reconcile us to fellowship with Him.

John 6:35-40 (NIV)

Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe. All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of Him who sent me. And this is the will of Him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those He has given me, but raise them up at the last day. For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in Him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.”

We can only see Jesus through the eyes of faith! And when we see Jesus … we see the Father. It is a straightforward message; yet those who physically saw Jesus in the early 1st Century still did not believe His Word … His Testimony. This is hard to fathom, but Jesus gives us some insight on why this was the case: “All that the Father gives Me will come Me.” Jesus will expound on this matter further:

John 6:44-47 (NIV)

“No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day. It is written in the Prophets: ‘They will all be taught by God.’ (Citing Isaiah 54:13) Everyone who has heard the Father and learned from Him comes to me. No one has seen the Father except the One who is from God; only He has seen the Father. Very truly I tell you, the one who believes has eternal life. 

I pray we will hold these things in remembrance this Resurrection Day … the day when the New Covenant was forged through the blood of the Son of God and confirmed by His resurrection on the third day as He foretold and fulfilled. My friends, let us keep our hearts fixed on this Day … each and every day! For Jesus IS the resurrection and the life!

So Now You Know…

Have a Blessed Day!

Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?” “Yes, Lord,” she replied, “I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.” ~ John 11:23-27

Radiance of God

Hebrews 1:3 (NIV)

The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His being, sustaining all things by His powerful word. After He had provided purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.

I love our Verse of the Day … especially in the full context of the passage that opens the Book of Hebrews:

Hebrews 1:1-4 (ESV)

1 Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 2 but in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed the heir of all things, through whom also He created the world. 3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact image of His nature, and He (Jesus) upholds the universe by the word of His power. After making purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4 having become as much superior to angels as the name He has inherited is more excellent than theirs.

If we continued into Verses 5-9, we would understand that the name Jesus inherited is SON.  God sent His Son … His ONLY begotten son … into the world to speak to us and to show us the Father.  And the Gospel of John affirms this postulation:

John 14:1-11 (NKJV)

1 “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. 2 In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. 4 And where I go you know, and the way you know.” 5 Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?” 6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. 7 “If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him.” 8 Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us.” 9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works. 11 Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves.

John 3:17-18 (NKJV)

16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. 18 “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

Jesus, the Son of God, was sent to provide purification for sins, so that the world might be saved through Him. This is the only means of salvation: To believe in Jesus and the atoning power of His blood – which was shed on the cross!  Those who believe … who put their faith in Him will not be condemned. (Cf. Romans 8:1) But those who do not believe in Him remain under the condemnation of their sin.  Yes, this is how God the Father views sin! His holiness condemns it! “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Cf. Romans 6:23) Note the contrast: Forgiveness versus death.  The outcome is predicated upon our faith … and the transformation that faith causes in us through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit when we are born of God. Yes, this is hard to explain to the unbeliever, but Scripture demonstrates it is true nonetheless.  As Paul observed:

1 Corinthians 2:12-14 (NKJV)

12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. 13 These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. 14 But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

To believe in Jesus is to believe the Father who sent Him.  Indeed, this is the work of God … to produce faith within us.  When we resist Jesus … we are resisting the work of God to bring us to Himself … to purify us from sin … and reconcile us to fellowship with Him.

John 6:29-40 (NKJV)

29 Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.” 30 Therefore they said to Him, “What sign will You perform then, that we may see it and believe You? What work will You do? 31 Our fathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’ ” 32 Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” 34 Then they said to Him, “Lord, give us this bread always.” 35 And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst. 36 But I said to you that you have seen Me and yet do not believe. 37 All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out. 38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. 39 This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. 40 And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.”

We can only see Jesus through the eyes of faith!  And when we see Jesus … we see the Father. It is a straightforward message; yet those who physically saw Jesus in the early 1st Century still did not believe His Word … His Testimony.  This is hard to fathom, but Jesus gives us some insight on why this was the case: “All that the Father gives Me will come Me.” Jesus will expound on this matter further: 

John 6:43-48 (NKJV)

43 Jesus therefore answered and said to them, “Do not murmur among yourselves. 44 No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day. 45 It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God.’ (Cf. Jeremiah 31:31-34) Therefore everyone who hears and has learned from the Father comes to Me. 46 Not that anyone has seen the Father, except He who is from God; He has seen the Father. 47 Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life. 48 I am the bread of life.

Here Jesus quotes what is known as the New Covenant.  We find it in writings of the Prophet Jeremiah and it has great theological significance when we understand it in the context of the crucifixion:

Jeremiah 31:31-34 (NKJV)

31 “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah— 32 not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the Lord. 33 But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 34 No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”

Matthew 26:26-28 (NKJV)

26 And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.” 27 Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. 28 For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the forgiveness of sins.

Jesus IS the New Covenant!  Through His blood our iniquities have been forgiven and our sin is remembered no more.  We have been washed.  We have been made clean.  We are now clothed in white linen and acceptable to God the Father because we have been made holy unto God.  The New Covenant is the knowledge of God.  “And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.” (Cf. John 17:3) “And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life.” (Cf. 1 John 5:20)

Jesus was sent to give us understanding! “He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own people, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the authority to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” (Cf. John 1:10-13) Therefore,  let us look to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Cf. Hebrews 12:2)

I pray we will bring all these things to remembrance on this Good Friday … on this day that the New Covenant was forged through the blood of the Son of God and confirmed by His resurrection on the third day as He promised.  May we continue to prepare our hearts for that Day!  Amen.

So Now You Know!

Have a Blessed Day!