What Enigmatizes Jesus (4)

 

                                         “Sit thou at my right hand”

 (…the conclusion…)

“…The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever” (Revelation 11:15). The title ‘Lord’ here is Jehovah to whom the kingdoms are co-owned by His Christ. Only the Deity will own communally with Deity. The world refuses Him for what Revelation 17:14 says, “These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful”. All lords and all their kings are subject to His dominion rule. How can a mere man make a categorical, Matthew 28:18 “And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth” statement and would not be guilty of issuing a scriptural anomaly? He is quite different from Adam of Eden, whose authority did not go beyond the atmospheric boundary of the earth. The ‘power’ {exousia (ex-oo-see’-ah): ‘privilege, that is, (subjectively) force, capacity, competency, freedom, or (objectively) mastery (concretely magistrate, superhuman, potentate, token of control), delegated influence’} wielded by Jesus does not exclude the third heavenly assizes of God’s throne.

Hebrews 1:6, “And again, when he bringeth in the firstbegotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him”. The word ‘worship’ is proskuneō (pros-koo-neh’-o) meaning: ‘(to kiss, like a dog licking his master’s hand); to fawn or crouch to, that is, (literally or figuratively) prostrate oneself in homage (do reverence to, adore)’ It was universally admitted among the Hebrews that God would dwell, in a peculiar sense, in Messiah (so as to be, in the Talmud phrase, “capable of being pointed to with the finger”); and so what was said of God was true of, and to be fulfilled in, Messiah. Hebrews 1:6 is a quotation of Psalm 97:7, “Confounded be all they that serve graven images, that boast themselves of idols: worship him, all ye gods”. “Paul”, according to Fausset Commentary, “quotes, not as a prophecy, but as language used in regard to the Lord Jehovah, who in the Old Testament theophania is the second person of the Godhead”. Jesus is the Second Member of the Godhead.

Colossians 1:17 submits, “And he is before all things, and by him all things consist”. The verb ‘is’: esti (es-tee’) Third person singular present indicative of {eimi (i-mee’) ‘I exist (used only when emphatic)} means: ‘he (she or it) is; also (with neuter plural) they are’. His being, is not of creation, it is of existence. ‘Consist’, sunistaō (soon-is-tah’-o), is an interesting word, meaning: ‘to set together, that is, (by implication) to introduce (favorably), or (figuratively) to exhibit; intransitively to stand near, or (figuratively) to constitute’. Jesus is the One who glues all things together, making sure that every little thing remains what it should be. Who is Jesus, if by Him all things concrete, immaterial or spiritual are sunistaō? God!

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2) The same was in the beginning with God. 3) All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4) In him was life; and the life was the light of men” [John 1:1-4]. The word ‘beginning’ is archē (ar-khay’): ‘(properly abstract) a commencement, or (concrete) chief (in various applications of order, time, place or rank)’. Before the commencement of time and the existence of any thing, Christ, the Word of God already existed as the Creator. If the Word happens to be a Personage, and is in a face to face communion with the Eternal Father when creationism had not taken place, does it not follow, hence, that the Word is the Deity? Is He the Word of God? What, I have always asked, is the difference between a person and his word? Selah! Verse three, “and without him was not any thing made that was made”, which is one of my favourite verses, is mind blowing. I love to illustrate this verse by asking, “Should there be a thousand items in a place and it is said of a particular as having created all others, what did create that particular one? Nothing, of course! I love this verse for two reasons: the Elizabethan grammatical rendition and the attendant didactic truism (more importantly).

In Jesus is life, which undoubtedly makes Him the Author of creative life -John 14:6-. Verse four of John chapter one sheds light on why He enjoins, “Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls” [Mat 11:29]. Those who follow Jesus will receive illumination. Why? “For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily”; so says the Bible in the book of Colossians 2:9. There is something in Colossians 2:2-3, “…to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ; 3) In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge”. Is it not God alone who can be so rich in wisdom? Let us read what 1Corinthians 1:24 has to say, “But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God”. The fullness of the Godhead, the wielder of both the power and wisdom of the Deity, this is what enigmatizes Jesus. Selah! (Concluded)

Read the 3rd part here.

