The Green Tree: Jesus

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Lord Jesus Christ

Jesus, is the Lord of Lords
Lord of Host
Lord of Heaven and Earth
Jesus, is the Christ, the Messiah
Jesus is the King of Kings
He is the Priest of Most High God
He is the Wisdom of God
He is the Person of God
He is the Image of God
He is the Incarnation of God
He is the Final and perfect Revelation of God in the flesh
He is the Resurrection and Life
He is the Bread of Life
He is the Living Water
He is the Way, the Truth and the Life
He is Wiser than Solomon
He is more Beautiful to desire than the Temple of Jerusalem
He is that I AM
He is the Glory of the Lord
He is our Holiness of God
He is our Justification of God
He is our Redemption of God
He is the 4^th Person in the midst of fire that Nebuchadnezzar saw
He is the Ancient of Ages that Daniel prophesied
He is the Son of Man Daniel, John the apostle saw
He is the Lamp of God provided to take away the sins of humanity
He is the Hope of Glory of Humanity
He is Author and Finisher of our Faith
He is the Good Shepherded
He is Jehovah, the Provider, the Healer, the Banner & Victory, the Strength and Power, the ….
He is the Wonderful, Counselor, the Almighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace
He is the Immanuel, God With Us and Among us and now In us.
He is the Branch of David, the Branch form Jessy, The Branch of the Lord, The Righteous Branch of the Lord.
He is Prophet of Israel
He is Statesmen of Daniel
He is the Messenger to Israel
He is the Redeemer of Job
He is the Rock of Salvation
He is the Smiting Stone to Rebellions
He is the Corner Stone who trust Him
He is center in whom the Holy Trinity, Godhead dwells.
He is the center of the entire universe
He is the theme and core Person of the Bible
He is the …Source, Purpose & Person of Creation.

Christology is the study of Christ, a study of all that pertains to Jesus Christ our Lord. I would like to introduce our thoughts with some of the thoughts from Dr. Walvoord’s preface in his book on Christ:

Eight hundred years ago Bernard of Clairvaux penned the beautiful hymn:

‘Jesus, the very thought of The
With sweetness fills my breasts
But sweeter far Thy face to see,
And in Thy prescience rest.’

Ever since the holy Babe was laid in the manger in Bethlehem of Judea, devout souls have found in Jesus Christ One who is the worthy object of their worship, whose ineffable person compels their love and obedience. As the Word of God expressed in human form, Jesus Christ has drawn all believing souls to Himself.

Although no other person is the object of more scriptural revelation, human pens falter when attempting to describe Him.

The poet, biographer, theologian and orator alike confess their inability to delineate the glories and perfections of our blessed Savior. Charles Wesley expressed the aspiration of those conscious of their limitations when he composed this great hymn:

‘O for a thousand tongues to sing
My great Redeemer’s praise,
The glories of my God and King,
The triumphs of His grace.’

The impossible task of circumscribing the glories of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ stems from the infinity of His person and the omnipotence and omniscience of all His works. From Genesis to Revelation Jesus Christ is the most important theme of the Bible and almost every page is related in some way to either His person or work. Christianity is Jesus Christ. No other subject is given more complete revelation and yet the half has not been told.”¹ There are many reasons for making a study of Christ even if we were not vitally interested in knowing more about our Lord and Savior. Let’s examine some of the reasons.

THE IMPORTANCE OF STUDYING CHRIST

1. Christ Is The Center Of History. Our calendars reflect his presence on earth. The entire dating system of the western world centers on the appearance of the Lord in man’s history. Most countries celebrate His birth. Even though it is tied up with Santa Claus and commercialism, it is the birth of Jesus that is celebrated.

Even if we were to reject His claims to deity, if the man was this important we ought to at least study Him from a natural curiosity as to his power over history.

