Hi there,
So I have never really understood the phrase "Jesus is God"; I knew for example that Jesus humbled Himself, even when He could have claimed He was God - but I thought to myself "If He doesn't want to be known, as God, how can He be God?" You can see that I would be in a fix, if I tried to justify Jesus as God, without knowing the manner in which His God-ness was God? I studied and studied, looking for different subtexts, thinking there must be some kind of answer, which covered Him being God, but also how. If I had the "how", I reasoned, I could understand how to justify the kind of God, Jesus was. That's when I hit upon an answer (reading His Word in John).
I realised, Jesus was not just "God"; Jesus was God Crucified. After I realised this, everything fell into place; Jesus did not just advance Himself for the sake of the Name of God, but He advanced the cause of God, in being Crucified, as God Crucified. This fulfilled His Word that those who hunger and thirst for Righteousness' sake will be called Sons of God; He was saying "I believe in God, the same way God believes in Himself". The Lord never detracted from faith in God, because He was always Crucified with Him - Crucified the Word, Crucified with the Word, Crucified of the Word. Everything He has ever done, has kept track with God this way - that we might know the Father and believe in Him.
Being God this way, makes way for character, understanding, faith. It empowers us to seek out, how to be with the Father ourselves - taking up our cross and being Crucified with God ourselves. We do not lose heart, that we are with God, for God is greater than us. We do not steer away from God, because dying with God is the gospel. The testimony of Jesus Christ is the spirit of prophecy, there will almost always be a way to keep dying with God - our "Death" is swallowed up in victory, because we cannot be separated from God. The Lord has done it, and we have become complete in Him, anticipating God, entering God and surrendering in God.
Anyway, you can probably tell I'm a little excited about all this - I hope it reaches you in the strength of the Holy Spirit.
God bless.
So I have never really understood the phrase "Jesus is God"; I knew for example that Jesus humbled Himself, even when He could have claimed He was God - but I thought to myself "If He doesn't want to be known, as God, how can He be God?" You can see that I would be in a fix, if I tried to justify Jesus as God, without knowing the manner in which His God-ness was God? I studied and studied, looking for different subtexts, thinking there must be some kind of answer, which covered Him being God, but also how. If I had the "how", I reasoned, I could understand how to justify the kind of God, Jesus was. That's when I hit upon an answer (reading His Word in John).
I realised, Jesus was not just "God"; Jesus was God Crucified. After I realised this, everything fell into place; Jesus did not just advance Himself for the sake of the Name of God, but He advanced the cause of God, in being Crucified, as God Crucified. This fulfilled His Word that those who hunger and thirst for Righteousness' sake will be called Sons of God; He was saying "I believe in God, the same way God believes in Himself". The Lord never detracted from faith in God, because He was always Crucified with Him - Crucified the Word, Crucified with the Word, Crucified of the Word. Everything He has ever done, has kept track with God this way - that we might know the Father and believe in Him.
Being God this way, makes way for character, understanding, faith. It empowers us to seek out, how to be with the Father ourselves - taking up our cross and being Crucified with God ourselves. We do not lose heart, that we are with God, for God is greater than us. We do not steer away from God, because dying with God is the gospel. The testimony of Jesus Christ is the spirit of prophecy, there will almost always be a way to keep dying with God - our "Death" is swallowed up in victory, because we cannot be separated from God. The Lord has done it, and we have become complete in Him, anticipating God, entering God and surrendering in God.
Anyway, you can probably tell I'm a little excited about all this - I hope it reaches you in the strength of the Holy Spirit.
God bless.