 

 

What Enigmatizes Jesus (3)

At the tender age of twelve the Bible reports in Luke 2:42 “And when he was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem after the custom of the feast.” Twelve is the number of our Lord Jesus. It was important for Him to make contact with Jerusalem which in Greek is Hierosoluma (hee-er-os-ol’-oo-mah) Hierosolyma (i.e. Jerushalaim}, the capitol of Israel. It is of Hebrew origin i.e. Yruwshalaim (yer-oo-shaw-lah’-im) (rarely Yruwshalayim {yer-oo- shaw-lah’-yim}) meaning: ‘1. founded peaceful 2) Jerushalaim or Jerushalem, the capital city of Israel [a dual (in allusion to its two main hills (the true pointing, at least of the former reading, seems to be that of Yruwshalem)); probably from (the passive participle of) yarah and shalam]

Root words of Jerusalem are: A) Yruwshalem (yer-oo-shaw-lame’): ‘founded peaceful.’ B) yarah (yaw-raw’) (or (2 Chr. 26):

1. (properly) to flow as water
2. (hence) to rain
3. (transitively) to lay or throw (especially an arrow)
4. (hence) to shoot
5. (figuratively) to point out (as if by aiming the finger)
6. (hence) to teach  &(C) shalam (shaw-lam’):

1. to be safe (in mind, body or estate)
2. (figuratively) to be completed
3. (causatively) to make completed
4. (by implication) to be friendly
5. (by extension) to reciprocate (in various applications).’

Going on pilgrimage to Jerusalem

The two hills is are the testimonial dichotomy of His personality. As a natural man, He was born and grew before the eyes of the people of His neighbourhood. He experienced thirst, hunger, tiredness and did fall asleep! This same Personage is the Alpha and the Omega (Revelation 1:8, “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.”), the Lord of the Sabbath (Luke 6:5, “And he said unto them, That the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.”), the Creator (John 1:3, All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made). As the Prince of peace He must enter into the connectivity with Jerusalem. Jesus is the Author of the “peace of God, which passeth all understanding [Phi 4:7].” He is the grace of God flowing like rivers of water, which is the word of God, satisfying every thirst for the things of salvation. At the mere mention of Jesus arrows have been dispatched to scatter and discomfit the unholy gathering of the enemies.

God incarnate (the Ancient of days is the Infant of days)

Luke 2:43 “And when they had fulfilled the days, as they returned, the child Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem; and Joseph and his mother knew not of it.” The words ‘tarried behind,’ hupomeno (hoop-om-en’-o), means: ‘1. to stay under (behind), i.e. remain 2. (figuratively) to undergo, i.e. bear (trials), have fortitude, persevere.’ ‘Knew’ is the Greek word ginosko (ghin-oce’-ko): ‘to “know” (absolutely).’

Yes He was conceived and was made to go through the natural parturition, however, this One is quite different: He and the Father are one (John 10:30). He is the power of God (Luke 22:69), in whom dwells the fullness of the Godhead (Colossians 2:9)! These intricacies they had no knowledge of: they being too deep for human comprehension. It was apropos for the Holy Lad to ‘tarry behind’. Mankind had been estranged from the One who first loved us, separated us from the sticky clay in order to create a living being. He had come back in the Incarnation: to soil His most holy hands in the redemptive appearance which only the Divinity could venture into.

Luke 2:46 “And it came to pass, that after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions.” Luke 2:47 “And all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers.” ‘Doctors’, in the Greek is didaskalos (did-as’-kal-os): ‘a teacher, an instructor;(figuratively, with reverence) master.’