Bancroft mentions in his Elemental Theology:

“Jesus Christ is the central figure of the World’s history. The world cannot forget Him while it remembers history, for history is His story. To leave Him out would be like astronomy without stars, or like botany with the flowers forgotten. Horace Bushnell said, ‘It would be easier to untwist all the beams of light in the sky and to separate and erase one of the primary colors, than to get the character of Jesus out of the world.’ “The history of the race since its inception has been the history of the preparation for His coming. The Old Testament foretells His coming in type, symbol, and direct prophecy. The history of His people Israel is a story of expectation, of yearning, of preparation. “The fact of Jesus Christ is not only firmly imbedded in human history and written upon the open page of Scripture, but it is also experientially embodied in the lives of millions of believers and interwoven in the fabric of all civilization worthy of the name.”²

Christ Is The Center Of Our Life. If we are to follow His example we must know why He is a proper example, and then know His life so we can imitate Him. (1 John 2:6; 1 Peter 2:21ff) Man naturally seeks a model to pattern himself after. Even in small children it can be observed that a child often takes a parent as a model. The model changes over time, and it is the believer’s responsibility to teach and preach the idea that Christ is the only person after whom believer should pattern his life after.
Christ Is The Center Of The Bible. All of Scripture deals with Him, His work on the cross and His future coming. He is seen from Genesis to Revelation. The Bible is called “christocentric” because of this fact. The book of Genesis in 3:15 prophecies for the first time, the coming One that will take care of Satan. The book of Revelation ends with the Lord bringing to a close all that God had planned for mankind. Some references that relate to this thought: Matthew 5:17; Luke 24:27; Luke 27:44; John 5:39.
Christ Is To Be The Center Of Our Studies. We are told to grow in our knowledge of the Lord Jesus, and that this will bring glory to Him. The study will automatically, as we apply our learning, bring us into conformity with Him, and this will also bring glory to Him, for people will see Him in us rather than ourselves. 2 Peter 3:18
Christ Should Be The Center Of Our Revelation Of God. If we desire to know of God then we need to know of Christ. The Lord told the disciples that if they had seen Him they had seen the Father. We can know much of the character of God the Father if we study God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. John 14:9b; John 1:14.
Christ Should Be The Center Of Christianity. Christ is Christianity and Christianity is Christ. You can have all the religions of the world and their leaders, however if you remove their leaders, their religion can go on, indeed some have done so. Confuciuism, Islam etc. Without Christ Christianity cannot exist. There seems to be many in our land that are trying to usurp Christ and His position in Christianity. It seems that many are trying to see how little of Christ they can present and still call themselves a part of Christianity. The liberal spectrum relegate Him to a mere man that some of them hope existed, yet they still call themselves Christians. The term Christian comes from the thought of Christ being the leader of the follower. If they hope that he existed then shouldn’t their religion be Hopechristianity?
Christ Should Be The Center Of Our Message. If we are to refute the isms and Christs being presented today. There have been “Christs” that have come to complete the work that Jesus Christ our Lord supposedly failed to finish. Sun Myung Moon is one of these latter day LUNARtics that claims to be completing the work that the Lord had failed to accomplish.

THE PRE-EXISTENCE OF CHRIST

Is the pre-existence of Christ of concern to us? Is it really important to our study of Christ? Most Certainly, for if He be not pre-existent then He becults of our day we must know the Christ of the Bible for there are many other not God. If He be not God then we waste our time in this endeavor called Christianity. It should also be very clear that if Christ was not pre-existent then He was not God, and that He WAS a liar.

An associated question is this, “Is pre-existence the same as eternality?” No. He could have existed before His birth but only have existed since say, creation. Thus, he would not be an eternal being. This is not an acceptable line of thinking. He is eternal as God the Father and God the Holy Spirit are eternal. All three members of the Godhead have always existed in eternity past and will always exist eternity future. Eternality is not pre-existence; however a denial of pre-existence almost always leads to the denial of eternality.

The following verses show both pre-existence and eternality.

1. John revealed this in the first chapter of his gospel. John 1:1.

2. Christ revealed this Himself. John 10:30; John 8:58; John 17:5, 24.

3. Paul revealed this. 1 Corinthians 10:4,9; Philippians 2:5-7; Colossians 1:17; (See also Matthew 23:37; John 3:13, 31; 8:42; 16:28-30; 2 Corinthians 8:9.)

CHRIST MINISTERED BEFORE HIS BIRTH

1.       He Participated In The Decrees: He undoubtedly participated in the decrees and the planning of the ages since He is God. It would be ludicrous to suggest that the Lord Jesus was not consulted in the plan of the ages since that plan hinged upon His obedience to the plan. The Father did not require the Son to manifest Himself to man, the Father did not require the Son to become flesh and blood, and the Father did not require that the Son should submit Himself to the death of the cross. Christ did it voluntarily in response to His own personal love for His creatures that were lost and damned to everlasting torment with the Devil.

