Jesus is the Center

Not only does Jesus play the central role in unveiling God to mankind, but he also is the very heart and foundation of his Father’s creative and redemptive efforts, especially the deliverance of humanity from enslavement to Sin and Death. He is the only One in whom the glory of the Creator is seen, and the only One who is qualified to interpret Him.

All the promises of God to and for His children find their significance and fulfillment, their “Yea” and “Amen,” in Jesus of Nazareth.

[Photo by Sebastian Knoll on Unsplash]

The Gospel of John presents him as the Logos, the revelation of God that “became flesh” in Jesus. God made all things according to the Logos, and that “Word” has now become “flesh” in the man of Nazareth, Jesus Christ. He is the One in whom the glory of God resides forevermore, the true and greater Tabernacle.

The “Law” was given through Moses, but “Grace and Truth” came to be through the “Son.” He dwells in the “bosom” of the Father, and he is the only one who has seen the God that “no man has seen.” Therefore, only Jesus is qualified to “interpret” all that God is, which is why anyone who sees the Son “sees the Father” - (John 1:14-18, 14:7).

He is the “Ladder” between Earth and the “open heavens” on which angels “ascend and descend.” He is the only means by which men can “come to the Father,” the true and final “Sanctuary” foreshadowed by the old Tabernacle in the wilderness and the later Temple in Jerusalem. Wherever he is men and women worship the Father “in spirit and truth”- (John 1:51, 2:17-22, 4:21-24, 14:1-7).

In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus declared that he is the One who came to “fulfill the Law and the Prophets,” and so he authoritatively declared the true intent and meaning of the Law - “You have heard it said to them of old… but I declare to you!”

His word settles all disputes and answers all questions, and obedience to it determines whether a man or woman is accepted or rejected by him on the Last Day - (Matthew 5:17-20, 7:21-23).

In Mark, Jesus is the “Beginning of the Good News,” the promised Messiah who “baptizes in the Holy Spirit and fire.” At the Jordan River, the heavens were “rent asunder” and the heavenly voice declared that he was the “Beloved Son.” At the Transfiguration, the same voice commanded his disciples: “This is my Beloved Son. Hear him!”

Obedience to him is not optional, at least for those seeking everlasting life. He is the Messiah of Israel and the only source of the Words of Life - (Mark 1:1-11, 9:7).

MYSTERIES REVEALED

In Paul’s epistles, Jesus is the “Son” who came from the Seed of David, the one “who was distinguished as the Son of God by power, according to a spirit of holiness, through a resurrection of the dead.” It is “through the faith of Jesus Christ” that men and women are reconciled with their Creator – (Romans 1:1-4, 3:21-22).

Indeed, he is “the Mystery of God” that was “hidden for ages and generations, but now has been manifested to his saints.” The preaching of “Christ crucified” is the very “power and wisdom of God,” and the One in whom “all His promises find their yea and amen.”

Jesus cannot be known or understood apart from the Cross. We behold his Father in all His majesty only in the One who was crucified for us - (Romans 1:3-4, 16:25, 1 Corinthians 1:24, Colossians 1:26, 2:2, Ephesians 3:8-11).

The man from Nazareth is the very “image of the unseen God.” It is from his “face” alone that men behold the “knowledge of the glory of God.” The rituals and regulations of the Torah were but types and “shadows of the coming things,” but Jesus is the “body,” the substance of what they foreshadowed - (2 Corinthians 1:20, 4:4-6, Colossians 1:15, 2:16).

[Photo by Usukhbayar Gankhuyag on Unsplash]

In Revelation, it is the sacrificial “Lamb” who was declared “Worthy” to open the “Sealed Scroll.” In doing so, he unveiled and executed the Scroll’s contents, a process that began with his arrival before the heavenly “Throne” following his Death and Resurrection, the sure foundation of his sovereignty over all things- (Revelation 1:4-6, 5:6-12).

The process set in motion by his enthronement will consummate in the New Creation, and with the overthrow of the “last enemy, Death” since even now he holds the “Keys to Death and Hades.” He alone “opens and no man shuts.” Not even death can defy him, and he will resurrect his saints when he “arrives” from Heaven - (Matthew 24:31, 1 Corinthians 15:20-25, Revelation 1:18-20).

Thus, Jesus “shows us the Father,” fulfills all the promises of God, and executes the redemptive plans of Heaven for humanity and the creation itself. He was and remains the indispensable heart and center of all God’s plans and every mystery.

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RELATED POSTS:

• Understanding God - (Jesus of Nazareth, the Crucified One, is the interpretive key that unlocks the Hebrew Scriptures and unveils the Unseen God)

• The Word Made Flesh - (The fullness, grace, and truth of God are found only in the Word made Flesh, Jesus, who alone has seen the unseen God – John 1:14-18)

• Mysteries Revealed - (The previously hidden mysteries of God are revealed in Jesus of Nazareth, and especially in his Death and Resurrection)