They should have known where to find Him. I thought the Bible says of Mary, His earthly mother, in Luke 2:19, “But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart;” concerning the the wonder child she conceived and the parturition of Whom she entered the labour room. But how could they know? The world is wallowing in sin. It had been so, since the day He walked into Eden and they could not welcome Him whom they had hitherto heard daily at the evening, probably at six o’clock.

He was engaged with PhD. teachers of the law. Each of whom could pass for His grandfather, biologically. He would receive a question from them, then give answer to the question. After that it would be His turn to ask a question to be answered by them. This was the Rabbi Jews’ methodology of teaching their lessons.

Now he could hear and listen to them simply because He had come to take us back to our sinless state of the Garden of Eden righteousness. No doubt, He probably would have asked them, “What think ye of Christ? whose son is he?” and while they were battling with that, the lad Jesus dropped the bombshell: “How then doth David in spirit call him Lord, saying, The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool? If David then call him Lord, how is he his son?”   (…to be concluded…)

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Read the concluding part here

What Enigmatizes Jesus (2)

 

(Continued from the first part…)

John 5:22, “For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son”: (Jesus is the ultimate Judge). 23) “That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him” (The Son and the Father do share eminence). 24) “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. 25) Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live. 26) For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself; 27) And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man”. The Son and the Father share the same zōē (life eternal); and this eternal Son is also a human being just like any other man.

Romans 14:9, “For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living”. Adam, Enoch, Noah, Nimrod, Abraham, Krisna, Buddha, David, Lucifer and demons all come under the eternal hegemonic Lordship of Jesus. “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]. There is something about this enigma in Ephesians 1:20-21, “Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, 21) Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come:” none is excluded, absolutely none! Philippians 2:9-11 read, “Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: 10) That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; 11) And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father”.

Colossians 1:16-19 has a revelatory awesomeness, “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: 17) And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. 18) And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. 19) For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell”. His firstborn status of verse fifteen is not what the Jehovah’s Witness sect teaches, implying that He has the beginning of a creature. Verse eighteen tells us that of all that rise from the dead, Jesus takes the preeminence. The first among the born again. The word ‘consist’, sunistaō, sunistanō or sunistēmi (soon-is-tah’-o): ‘to set together, that is, (by implication) to introduce (favorably), or (figuratively) to exhibit; intransitively to stand near, or (figuratively) to constitute’, tells us that Jesus is the One who glues all things together.

Luke 4:17-22 writes of this Enigma

“God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,” (Heb 1:1). The 2nd verse is: “Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;” What makes Jesus a conundrum from the above is that He is the only dialect God uses. Man, in creationism, is the only entity, on terra firma, who exudes intelligibility à la words. The deviling parochialism that continues to goad him into the state of a spiritual ignoramus will thwart his apprehensible ability to see and accept Jesus as the only solution to this conundrum of accessing the Most High, in worship.

There is a disastrous problem with Hebrews 1:8 of the ‘New World Translation’ version of Jehovah’s Witness bible, which prints the anomalous, “The throne of your God is….” The truth is that “No lawful construction can be devised”, as Fausset Commentary explains, “to change the sense here given and sustained by the ancient versions”, moreover, in the Greek, ‘O God’ has the grammatical article to mark the exclamatory emphasis, which reads, “But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom”. Simply put, Christ Jesus is very God of very God. Amen! 1Peter 3:22 says, “Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him”. The clause ‘made subject’ is hupotassō (hoop-ot-as’-so): ‘to arrange under, to subordinate; reflexively to obey’. All celestial creatures are being hupotassō unto him! (…to be continued…)

Read the 1st part here

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What Enigmatizes Jesus (1)

It is because He was born of a woman, lived and died as any other man, is the reason why we fail to see Him for who He truly is. Jesus is the most enigmatic Personage to tread the face of the terra firma. In the Book of 1Corinthians 2:8, Paul writes, “Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory”. The word ‘known’ is ginōskō (ghin-oce’-ko): ‘to “know” (absolutely)’. They (Satan inclusive) had not the flimsiest idea what they were into when they made up their minds to crucify Jesus. Of course Satan knew Who he was dealing with but his demented mind had gone hay wire. The leaders of His earthly days forgot the Davidic Psalm 24:7, “Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in”. Their corrupt minds led them astray. They forgot that the word ‘Lord’, kurios (koo’-ree-os) ‘From κῦρος kuros (supremacy); supreme in authority, that is, (as noun) controller’, is a title equal to the Hebrew Jehovah’.