2.       He Created All Things: Colossians 1:16 says all that needs to be said on this subject so we will just quote it.

“For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers — all things were created by him, and for him;” (See also John 1:3; Hebrews 1:2)

3.       He Sustains All Things: Not only did the Lord Jesus create all things but He maintains all things. He is in the position of guaranteeing that all of creation will continue on until the time of the consummation. Colossians 1:17

CHRIST SEEN IN THE OLD TESTAMENT IN RETROSPECT

The Old Testament has much information relating to the Messiah to come, as well as general information about Christ. We might take note of something that Christ did as He was walking with two on the road to Emmaus.

“And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.” Luke 24:27

Moses, being the writer of Genesis recorded two accounts relating to Christ. One was a look forward to the fact of His coming work in the spiritual realm, Genesis 3:15 and the second was on the occasion of three men appearing to Abraham just prior to the destruction of Sodom, Genesis 18:1-33. Moses goes on in Exodus 40:38 to mention the cloud of smoke and fire that was over the Tabernacle in the wilderness, and mentions that this was God. (See also Exodus 13:21; Exodus 33:9-23; Numbers 9:15.) We will see in a future study that these appearances of God were the Angel of the Lord and that the Angel of the Lord is none other than Christ Himself in pre-incarnate appearances.

THE NAMES OF GOD THE SON

1. Jesus: The term Jesus is found in the Gospels around six hundred times, while in the rest of the New Testament about seventy times. It might be an interesting side light to mention that outside the Gospels the name Jesus is normally, in fact usually linked to other names of the Lord, such as Christ and Lord. It should be noted in Acts that there is an elevation or uplifting of the term Jesus, to a higher plain, if you will, by the linking of his earthly name with the titles that honor him.

“Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.” Acts 2:36

We might want to, in response to this text, limit our usage of the name Jesus and concentrate of the Title that God Himself has given Him, Jesus Christ the Lord. I once had a college professor that regarded the Lord so highly that he never used the term Jesus without linking it with Christ the Lord. Jesus is the primary name before the death, burial and resurrection. Cambron mentions of the name Jesus,

“Jesus is the personal name of the Lord. It is His earthly name, the name under which He was born, lived, and died. It is the name of His humiliation, of suffering, of sorrow. It is the name of the One who humbled Himself. The name Jesus, at the time of our Lord, was not uncommon; there were many who were named Jesus. Jesus is the Greek form for the Hebrew word Joshua, and both mean “Jehovah our Saviour.” This name, Jesus, was the one which was nailed over Him on the cross.”3

2.       Christ: We see an interesting contrast in the number of times that Christ appears in the Gospels and the rest of the New Testament. The ratio seems to be about the opposite of the name Jesus. Christ is found in the Gospels about fifty times while it is found about two hundred and fifty times in the rest of the New Testament. Christ is an official name which points to the fact that He was, and is, the anointed one of Israel. Indeed the name Christ means the anointed one. The main distinction in the names is that Jesus was used before the cross and Christ was used after. Jesus is the name that much of the world believes in while it is the Christ that the believer places his trust in. Jesus is the name of the humanity of God while Christ is the name of God the Son’s exultation. Is it incorrect to use the term Jesus? No, definitely not, however the overuse or overemphasis of the humanity of Christ will ultimately detract from the overall teaching about the Son of God.

3.       Messiah: The Hebrew term for anointed one is Messiah. The OldTestament always looked forward to the anointed one and now the New Testament reflects back upon the anointed one that came and completed the work that His first appearing required, yet still looks forward to the second appearing which will tie all plans for mankind together.

4.       Lord: This is the New Testament equivalent of the Hebrew term Adonai or master. This is the term for Christ’s Deity. As we progress through the study of the Lord Jesus we will see that He truly was almighty God come in the flesh and that this term is quite appropriate for Him.

5. Jesus Christ: Cambron mentions that this combination of terms sets forth His humanity but that He now is exulted, while the combination “Christ Jesus” depicts His present position contrasted with the fact that He was once humiliated.4 This is a good distinction in the terms. The fact that Jesus is his earthly name should lead us to desire to be like Jesus in our everyday life, for He certainly set forth the prime example for man to follow in his own humility.

