The Mystery of Godliness

There is a lot of disagreement about the identity of Jesus. Many say He was a good man, but just a man. (This claim obviously falls under its own weight since a good man would not make a false claim) Many others say He never claimed to be God. They may admit He said He was the "Son of God" just as we all are children of God; but, they say, He never claimed to be truly God.

To those who say Jesus never claimed to be God, I will respond with the Word of God, as did Jesus. Jesus told the resurrection denying Sadducees, "You are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God" (Matthew 22:30). Those who deny the Deity of Jesus Christ are also mistaken because they do not truly know the Scriptures. 

The Word of God clearly tells us that Jesus is God. It says in John 1:1 "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and was God." To clarify Who the Word is, it goes on to say in verse 14, "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." The word glory comes from the Hebrew word Shekinah. It means the manifest presence of God. John was referring to the Transfiguration when Jesus allowed three of His disciples to see the radiant glory of His heavenly body.

The Word says He was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of a virgin as it was prophesied by Isaiah (7:14) and restated in Matthew 1:23, "The virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel, which is translated, God with us."  

The prophecies concerning His virgin birth were fulfilled. He grew up in the village of Nazareth and then went to the Jordan to be baptized by John and start His ministry. At his baptism, the Spirit of God descended in the form of a dove and a voice from heaven said, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." Matthew 3:16-17 This event displayed the Trinity in action to those with eyes to see, ears to hear, and hearts to understand.

True Israelites should have already had some understanding of Yehovah in His Tri-Unity because it had been witnessed since creation. The actions of all three are mentioned throughout the Old Testament and two passages even mention God's "Son." It was also the reason for the Shema prayer of Israel. Why would you need to continually declare your God is One unless it was to establish the unity of the Trinity? The majority of religious leaders had hardened their hearts to that truth and it caused them to reject their Messiah even though Jesus made the truth plain to them.     

Jesus also spoke the truth to Satan but he missed it, as well. When Satan attempted to get Jesus to prove He was the Son of God by throwing Himself off the pinnacle of the Temple and letting angels rescue Him; Jesus responded, "It is written, 'You shall not tempt Yehovah, your God'" Matthew 4:6-7.  Jesus was giving Satan two responses in one. First, Jesus let him know He, Himself, would not sin by attempting to tempt His Father. And, second, Jesus was showing Satan that He, Himself, (as Yehovah in the flesh) was not even tempted by the offer. As James 1:14 tells us, "God cannot be tempted to evil..." He has no sin nature to appeal to... no lust to draw Him to sin.  

Now to get to the actual words of Jesus when He dwelt among men. Let's look at excerpts from John,  chapter 10, verses 24-33. The Jews surrounded Jesus and asked Him if he was the Messiah.  Jesus said, "I told you, and you do not believe. The works I do bear witness of Me... But you do not believe..." He continued with, "I and My Father are One."  "Then the Jews took up stones to stone Him." So, Jesus asked them "...for which of those works do you stone Me?"  The Jews replied, "For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy, and because You, being a Man, make yourself God." Yes, they understood that Jesus was claiming to be God.

Continuing in verse 36, Jesus challenged their accusation of blasphemy.  He said, "do you say of Him whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, 'You are blaspheming,' because I said, I am the Son of God?" This exchange reveals clearly that Jesus claimed to be God because He is!

In John 11:25, Jesus told Martha, "...I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die." Of course, we understand that those who die in Christ will be resurrected, but what does He mean when He says, "whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die"? Is this a hidden reference to those who will be raptured? I believe it is! The bottom line here is that only God has the power to fulfill these statements; therefore, we can rest assured that Jesus is God! 

                                             

Knowing Jesus is God doesn't mean we automatically understand how that works. Paul talked about the dual God/Man nature of Jesus as being a great mystery! There is no argument about the fact that it is complicated!

It helps if you insert the name of Jesus into this passage.

Jesus was manifested in the flesh. Jesus was justified in the Spirit. Jesus was seen of angels. Jesus was preached among the Gentiles. Jesus was believed on in the world. Jesus was received up into glory.

And, all of this is true because Jesus is God.

He was fully God in eternity past and, in agreement with the Father and the Holy Spirit, He chose to take on a flesh, blood and bone body to identify with His creation so He could live among us and die for our sins. He is fully God and fully Man now and for eternity. He wants those who trust Him as their Savior to live with Him forever in glory! Glory to the Godhead in the Highest!

Jesus, the Son of God, died for your sins and rose again.

If you believe He died for your sins, you are being drawn by the Spirit of God.

Confess that you are a sinner and don't want to live that way anymore.

