Monday, February 11, 2013

2/11/13- Identity of Christ


13 For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him.17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.18 And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. 19 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross. (Colossians 1:13-19) 

“The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”—which means, “God with us.” (Matthew 1:23 quotes from Isaiah 7:14)

Thoughts: In Jesus Christ we see God- as complete in human form as we could possibly see Him. When the believers saw Jesus they believed in Him.  Thomas fell down in worship- and Jesus accepted it.  Even the demons testified to His divinity as He expelled them.  The unbelieving religious leaders tried to kill him because they believed he claimed to be divine and claimed to do divine things like forgive and heal.
In the passage above it is clear that Jesus Christ is:
1) The Savior- (vs. 13)- rescuing us from the "dominion of darkness"
2) The Forgiver (vs. 14)- rescuing us from our sins.
3) He is the image of the invisible God- Like a sacrament- the visible form of God's invisible grace.  He is like a picture of God- in one place and moment- fully identified as God. 
4) He is the firstborn of creation- before all things (15 & 17)- He is eternally  begotten. 
5) He is the Creator (16)- Creation was by and for Him.  That is about as divine as you can get.
6) He is the Sustainer of all things (17)- He holds things together.  Without His grace and love creation disintegrates- the polarized flee from each other.  He also holds us together when we cannot hold ourselves together. 
7) He is the Head of the Church- not the minister/priest/elder/archbishop/pope.  It is His Church.
8) He is the firsborn from the dead- as He is the firstborn of creation.  He is the first to be raised and stay raised (eg. Lazarus was raised but then died again). 
9) He created all powers and is supreme over all (16,18)- thrones, powers, authorities- have no power but by Him- even Pilate who crucified him had no authority over Him that was not given by Him. 
10) The fullness of God dwells in Him- (19)- God did not halfway live in Him- but fully. 
11) He is the Reconciler- (20)-bringing God to humans and humans to God as ultimate priest. 
12) He is the Peace-maker- through His blood on the cross. He not only brings us together, He seals the deal by paying our penalty making peace with God.  We have peace with God through the Prince of Peace.  
What else could Paul say?  He was trying to say as clearly as he could- that Christ is not just a man, not just a half-man/half-God, but fully human and fully divine. 

Prayer: You are worthy O Lord- to receive our worship- our glory and power and wisdom and wealth and praise.  You are the Lamb who was slain to bring us peace.  May I worship you in all my words and deeds this day.  


We confess the mystery of His two natures, divine and human, in one person. We reject any understanding of the communication of attributes that must result in a blending of the two natures such that Jesus Christ is neither truly God nor truly human. We insist upon sufficient distinction between the two natures to preserve the truth of the incarnation, that Jesus Christ is indeed Immanuel, God-with-us, not one who used to be God, nor one who has merely been sent from God. Rather, in His coming we have seen God’s glory, for Jesus is the exact imprint of God’s very being and in Him the fullness of God was pleased to dwell. The divinity of the Son is in no way impaired, limited, or changed by His gracious act of assuming a human nature, and that His true humanity is in no way undermined by His continued divinity. This is a mystery that we cannot explain, but we affirm it with joy and confidence. (Essential Tenets- The Fellowship of Presbyterians)



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