6. Christ Jesus: This arrangement of the terms should lead the believer to realize that He is now exulted and that He once was humiliated, but that He now is fully and eternally exulted to His rightful place in Heaven. To constantly use His earthly name Jesus and to constantly dwell on His humiliation seems to be a great disgrace to who He really and truly is today. He is the very Son of God, and always has been, but for thirty some years of His life He walked as we walk in the world that He might provide for the likes of us the salvation that His love brought down to us. He had no intention of remaining in that humiliation for the rest of time.

7. The Lord Jesus Christ: This is the fullest title given to the Lord and should be considered for our usage in this day in which many are concentrating only on His earthly “Jesus” ministry. Ephesians 1:3, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.” What a declaration we make when we use the term. We realize and admit to the humiliation, the deity and the Lordship of the One that gave His life for our sin.

8. I Am: Exodus 3:13,14 mentions this term in the Old Testament. “...I Am That I Am....” Jesus mentions that He is the I AM in John 18:4,5. What a bold declaration, and should we wonder why the Jews were out to kill Him? He was laying clear claim to being the God of Abraham and Moses — Him, the carpenter from Galilee. Absurd. The term “I Am That I Am” depicts one of the attributes of God in that He is conscious of Who and What He is. This is called the self-consciousness of God. Christ was most certainly conscious of the fact that He was God in the flesh.

9. The Son Of God: Luke 1:35, “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.”Christ is no mere man as many of the isms and cults of our day suggest,but He is God in God’s complete form. He is the Son of God as well as the Son of Man which we will see next. He was as much God as if he had never been man, and He was as much man as if He had never been God. I do not know with whom that quote originated, for I heard it from a college professor many years ago and he has long since gone to be with the Lord, so I cannot ask. I have never run across it in any of my research so assume that it might have been his own statement. At any rate it is a good description of the total deity and the total humanity of Christ in the flesh.

10. The Son Of Man: This was a title that the Lord used of Himself. It is of interest to note how people like to be identified. I once had an employer that was known as “Dick” by most people, yet those who knew him well, knew that he preferred his given name “Richard.” Richard was the preferred name, yet he allowed others to call him by the less formal name. In my first years of teaching one of the students felt a little overburdened with calling me Mark Derickson and began a long standing tradition of calling me Mark D. It was not a name of derision, but one of great respect. They felt that they wanted to be close to me with a familiar name while still giving the respect that they desired to convey by using the Mr. Son of Man seems to be the preferred name of the Lord for Himself. Knowing the Lord and how He lived and how much He loved us, I suspect He liked the term because it identified Him very closely with those that He came to save. “Jesus said unto him, Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.” Luke 9:58

Cambron observes that this is a title for the Kingdom which He was offering to the Jewish people. “The title, the Son of man, is found eighty-eight times in the New Testament: once in Acts; once in Hebrews; twice in Revelation; and eighty-four times in the Gospels; not once in the Epistles. The Epistles concern the Church, not the coming kingdom of the Millennium.”5 (He goes on to mention that Ezekiel’s use of the title is in conjunction with Second coming information.)

11. Son Of Abraham: Matthew 1:1 shows a direct link between the father of the Jews, Abraham, and the Lord Jesus via the king of Israel, David. The genealogy of Christ in Matthew was very important to the Jewish mind. It was a bold declaration that this Jesus was the descendant for whom all of Israel had been waiting.

12. Son Of David: Mark 10:47, “When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out, and say, Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me”

13. Son Of The Highest: Luke 1:32, “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” Still another bold declaration to the Sonship of Christ and the Fatherhood of God.

14. Second Man: Paul uses this term in 1 Corinthians 15:47 to tell the believer of what we will one day be when God is finished with His work in him.

15. Last Adam: Adam was the being by which sin entered into the human race, and Paul relates this thought to the idea that Christ is the last Adam in that Christ was the being by which sin exited mankind, that is as we, mortal man, respond properly to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. (1Corinthians 15:45)

16. The Word: John 1:1, “In the beginning was the Word....” In that great passage of John one we see all of the glory and pre-existence of the Lord Jesus Christ. He has always been here, He has always been with the Father, and He always has been God.