Ask Jesus to take control of your life. He will!

Then tell someone that Jesus has saved you!

Rejoice! Pray! Read the Word of God.

Seek out fellowship.

He is Coming Soon!

Quran Has Not Replaced The Holy Bible

Islam teaches that the Quran has replaced the Bible. It also teaches that Jesus is coming again, not as KING of Kings and LORD of Lords, but as a prophet who will break crosses and destroy Christianity, even as he promotes Islam as the true religion and Allah as the true God. 

Does this Islamic teaching have any basis in reality? Is there any reason to believe it? Let's look at the facts. God inspired over 40 men, most of them prophets of Israel, to write The Holy Bible over a period of 1500 years. Without human collaboration, they wrote books which fit together to tell mankind the true story of their sinless creation, fall into sin, and Yehovah's eternal plan to save them. It contains many prophecies about the first coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ, which have been meticulously fulfilled, and there are hundreds to be fulfilled in the future. Yehovah inspired His Word and has preserved His Word. He has not allowed it to be corrupted or replaced.

"Such things were written in the Scriptures long ago to teach us.

And the Scriptures give us hope and encouragement

as we wait patiently for God's promises to be fulfilled."

Romans 15:4 NLT

How can anyone believe that YEHOVAH,

The Great I AM,

Who says His Word is ETERNAL,

would change His name to Allah,

discard the Holy Bible, 

and replace it with an inferior

and contradictory message in the Quran?

A message which offers no savior

and no proposed hope of salvation other than Jihad.

The Quran was written in about 23 years based on the collected memories of those who had heard Muhammad speak. It talks about a Jesus but not the Jesus of the Bible. It does not include the multitude of prophecies about the birth, ministry, death and resurrection of Jesus that were meticulously fulfilled at His first coming, or even mention those yet to be fulfilled. Unlike the Holy Bible, the Quran is not a prophetic book. The Quran does give an accurate view of history or the future because Allah is not Omniscient..

In contrast, YEHOVAH, Himself, in the Holy Bible, Book of Isaiah, said that He Knows the "end from the beginning" and He has shared things "yet to come" in His Word to prove it is true!

Jesus of Nazareth, the only begotten Son of God, warned us that many would come claiming to be Him but we should not be deceived. His Second Coming will be a worldwide event that none will mistake. He is returning as KING of Kings and LORD of Lords to rule this earth in peace for 1000 years before setting up His Eternal Kingdom of Righteousness.

Paul warned: "But even if we, or an angel from heaven,

should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you,

he is to be accursed!

As we have said before, so I say again now,

if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received,

he is to be accursed!"

Gal 1:8-9

Muhammad claimed that he received a new gospel from an angel.

We were warned not to fall for that.

I encourage you to put your trust in the real Jesus. 

He can save you from your sins and He wants to.

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son,

that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." John 3:16

Grace and peace to you.

A Secret Revealed

Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption.

Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed– in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump.

For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
　
So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: "Death is swallowed up in victory."

"O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?"

The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law.

But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
　
Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. 1Cor 15:50-58
This passage starts off with the bad news. We cannot make it to heaven in our current bodies. They are perishing, even as we consider these words. They are not suited to the eternal life Jesus has in store for us. So, what shall we do? Aren’t you glad Paul didn’t stop with those opening remarks? I know I am!

He continues with the good news. There is a solution for our problem. And, it’s something we have no way of knowing apart from special revelation.

God revealed it to Paul so he could share it with us. It’s been a secret from eternity past, but Paul has the privilege of telling us one of God’s secrets!

If you are one of those, "I wanna know" kinda people, you should love this passage.

When Paul says he is telling us a mystery, the root word in the Greek for mystery means "to shut the mouth." (I wonder if that’s where we get the common expression we use today?) I can see why he uses such a word. This revelation is truly stunning.

We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed– in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump.
Consider being changed from a mortal to an immortal in a nano second and never having to face death. This is something entirely new.

Enoch and Elijah were taken before death but no details were given about a bodily change. We don’t know if they became immortals or have been preserved in their flesh and bone bodies for a future assignment. Many scholars believe they may be the two witnesses in the Book of Revelation who will be killed and resurrected after three days.

And, Jesus, Himself, died on the cross for our sins and was resurrected on the third day with His immortal body.

So, Paul’s revelation about receiving a new body without having to die is a new thing! Well, shut my mouth!
　
Talk about victory. Now that’s something to shout about!

Thanks Be to God, Who Gives Us the Victory Through Our Lord Jesus Christ.

Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.
Maranatha! Be encouraged in the Lord!