They did not see God’s mind. Acts 2:23-24 read, “Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain: v24) Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it”. Even the earth knows its Maker! Even in the grave, Jesus is Lord! Amen.

He said, for the avoidance ambiguity, in Matthew 28:18 “And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth”. In verse 19 He gave the identification formula thus, “….baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost” to prove His equality with the Father! In the next verse He told them, “lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen”, by which He hinted on His Eternal Being. Matthew 11:27, “All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him”. ‘Knoweth’ is epiginōskō (ep-ig-in-oce’-ko), meaning: ‘to become thoroughly acquainted with, to know thoroughly, to know accurately, know well’. To know God accurately well is to know everything; and do we all not know that only God knows everything?

The way of Whom was being prepared in Matthew 11:10 is the One of Isaiah 40:3 “The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God”. When one places Psalm 2:7, “I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee” side by side Matthew 3:17 “And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased”, it speaks voluminous revelation. They have read Psalm 110:1, “A Psalm of David. The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool”, so many times. In the Book of Matthew 22:41-45 this One whose proper position had eternally been by the right hand of Majesty is made conspicuous. “While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, v42) Saying, What think ye of Christ? whose son is he? They say unto him, The Son of David. 43) He saith unto them, How then doth David in spirit call him Lord, saying, 44) The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool? 45) If David then call him Lord, how is he his son?”

Why will Isaiah 9:6 say, “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace”. Is it not because there is a clear difference between ‘child’ and ‘son’? The child is the incarnation of the Eternal Son. The ‘child’ is the humanity of Him while the ‘son’ is His Deity, (it can only be given): this is the hypostatic union. Jesus is 100% man and 100% God; and is enigmatically in one Personage (leaving science stupefied: for no compound comes to this calculation).

Of the four gospels the book of John best reveals the deity of Jesus. Take, for instance, John 5:21-27. Verse 21, “For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them; even so the Son quickeneth whom he will”. Christ is the LORD God of the Garden of Eden!   (…to be continued…)

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HIS TESTIMONY (Part V)

The Messiah and His followers.

(Continued from part four)        “If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it”. Why would He deem Himself qualified to enunciate those words of John 14:14? The answer is in John 1:1-4. The preposition ‘in’ is en (en): ‘a (fixed) position (in place, time or state), and (by implication) instrumentality (medially or constructively), i.e. a relation of rest’. ‘Name’ is the Greek onoma (on’-om-ah): ‘a “name” (literally or figuratively), (authority, character)’. The acceptance of any prayer sent heavenwards must be channelled through the instrumentality of the name, which has its sphere of location only in Jesus. The assertive proclamation is backed by the promise, “I will do it”. He says this to bring His divine nature into a relationship with us.

               

Jesus said, in John 6:63, “…the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.” The word ‘spirit,’ pneuma (pnyoo`-mah) means: ‘1. a current of air, i.e. breath (blast) or a breeze 2. (by analogy or figuratively) a spirit 3. (humanly) the rational soul 4. (by implication) vital principle, mental disposition, etc. 5. (superhumanly) an angel, demon 6. (divinely) God, Christ’s spirit, the Holy Spirit.’ The 5^th definition does not fit in this case. Jesus is saying here that the words of His mouth is divine and the vital principle of life. This testimony reminds one of Luke 16:17 “And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail.” Jesus’ word has the same strength as God’s law; which takes us to Psalm 12:6 “The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.”