17. Emmanuel: Matthew 1:23, “Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.”

18. Savior: Probably one of the most meaningful of names is this. The Savior. A very simple term that has so many ramifications for the lost as well as the saved. It is Christ that came to save man, it is Christ that provided access to God, and it is Christ that allows our entrance into God’s presence. Yes, a very important term. It is of interest that in Luke 2:11 the Savior is used in relation to the terms Christ and Lord. The message was concerning a Savior, the Christ and soon to be Lord. The earthly name of Jesus seems to be of little importance even at the announcement of His birth.

19. Rabbi: John 1:38 relates this term to the realization of some of his followers that Jesus was their Rabbi or Master. The thought of master or teacher in later Jewish writings is that of one that is to be highly respected. In many cases the teacher is to have preferred treatment over all others including parents. The respect seems to be evident even in Christ’s own time. Vine mentions that the term translated Rabbi stands in contrast to servant. This shows the relationship between student and Rabbi.

20. Master: Matthew 9:11 uses this term of Christ’s relationship to His followers. It is the same Greek term that is translated Rabbi in the above reference. It is the term “didaskalos” which means master or teacher. This is the term that is used of teachers in the Ephesians 4:11 text which speaks of the men that God has gifted for the equipping of the saints.

CONCLUSIONS

1. We are about to enter into a study of the One that has given most to save us from our miserable selves. I trust that we will not only see the Jesus of Nazareth, but also the Christ of our salvation in a new and powerful manner.

2. The information already given should bring the sinner to their knees before the savior for salvation, and the believer to their knees in regret for their feeble view of the Savior and their service to Him.

END NOTES

3. Mark G. Cambron, D.D., “BIBLE DOCTRINES”, Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1954, pp 60,61.

4. Cambron; p 66.

5. Cambron; p 68.

Classification of Parables of Jesus Christ

I. Didactic Parables

Nature & development of the Kingdom

The Sower (Matt 13: 3- 8)
The Tares ( Matt 13 : 24 – 30)
The Mustard Seed ( Matt 13:31-32)
The Leaven ( Matt 13:33)
The Hidden Treasurer ( Matt 13:45)
The Pearl of Great Price ( Matt 13: 45)
The Drag Net (Matt 13: 47 – 50)
The Blade, the Ear, and the Full Corn (Mark 4: 26-29)

Service and Rewards

The Laborers in the Vineyard (Matt 20: 1 – 16)
The Talents (Matt 25: 14 – 30)
The Pounds (Luke 19: 11 – 27)
The Unprofitable Servant (Luke 17:7 -10)

Prayer

The Friend at Midnight (Luke 11: 5 -8)
The Unjust Judge (Luke 18: 1 – 8)

Love for Neighbors

The Good Samaritan (Luke 10: 30 – 37)

Humility

The Lowest Seat at the Feast (Luke 14: 7 – 11)
The Pharisee and the Publican (Luke 18: 9 – 14)

Worldly Wealth

The Unjust Steward ( Luke 16: 1-9)
The Rich Fool (Lk 12: 16 – 21)
The Great Supper (Lk 14: 15 – 24)

II. Evangelical Parables

God’s Love for the Lost

The Lost Sheep (Matt 18: 12- 14)
The Lost Coin (Lk 15: 8 – 10)
The Lost Son (Lk 15: 11 – 32)

Gratitude of the Redeemed

The Two Debtors (Lk 7: 41- 43)

III. Prophetic & Judicial Parables

Watchfulness for Messiah’ Return

The Ten Virgin (Matt 25: 1 -13)
The Faithful & Unfaithful Servant (Matt 24: 45 – 51)
The Watchful Porter (Mk 13: 34 – 37)

Judgment on Israel and within the Kingdoms

The Two Sons (Matt 21: 28 – 32)
The Wicked Husbandman ( Matt 21: 33 – 34)
The Barren Fig Tree (Lk 13: 6 -9)
The Marriage Feast of the King’s Son ( Matt 22: 1 – 14)
The Unforgiving Servant ( Mat 23 – 25)

The Uniqueness of Jesus Christ - I

Who is He ?

