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Jan. 27, 2005 The beginning of the Gospel of John is interesting. John’s point of view of who Jesus is varies greatly from that of the other Gospel writers. Long before the Gospels were written, the Prophet Ezekiel wrote of a group of angelic beings. These beings each had four faces; that of a man, that of a lion, that of an ox and that of an eagle. Each of these being represented aspects of the coming Messiah. This is what these four Gospels represent. They do not contradict one another, but supplement each other. A good “Harmony of the Gospels” will show that each gospel acts to fill in gaps missed by the other writers, but taken wholly complete a full picture of the ministry of Jesus. The four faces of the angels reflect the attributes of “God with us”. Matthew wrote of Jesus as the greater son of David (The Lion). Jesus was the legal heir of the throne of David and was the one son through whom God would fulfill his promises to David and Israel. Mark wrote of Jesus as the Servant of men; the “Ox” if you will; that took on the yoke of sin for all humanity. Luke, showed us the perfect man, or the humanness of the Christ; while it was left to John to show us the true God (The Eagle) walking the earth in flesh. It was John that probably had the most insider knowledge of the true God. He began his Gospel with the words: “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.” And as we read through the first 14 verses of John’s Gospel we reach the truth he purposes to explain: “And the Word became flesh, and we beheld his glory as the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” This is the same child that Isaiah prophesied of when he explained that the child that would be born; the son that would be given to Israel would be a child like no other. That same child would have many titles to include “The Mighty God”, and “The Everlasting Father”. So it is certainly no surprise that when Phillip asked to see the Father, Jesus would reply: “Have I been so long with you yet you don’t see? You see me, you see the Father also.” Now, we could call all these things mysteries, but we would be wrong. We could say that God hasn’t said anything of value to men and that would wrong too. All the mysteries have been revealed and Jesus says that those that have ears will hear what the Spirit says to the churches. And there is your clue. Nothing of the Spirit is discernable except by the Spirit of God. Since Faith is a gift, you have to wait until God, in his grace, gives that gift to you. It helps matters a little if you want to believe. If you don’t want the gift of faith, don’t worry; God will never force faith upon you. True faith does not issue through any agent except the Spirit of God. And here is a kicker for you. Paul told Timothy and Peter tell us in his letters that it is the Spirit of God who is responsible for the writings we call the Bible. Paul says that ALL scripture is God breathed and is profitable for doctrine, reproof, correction and instruction in righteousness; while Peter says, we don’t follow cunning fables, but holy men of God wrote as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. Then, amazingly, Peter validates the letters of Paul as equal to the writings of the Prophets. Well, it isn’t really amazing since the Holy Spirit is God. But that is the point. Since the Bible is completely written through the agent of the Holy Spirit, it is only understood rightly by those indwelt by the Spirit of God. The Gospel of John helps us here too. In Chapter 3, Jesus is talking with a man named Nicodemus and is explaining the two birth principle of salvation. Jesus told him that any man MUST be born again or he will not see the kingdom of heaven. This confused Nicodemus and he asked “Can a man go back into his mother’s womb and be born again?” Jesus easily clarifies this dilemma for Nicodemus by explaining that, truly a man must be first born of the “water” of the womb, but then he is faced with a choice to be reborn of the Spirit of God. Without this second “spiritual” birth, a man has no chance at eternal life with God. There are certainly enough examples of being born again of the Spirit throughout the Book of Acts and we have the greater personal testimonies of the Apostles and a history filled with martyrs of the faith who knew exactly who it was they believed in while they were being burned, tortured or otherwise slaughtered for their belief in the Living God. I am not ashamed of my belief in Jesus. I don’t care if I am considered a “fool for Christ”. These were the same claims of Paul the Apostle who suffered many indignities in the name of Jesus. A true Christian stands and accepts every single glob of slop the unbelievers chuck; knowing that he has no reward here in this world. It is important that a True believer not discredit the Lord. Do not be ashamed and do not deny your own standing in grace. Romans Chapter 8 among many other great passages of scripture is a battle cry we should not be afraid to trust and apply to our daily living. If you have Named the Name above all Names, you can stand assured in your adoption into the family of God. Truly, only a fool says in his heart: “There is no God.” ------------ About the Author: Michael John McCrae, husband to Linda for 30 years (and counting); Dad to Susan, Thomas, Timothy, David and Benjamin; Granddad (Guy) to Justin and Megan; has contributed over 300 articles to Useless-Knowledge.com. He writes from a politically conservative point of view and a Judeo-Christian cultural background that includes over 30 years of Biblical study. Michael served in the United States Armed Forces from January 1971 until August 2002, retiring honorably after 30 years of duty in the Army. He is currently working as a contractor in support of the Armed Forces in the Middle East. Michael John McCrae is a fellow with an opinion, and a desire to express it. He does that here. He writes an occasional poem too. Email: macswordV@hotmail.com Tell a friend about this site! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com and are not allowed to be posted on other websites. ARTICLE THIEVES WILL BE PROSECUTED! |
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