Sunday, July 15, 2012

The Origin of Jesus

Some time ago, I was studying some articles published by the Mormons (Church of the Latter Day Saints). My curiosity got the best of me when I read that they believed that Jesus and Lucifer were brothers. Knowing what I know of the Scripture, I immediately took offence to this and was grieved in my soul for the slander aimed at the very One who is responsible for my eternal salvation. Alike, many Christians take offence of this dastardly defamation of Deity but nonetheless, I feel we need to take a closer look at what the Word of God declares. Let it be known amongst His children that God is very capable of defending Himself. I am only a witness of these truths set forth in my heart.

“God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high; being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they. For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son? And again, when he bringeth in the first-begotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him. And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire. But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom. Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore, God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows. And, thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands: they shall perish; but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment; and as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail. But to which of the angels said he at any time, sit on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool? Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?” Hebrews 1:1-14

If nothing else, we can see that established here in the Scripture there is a distinct difference between the Deity of God and the angels of Heaven. It was God alone that created the heavens and the universe. Angels are very strong and powerful as far as their God given abilities allow, but they do not possess the power of creative abilities, such as bringing into existence living forms of air breathing life. Angels are not Deity. They are created beings, ministering spirits according to the Scripture, just one-step above humankind. The Bible admonishes us not to worship Angels, but rather instructs and encourages us to worship only the true and living Jehovah God and His adorned Son; one in the same, Jesus is this person.

I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me: That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the LORD, and there is none else. I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things. Drop down, ye heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness: let the earth open, and let them bring forth salvation, and let righteousness spring up together; I the LORD have created it. Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker! Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth. Shall the clay say to him that fashioneth it, ‘what makest thou? Or thy work, He hath no hands?” Isaiah 45:5-9

God’s Christ Jesus set forth a discourse explaining just who He was when the Disciple Phillip asked to see the Father of Glory.

“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.’ Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us. Jesus saith unto him, ‘have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? He that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father? Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? The words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works' sake. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it. If ye love me, keep my commandments.” John 14:6-15

For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.” 1Timothy 2:5-6

“Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.” Philippians 2:5-13

In this Scripture, we can identify Christ as being one in the same with God the Father who is altogether omniscient, all knowing of all things. God is also omnipresent, which means He has the ability to place Himself in many different places at the same time. Angels on the other hand cannot perform in this manner and this includes Lucifer. It can be said that God wears three hats at His choosing. This takes a lot of power, much more than our sun can display at one time, but our God is more than capable. For example, I have the power of the Holy Spirit inside of me and at the same time, so do many others that believe Christ is the Son of God. There is nothing in the entire universe that God cannot do based on His will.

“And Jesus came and spake unto them, {after the Resurrection and upon His ascension} saying, ‘All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.’ Amen.” Matthew 28:18-20

Therefore, Christ is the express image of God the Father and is an extension of Himself in a bodily form as stated in Hebrews chapter one. God’s purpose was not to expose Himself as Almighty God Himself. He did that with Moses and although He tucked Moses safely away in the rock, His presence almost killed Moses. No one but the Angels can physically approach the true and living God Jehovah. Our God is a God of fire, a consuming fire according to Hebrews 12:29. Holy and righteous altogether and nothing that defiles can come into His presence. Thus, the purpose for His Christ; He approaches the Father of Lights on our behalf. You and I, as born-again believers in Christ Jesus now have access to the Throne of Glory. However, to put forth Himself to humankind as what appears to us as a separate entity is Christ or the Saviour. God is merciful to us. He gave us Himself in a bodily form known in the Scriptures as the Logos or the Word. Before Christ was born to Mary and the world, He was known to Heaven’s entire host as the WORD.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men.” John 1:1-4

This is the wonderful grace of the Father giving us an opportunity to approach Him, believe in Him, and above all, worship Him. We cannot approach God the Father without approaching His extension of Christ first, a living breathing person we can touch, feel, and one glorious day, see with our own eyes. The Scripture assures us as born-again children of God that we who know Him will see Him face to face in the very near future. By faith, we must accept God’s Christ first in order to have access to the Father.

As for the statement of the Mormons’ claim that Lucifer is the brother of God’s Christ is to say that Christ is equal to the Angels. Lucifer, the Light Bearer, was the anointed cherubim that served at the fiery altar, which is at the base of God’s Throne in Heaven. This is most definitely a false statement of the Mormons because this statement takes away the Deity of the Son of God. It is altogether blasphemy and truly the statement of an unbeliever. A false statement because through the knowledge of the Scripture, we know that Christ is the Son of God, the Father’s express image and the very likeness of His glory. Not a duplicate mind you, but an express image; there is a difference…think about that for a moment.God the Father is a Spirit, a consuming fire and He purposed himself to have a body to walk among men. We have further witness of the Apostles in the Scripture according to the Disciple Luke when he wrote about the entrance of the Son of God. I feel the Scripture best describes the Trinity with the works performed at the First Advent of Christ, the Lord’s conception at Nazareth.

“And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, to a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. And the angel said unto her, ‘fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.’ Then said Mary unto the angel, ‘how shall this be, seeing I know not a man?’ And the angel answered and said unto her, ‘the Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren. For with God nothing shall be impossible.” Luke 1:26-37
  
This Scripture alone gives us the account of the three offices and purposes of God the Father by showing us the inner workings of the Triune God. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, all three are one in the same with Christ Jesus. Puzzling no doubt, but God the Father chooses to give the name of Jesus to us so we can better understand our God and give us a feel for closeness and intimate relationship with God the Father. He gives us what seems like another individual but in the real spiritual sense, is still the same person. We must keep in mind what God said about Himself; “I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me.”

I am sure at times that many feel the Scripture might seem to contradict itself; sometimes it does to me too, but I know this is only because of my human inabilities. I have to remind myself this is my God that loves me and gives me the ability to understand His ways. Many things, such as our maturity and how long we have known the LORD, depends on whether or not we receive this valuable information. His ways of Holiness and Righteousness are so much higher than our ways and sometimes foreign to me. I know from experience that writing about this subject can be, and probably is, very difficult to comprehend, let alone understand it. In our walk of faith we must realize that even as adults we are alike unto babies who know that someone is taking time to pay attention to them yet they do not have a clue as to who or what this person is. Christians are similar because by faith we accept that a higher power wants to give us time and space to grow gracefully in the knowledge He gives us, spoon-fed so to speak, a little at a time as not to discourage us. I am not going to sit here and tell you that I fully understand all things, how arrogant that would be of me. The LORD gives knowledge or withholds knowledge from me just as He gives to you what we can digest at the time. We have to keep in mind that our walk with God is a walk of faith. Whether or not we understand it is irrelevant, simply believing is enough for the LORD at this time. Understanding will come from the LORD as we mature into adults and stay close to the Word of God.

“Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works' sake.” John 14:11