Acts 2:22-23

“…A Man attested by God, by miracles, wonders and signs “
“ …. Delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God”

Col 1: 15 – 29

The Image of the Invisible God
The First born of all Creation
All things are created by/through/ & for Him
He is before all things
In Him all things consists
He is the Beginning
The first fruit of the resurrection (Rev 1:5)
In Him all the fullness of the Godhead dwells (2:9, 1: 9)
The Mystery, hidden from generation revealed to His saints
The Hope of Glory

Seven Superiorities of Christ in Col. 1:15-19.

H. L. OLMSTEAD.[1]

After the prayer in behalf of the Church at Colosse and the thanksgiving to the Father for making them fit for the inheritance, for delivering them from the power of darkness, and bringing them into the kingdom of God's dear Son, the Apostle takes up the pre-eminence of Christ. It is in Him we have redemption and it is redemption through blood. (verse 14). His blood is the purchase price that has redeemed as from the power of darkness, but who is He?
1. He is the image of the invisible God. verse 15. He is none other than Immanuel--God with us. (Matt. 1:23). "God manifest in the flesh." (1 Tim. 3:16). He is even more than an image for He is the express image of the Father's substance or Person. (Heb. 1:3). In this He is superior to all others. Though the first Adam was made in the image and likeness of God he was never called Immanuel nor could he say "He that hath seen me hath seen the Father." (Jno. 14:9). In Christ, God came down to earth. There have been many manifestations of God but so far Jesus Christ is the supreme manifestation of the Father. Access to God except through Jesus Christ is a thing impossible. "God was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself." O how the world needed to know God. and still needs to know Him, but those who seek Him will never find Him apart from Christ who, is the image of the invisible God. God will remain not only invisible but also unknowable to those who deny the Son.
2. He is "the first born of every creature." He is pre-eminent here. Of Himself lie said, "Before Abraham was, I am." It was is for saying this that "They took up stones to cast at him." (Jno. 8:58, 59). Before Adam or the Devil and his angels, before any angel or Archangel is Christ. "In the beginning was the Word." (Jno. 1:1). Truly in this he is superior.
3. In Him were all things created that are in heaven and that are in earth. "Without him not anything was made that was made." (Col. 1:16; Jno. 1:3). Everything visible and invisible, thrones, dominions, principalities and powers; all things were created through Him. "Through whom also he made the worlds." (Heb. 1:2). This is the Christ whom we serve. This is He, who existing in the form or God, emptied himself, came into the world which He created and was despised, rejected, slain and made to be sin for us. In the form of a servant He lived and in our human flesh he died, of the seed of Abraham and the son par excellence of David. But the things in heaven and on earth, the things visible and invisible, thrones, dominions, principalities and powers were not only created through Him but for or unto Him. (V. 16). "He is heir of all things." (Heb. 1:2). But wonder of wonders, we are joint-heirs. Whatever [56] He has is ours. The bringing of many sons into glory (Heb. 2:10), will mean glory indeed and certainly the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed in us.
4. And He is before all things. v. 17. This gives the lie to materialism. Matter and things are not eternal. He who is the Root as well as the offspring of David is before all things. There was a time when they were not, and Christ who was and who is and who is to come, preceded them.
5. In Him all things consist. (V. 17). Not only before all things and the Creator of all things but the preserver. The whole of creation, visible and invisible is held together (consists) through Christ. That He had power over nature is seen in His miracles. This mighty universe of life force and matter of which we know so little neither exists nor is held together nor is preserved apart from Him through whose blood we are redeemed. Life in all its forms from thy highest to the lowest is in some way dependent upon Christ; force in all its manifestations centers in Him, who, when awakened from sleep by the frightened disciples, said to the storm-tossed sea, Peace be still. Matter with all its phenomena would dissolve again into chaos were it not for Him who fed the multitude from a few loaves and fishes.
6. And He is the Head of the body, the Church. The body of Christ is one (Eph. 4:4) and in it Christ supreme--supreme in authority, supreme in power, supreme in excellency. His Headship must be held by all who in one spirit have been baptized into his body. (1 Cor. 12:13). To no man, to no organization, to no enterprise or system has Christ resigned His authority. Not even unto angels (Col. 2:18, 19) does He allow us to accord divine worship, but we are to hold only the Head. There are many things of which one may be a member but there is none that promises glory save the church over which Christ is Head. We are joined to the Head and are waiting to be glorified with Him. (Eph. 5:22-33). His right to the Headship of the Church rests upon His divine nature and upon the fact that by His own blood He purchased the Church. (Acts 20:28).
7. Who is the beginning, the first born from the dead. "Christ the first fruits; then they that are Christ's at the coming." (1 Cor. 15:23). In this Christ also has the pre-eminence. It would seem from this that in the sense in which believers will be raised and glorified Christ is the first. Others had been raised from the dead but there is no account of their glorification. His being called the "first fruits of them that sleep" and the "first born from the dead" is taken by some to prove that the raisings from the dead such as those of Lazarus and the widow's son were resuscitations rather than resurrections. The first-fruits are a prophecy of the great harvest yet to come when the dead in Christ shall be raised incorruptible, to enter into the joy of Lord. Verily in all things He has the pre-eminence. "A wonderful Savior is Jesus my Lord."

