Listen to the clear declaration of the Apostle John as he speaks of the purpose for which Christ came. “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.” (1 John 3:8). How did this become a reality? “Since…the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself [Jesus] likewise partook of the same things, that through death He might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil” (Hebrews 2:14). What are the primary “works of the devil”? ·
Through deception, Satan plunged man into sin through disobedience. · Sin brought the penalty of death on the human race. · The penalty of death brought fear and an adversarial relationship between man and God. GOOD NEWS; Jesus came “to destroy the works of the devil”! Throughout His ministry, we can see how perfectly effective He was in doing this as well as through His death. Sins are forgiven and persons are freed from the effects of sin (disease, death and many other maladies). Paul has a beautiful way of expressing the result of Christ’s work; “For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.” (Galatians 5:1). Now that Jesus has ascended to heaven and given us the Holy Spirit, we are left here on earth for the purpose of continuing His work. Through the glorious message of the gospel, God is using us as His witnesses that Christ is still “destroying the works of the devil”. He wants to increase the power of your witness and mine through the present work of the Holy Spirit.
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“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” (Matthew 5:17). It is most interesting that Jesus quoted the Old Testament at least 58 times in the Gospels to prove details that related to His coming. Even more interesting is that there are 351 Old Testament prophecies related to Jesus that have already been fulfilled.
Jesus makes this point even more exciting when He walked with Cleopas and his friend from Jerusalem to Emmaus. In response to their quandary about events surrounding the crucifixion, Jesus opened their understanding “Beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, He interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.” (Luke 24:27). This was the most complete lesson on Scripture and the person of Jesus that has ever been given. No Bible College or Seminary can do what Jesus did in such a short period of time. This conversation ending in a meal proved to these two disciples that what Scripture said about Jesus was true and fulfilled. Why do we look outside Scripture for proofs regarding the person of Christ? It is because we have lost its authority in our souls, hearts and minds. If the powerful truth and authority of God’s Word takes hold of us as it should, we will realize both the purpose of Christ’s birth and our being here - to proclaim the majesty of God in the person of Jesus! “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” (Matthew 5:17).
There are two great truths in this statement Jesus made about His coming. In the first place, because we are born in sin and could not redeem ourselves (make ourselves right with God), God planned before the foundation of the universe to provide through His Son a means that the Law would be fulfilled for us. Jesus fulfilled every “iota and dot” (5:18) of the Law of God and “for our sake He (God) made Him (Jesus) to be sin…so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21). As I ponder this truth, my heart is bent in worship – considering that God’s plan in Christ’s coming included the transformation of me, a sinner, into a saint displaying the righteousness and glory of God. Do you see how God has joined together His purpose in Christ coming to earth with leaving you and me here for a specific special purpose? As Christ lived every moment for that purpose, so we must live our lives for God’s glory and eternal purpose! In the next blog, I will discuss Jesus fulfilling what the Prophets said about Him. You will notice that each of the blogs in this series is rooted in the purpose for which Jesus came to earth. Because our purpose for being here is inextricably tied to His purpose, we must pay close attention to why He came.
In speaking of Himself, Jesus said, “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” (Luke 19:10). This was the will of the Father which Jesus depicted in the three parables of Luke 15. In all three parables, there is first the “seeking” by the man having one lost sheep, the woman having one lost coin, and the father having one dead and lost son. The intensity of the Father’s heart was perfectly revealed in His Son who “came to seek” the lost. What strikes me in this picture of lost humanity is that all do not even realize they are lost until God begins a divine work in them, showing how far short they fall from God’s grand purpose for them (see Romans 3:23). Then God reveals the reason why He is seeking us, the lost. “But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit,” (Titus 3:4–5)! Jesus has come to bring me back to God, the sheep that had gone astray (Isaiah 53:6) “so there will be one flock, one Shepherd” (John 10:16). There is much more to explore in God’s Word about this ‘seeking and finding’. Let this simple truth reignite your passion for the lost in your heart, because this is God’s heart. Jesus makes a very powerful statement about His purpose for coming to earth that should shock us into rethinking why we are here; “For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will but the will of Him who sent Me.” (John 6:38). Or chapter 5:30; “I can do nothing on my own…because I seek not My own will but the will of Him who sent Me.” “Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come to do your will, O God, as it is written of me in the scroll of the book.’” (Hebrews 10:7). Consider the following points about these statements:·
If we really believe that Jesus is our model for life and mission, why do we experience such difficulty in following His example? The standard answers don’t work for me; ‘we’re still sinners’, ‘I still live with the old nature’, or ‘we still live in a sinful world’. These statements ignore the truth about who we are in Christ and the purpose for which God has given us His Holy Spirit. Here are a few references that give God’s perspective on how we do the will of God:
Paul also affirms that “all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God” (Romans 8:14). We have been born anew and given the Spirit of Jesus so that through His power we also can do the will of God. This is our purpose so that God is glorified! Let us renew our thinking about why we are here and do God’s will from the heart in the power of the Spirit. There is no one in all of human history who knew why they were here on earth better than the Lord Jesus Christ. In the first statement recorded from His lips, we read these words, “And he said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?”” (Luke 2:49). Jesus esteemed the relationship with His Father above everything else. That relationship was fostered in nearness, in fellowship, and in the place where the things that were most important to the Father were being discussed.
