Have At It

I invite you to enter this awesome mystery of Jesus Christ – God manifest in the flesh. Pause every time you read Scripture in general and the Gospels in particular. Remind yourself of First Timothy 3:16. Let it invite you to enter and explore.

However, as I mentioned regarding the Grand Canyon, the invitation also warns you to step back and be careful. Beware of those who claim "real meanings" of Scripture which, say they, are known only to a select few. Beware of those who tell you the important meanings are “hidden” messages discovered by counting letters or adding numbers or by using other gimmicks. The awesome mystery of the Scripture is not wrapped in secret, mystic formulas or private interpretations outside of the ordinary meanings of words.

Especially beware of those in clerical garb or doctoral hoods who pretend Scripture did a poor job expressing “truths” which are now re-interpreted by more enlightened philosophers.

There is nothing difficult to understand in these words.

For God so loved the world,

That he gave his only Son,

that whoever believes in him

should not perish but have eternal life.

The Old Testament narrates the events which led to those words. The rest of the New Testament unfolds their impact on the lives of those who receive them. And that is the point: there is a difference between understanding and receiving. The message of God sending his Son to die in the place of believing sinners is stupid and offensive to most because they do understand it, they do not want it, and they will go to any length to destroy, dilute, or derail it.

Do you understand the footprint of Jesus Christ as revealed in the Gospel accounts? If so, have you acted on the invitation to believe on him as Lord of your life and Savior of your soul? And, if you have, are you growing in grace and the knowledge of him?

Step up to the rim of the canyon of the mystery of Jesus Christ. Acknowledge him as Lord and Savior, and let God's Word take you to the awesome depths of his grace and coming Kingdom. Have at it!    

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And There's More

Papillon Grand Canyon Helicopter Tours

When one stands at the rim of the Grand Canyon he finds himself warned to stand back and, at the same time, invited to enter and explore. I believe that illustrates the fear of the Lord. I also believe it links the fear of the Lord with the word godliness – to be awed by that which is truly awesome.

First Timothy 3:16 describes true godliness as the breathtaking mystery of God among us as one of us. It has to do with authenticated reality, not some occult hocus pocus. The footprint of the God-man was clearly predicted by the prophets of old and was fully vindicated by God’s Spirit in the claims and actions of Jesus of Nazareth. In the process it was observed in the angelic realms and by human angels/messengers in the world of man. But there is more. The wow-factor of this mystery is expressed in three more amazing categories.

God preached to the Gentiles

He who came to Israel as the promised Messiah of the Jews, brought hope to Gentiles! He invited people who were legitimately afar off and wrongfully scorned to come to him and trust in him and receive from him forgiveness and life. Although prophesied, even the Apostles seemed not to have seen that one coming.  

God believed on in the world.

From his closest family and friends to sinners drawn from the fringes, in spite of entrenched opposition, his invitation was received, and he became the object of a forsake-all faith.  

God Received up into glory.

His last footprints were left on the hill top of Olivet. From there his followers walked away to urge others to trust him and look forward to his return. In the decades before the political church, they carried this message across continents without brandishing a sword or planting of a bomb. Since then, in spite of the political church, others have continued to offer his saving grace even though victimized by defamation, legislation, isolation, and execution.

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The Mystery of the Truly Awesome

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I believe First Timothy 3:16 is a text which should be read before any reading of the Gospels. No matter what facet of Jesus’ life and ministry we study we ought to let the Spirit remind us that we are dealing with a mystery which should bring thoughts and actions of awe (godliness) to our lives – thoughts and actions which mimic the footprint of the King whom we serve now in hostile territory and in whose Kingdom we will serve “when the dark night has ended, and the storms come no more.”

The text tells us that the mystery of godliness is nothing less than the incarnation of Christ. Here are the first three categories of that awe inspiring mystery.

God manifest in the flesh.

In some respects I fear that people who reject this truth have a better grasp of it than those of us who believe it. They understand its ramifications on their lives and hate it. They grasp the “impossibility” of it apart from an act of God and they scorn it for that very reason. We, on the other hand, seem to treat it as an oh-yeah-that part of our faith and, for eleven months of the year, live our lives woefully unconcerned with the spine-tingling, miraculous wow-factors which surround it. 

God justified in the Spirit

The biographies of Jesus' walk among us reveal that the Father, through the Holy Spirit, orchestrated every aspect of his earthly pilgrimage so that his identity and his authoritative claims were thoroughly authenticated and declared to be right and righteous. This is vital to the peace which belongs to those of us who are justified by faith in him, and it is the basic reason for this series of devotionals.

God seen by angels

This can refer to the fact that Jesus’ authenticity was witnessed in both the natural and supernatural realm; and, also, because angellos (angel) can refer to human messengers who bring good news (eu-angellion), it can also refer to the many witnesses who observed his life and gave testimony to its authenticity even to the point of laying down their lives. 

God, give us grace to stand at the threshold of such a panorama of mystery with such awe that we step back in stunned wonder and step forward with a longing to explore it deeply.

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