                The word ‘pure’ is tahowr (taw-hore’) (or tahor {taw-hore’}) ‘pure (in a physical, chemical, ceremonial or moral sense).’ ‘Purified’ is zaqaq (zaw-kak’) ‘to strain, (figuratively) extract, clarify.’ What is the psalmist saying here? Before God utters any word He looks into the eternity past, present occurrences and the eternity to come, making sure that absolutely nothing, be it fashion, modernity, philosophy, religion, kingdom or culture will ever make His word obsolete. Seven is God’s number and it is of perfection. God’s utterances are eternally perfect. So, when Jesus says that His words are spirit that have life, it expresses eternal divinity. The word ‘life,’ zoe, is God’s kind of life.

John 14:6, “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me”. ‘Way’, hodos, means: ‘road, path or destiny’. If Jesus is my destiny then nothing, absolutely nothing can obviate my route to heaven. Alētheia (al-ay’-thi-a), the word for ‘truth’, is my favourite of the three (way, truth & life), and by extension, means ‘reality’. Jesus declares His Divinity! “I am the real One. The only genuine incarnation of God”. Amen. ‘Life’ is the Greek interpretation of zōē. If One Man is the way, truth and life that leads ultimately to paradise assemblage of the saints of the Most High, it then follows that Jesus is the most enigmatic Personage to ever trod the surface of terra firma!

Johannine account of: “All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them”, [John 10:8] does include religious leaders like Confucius, Krishna, Buddha and Baal as religious rascals. Most definitely, those who reared their religious heads after His ascension in the persons of Prophet Mohammad, Roman Catholic Popery, not forgetting, Theudas and Judas of Galilee (Acts 5:36-37). Theudas (thyoo-das’) means “God-given”. We know that God did not give Theudas his leadership role -he stole it. Judas means praise. Galilee means: ‘a native of Galilaia (gal-il-ah’-yah) which is: Galilaea (that is, the heathen circle)’. The activities of these people did not give any praise to Jehovah. They formed a vicious circle of religion. While some stole without the knowledge of their victims, the others were vicious in their religious armed robberies.

“If ye love me”, Jesus voices, “keep my commandments”; is the conclusion He makes in John 14:15. ‘Keep’, tēreō (tay-reh’-o): From teros (a watch); means: ‘to guard (from loss or injury, properly by keeping the eye upon’. Jesus told them to guard with all their hearts something emanating from His very Person: commandments, which in the Greek is entolē (en-tol-ay’): ‘injunction, that is, an authoritative prescription’. We know that every commandment of Jesus points to heaven. Why He would personalize commandments that take one to heaven is something to ponder on, no doubt. One of the commandments is found in John 3:3, “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” His testimonies pervade eternity.

Get born of God, from above. Say this prayer, (meaning it unfeignedly): “Dear heavenly Father, I come to You now in the name of Jesus Christ. I believe in my heart that Jesus is the Son of God. I believe that Jesus died on the cross for my sin. I believe that You raised Him from the dead. I confess with my mouth that Jesus is Lord and I receive Him now as my Lord and my Saviour. I give God all the glory. Amen!”   (Concluded)

Read the 4th part here.

HIS TESTIMONY (Part IV)

 

The word ‘Lord’ in the Greek is kurios. Kurios is the term the Greek uses for the Hebrew adon, Adonay and Yahweh. Adon addresses a man. Adonay and Yahweh are titles solely for the Creator. Which of the kurios was meant by Jesus when He declared, “the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath,” can easily be traced scripturally. Exodus and Genesis point it out. In Exodus 20:10 we see this kurios in the reading, “But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:” and the word ‘LORD’ is: yehôvâh (yeh-ho-vaw’): {which is the proper name of the one true God unpronounced except with the vowel pointings of ‘ădônây} and it means: ’(the) self-Existent or eternal; Jehovah, Jewish national name of God.’