Acts 10: 34 – 42

God sent Him to the children of Israel, first as the Preacher of peace and righteousness
God anointed Him with His Holy Spirit & power
God was with Him
God raised Him on third day from the dead
God ordained Him to be the Judge of the living and the dead

His Name

The name JESUS was determined by God ( Matt 1:21, 25)
In His name is Authority ( Matt 28:18 – 19)
The only name under heaven and earth for men to be saved. (Acts 2:21, 38; 4:12)
The highly exalted name above every name by God (Phillip 2:9; John 17)
The only name worthy to be worship and to be confessed as the Lord ( Phillip 2:10)
In His name is healing and salvation of the body, soul and spirit ( Acts 3:6)
His name is eternal name (Rev1:8)

His Superiorities

He is greater than Jonah, who rose again from the dead and is being preached among the gentiles today for their salvation ( Matt 12: 40,41)
He is greater than Solomon as the source of true wisdom ( Matt 12:42)
He is greater than the Temple as the only entity to be worshiped in spirit and truth (Matt

Seven Superiorities of Christ in the Letter of Hebrews

Superior to Angel
Superior to Moses as the Prophet (Acts 10:43)
Superior to Joshua as the Captain of Salvation
Superior to Melchizedek, as the Priest of Most High God
Superior to Aaron, as the Chief and Perfect Priest of Israel
Superior to all Sacrifice of Old Testament
Superior to

His Humiliation - (Zech 9:9; Matt 11:29; John 13:5, Phillip 2:8)

Being in He form of God Himself, He came in the likeness and appearing of man (Phillip 2: 7, 8)
He was born of a woman (Gal 4:4)
He was made lower than the angel (Heb 2:7)
He was born under the Law (Gal 4:4)
He was made under no reputation (Phillips 2:7)
He was made under the curse for us (Gal4:4)
He was made sin for us (2 Cor 5:21)
He took the from of bondservant (Phllip2:7)
He became obedient to the point of death, even the death on the Cross (Phillips 2:8)
He was free from all worldly pride :-

Of appearance (Isa 53:2)
Of worldly success (Isa 53:3)
Of reputation ( Matt2:23)
Of riches ( Matt3:20)
Of rank ( Matt 13:55)

His Sinlessness

He did no sin (I Peter 2:22)
He knew no son (2 Cor 5:21)
In Him there was no sin (I John 3:5)

Christ is made to us :- ( I Cor 1: 18 – 30)

The Power of God
The Wisdom of God
The Righteousness of God
The Sanctification of God
The Redemption of God.

His Mission – Luke 4: 18 - 19

To preach the gospel to the poor
To heal the broken hearted
To proclaim liberty to the captives
To recover the sight to the blind
To set at liberty those who are oppressed
To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord
To seek and save the lost
To defeat satan
To defeat death
To pay the penalty of sin
To redeem us from the bondage of Law
To give us eternal life

His Divinity

Evidenced in

The Seven I AMs in John Gospel
The Seven Testimonies in John Gospel
The Seven Miracles in john Gospel

His Promises

To be Continue ….

[1] http://www.mun.ca/rels/restmov/texts/holmstead/ww/SSOC.HTM

The Green Tree

Pages

Subjects

Lord Jesus Christ

CHRISTOLOGY , AN INTRODUCTION

Christology is the study of Christ, a study of all that pertains to Jesus Christ our Lord. I would like to introduce our thoughts with some of the thoughts from Dr. Walvoord’s preface in his book on Christ:

Classification of Parables of Jesus Christ

The Uniqueness of Jesus Christ - I