Why are you here and what are you doing to foster that purpose? There are some questions we all have about the timing of events in history that will never be fully answered. Was the coming of Jesus really at the right time; when the people of Israel were in unbelief and disobedience causing their rejection of the promised Messiah; when the cruel hand of Rome oppressed people beyond imagination? Was it justifiable that Herod should “kill all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under” (Matthew 2:16)?
We must return to the Scriptures for insights and answers to these questions. Paul states so clearly that “When the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.” (Galatians 4:4–5). That phrase “fullness of time” is instructive. It means that all the “contents of time were complete, or had come to an end” and there was nothing more to add that would make the moment more perfect for Jesus to come. Frankly, I am more concerned that we understand the “why or purpose” of Christ coming than whether there might have been a better time. Christ came “to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.” It makes no difference which law we were under. As a Jew, it was the Mosaic Law. As a Gentile, it was a law that each person made for themselves. Both “fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23)! For men, women and children to be restored to a right relationship with God, they must be redeemed, liberated, delivered and rescued from loss! When we try to think of the stupendous gulf that sin created between God and His creature, and then realize that not only did He redeem us through His Son, God gave us the status of “sons”! In giving others this message of salvation from sin and eternal loss through God’s Son, don’t leave out that God also brings us into His family, calls us His sons, and makes us “fellow heirs with Christ” (8:17). This truth makes every other question fade out of sight. JESUS CAME JUST AT THE RIGHT TIME AND FOR THE RIGHT PURPOSE! What is meant that “to us a son is given” (Isaiah 9:6). There is something special in God’s announcement through Isaiah about this “son”. In this Scripture, the “Son” was not ‘born’ but “given”. Notice how John describes the coming of Jesus as the Word and the Son; “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14). This Son who was always with the Father (see John 17:5) is “the Word [that] became flesh and dwelt among us”; the “Word” or logos or total embodiment of the Father!
We are left with only worship spontaneously pouring from our hearts and lips. What glory! Such revelation of the heart of God toward mankind must also burn a fire of passion in us as it did in Paul. “For if I preach the gospel, that gives me no ground for boasting. For necessity is laid upon me. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel” (1 Corinthians 9:16)! Will you take these words to heart with me and not allow any of the tinsel of this Christmas season to overshadow the glory of Christ’s person – THE SON! There was never before or after, a more astounding announcement than the one in Isaiah 9:6; “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given.” The distinction in this statement between a “child” and a “son” is perhaps one of the most overlooked and misunderstood of any prophecy regarding the incarnation of Christ. It sheds light on all the New Testament and particularly those passages that speak of Jesus coming into manhood. We will address the second half of the statement tomorrow.
Mary was visited by the angel and clearly told that she would “conceive in her womb – be found with child from the Holy Spirit” (Luke 1:31; Matthew 1:18). While this put Joseph in a difficult position because it would appear to the outside world that ‘shame’ was attached to their relationship. But both Joseph and Mary listened to the divine instructions through the angel and acted in complete obedience and cooperation with God’s plan. And so, in nine months, Mary gave birth to a child, and called His name Jesus (Matthew 1:21). His birth, like every other human being was a proof of His humanity. We must not miss the context of Isaiah’s words. The prophecy and the promise was given to Israel, not to the Gentile. That is why John begins his gospel by saying, “He [Jesus] came to his own [Israel], and His own people did not receive Him” (John 1:11). Though they did not realize the consequences of their actions, such rejection brought added suffering and trouble to a people who were clearly told their Messiah, Savior and King was coming. Often people expect God to deliver them in dramatic ways so they can come out of their troubles in a blaze of earthly glory. God more often works in ways that are only recognized by the humble in spirit, those who keep in close communion with Him by His Spirit. They are the persons who believe what God has said before and humbly wait in faith for His word to come to pass. They will see God change the whole of human history through a child born in a lowly manger. He has come and now lives by the Spirit in every heart that will receive Him! “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone.” (Isaiah 9:2). Anyone who has experienced “walking in darkness” or “dwelling in deep darkness” knows the feeling of hopelessness and unseen danger that comes on your spirit. Fear can control our responses to any of life’s circumstances. Years ago, our family visited caverns that were several hundred feet below ground level. All the lights were turned off. The darkness was so intense that no one could see their hand in front of their face. Then our guide lit one candle which illuminated the whole cavern. What a difference! This prophecy that “a great light” would come and “”shine” where there had been “deep darkness” was the good news that “Galilee of the nations” (9:1) needed in a dark time. We too are living in very dark times. This “true light which gives light to everyone [has] come into the world” (John 1:9). There is only one true light and it has come to us in the person of God’s Son, Jesus Christ. “For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” (2 Corinthians 4:6). If you are experiencing any degree of darkness in your life, it is because you have not let this “light of the world” (John 8:12) displace the darkness. It does not matter what struggle you are facing, Jesus Christ is knocking at the door of your heart so He can shine His light into your situation. His light will bring truth for guidance, hope for assurance, and joy for celebration. LET HIM IN! |
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