Reading from Genesis 2:1-3, we have 1) “Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. 2) And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. 3) And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.” The name ‘God’ is: ‘ĕlôhı̂ym (el-o-heem’): ‘{Plural of ‘ĕlôahh}; gods in the ordinary sense; but specifically used (in the plural thus, especially with the article) of the supreme God; occasionally applied by way of deference to magistrates; and sometimes as a superlative.’

The LORD and the God of Exodus and Genesis are the names of the one and the same Jehovah. Now I hope you can understand what Jesus was telling them and us in making the reference to His Lordship of the Temple?

John Gill’s Exposition Of The Entire Bible on Colossians 1:17, which speaks my mind, runs thus:

And he is before all things,…. Not only in dignity, being preferable to angels and men in his nature, names, offices, and works, and worthy of more honour than all creatures; but he is before them in existence, as he must needs be, since they are all made by him; he was not only before John the Baptist, his forerunner, before Abraham who saw his day and was glad, before the first man was made, but before the angels were in being, or the heavens and the earth, or any creature were formed; and therefore must be God, who is from everlasting to everlasting:

 and by him all things consist; he upholds all things by the word of his power; the heavens have their stability and continuance from him; the pillars of the earth are bore up by him, otherwise that and the inhabitants of it would be dissolved; the angels in heaven are confirmed in their estate by him, and have their standing and security in him; the elector God are in his hands, and are his peculiar care and charge, and therefore shall never perish; yea, all mankind live and move, and have their being in him; the whole frame of nature would burst asunder and break in pieces, was it not held together by him; every created being has its support from him, and its consistence in him; and all the affairs of Providence relating to all creatures are governed, directed, and managed by him, in conjunction with the Father and the blessed Spirit.”

 

He is before all things: JESUS, the CHRIST.

From Jamieson, Fausset & Brown’s COMMENTARY on the same Colossians 1:17 is:

17. (Joh 8:58) Translate as Greek, “And He Himself (the great HE) is (implying divine essential being) before all things,” in time, as well as in dignity. Since He is before all things, He is before even time, that is, from eternity. Compare “the first-born of every creature” (Col 1:15).

 by him —Greek, “IN Him” (as the conditional element of existence, [Col 1:16) [ALFORD].

 consist—“subsist.” Not only are called into being from nothing, but are maintained in their present state. The Son of God is the Conserver, as well as the Creator of all things [PEARSON]. BENGEL less probably explains, “All things in Him come together into one system: the universe found its completion in Him” (Isa41 41:4; [Rev 22:13] (refs2)). Compare as to GOD, [Ro 11:36]]: similar language; therefore Christ must be God.

(…to be concluded…)

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Read the concluding 5th part. Click.

HIS TESTIMONY (Part III)

                                                           Jehovah is the Good Shepherd

 When Jesus told them in John 10:1, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber;” they did not understand Him. Not even the fifth verse, “And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers,” opened the door of understanding. God knew that some people will do His will and will love, with all their hearts, to follow Him. These are His people: for whom He did a katallasso (kat-al-las’-so), a Greek word for ‘reconcile’ or ‘reconciliation’ found in 2 Corinthians 5:18, 19 and Hebrews 2:17, which means: ‘to change mutually, (figuratively) to reconcile.’

From the seventh to the tenth verses of John chapter ten Jesus said, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep.

(8) All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them.

(9) I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.

(10) The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have [it] more abundantly. Then Jesus revealed His true Person in the eleventh verse: “I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.” If you too do not understand then let us traverse the Scriptures.

They understood when the Lord called Himself the good shepherd. The reason is simple.

Psalm 80:1 says, “Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, thou that leadest Joseph like a flock; thou that dwellest [between] the cherubims, shine forth.” What was Jesus saying here? Answer some questions and you would have answered this question.

Who is the Shepherd of Israel? He is the Ē̆lôhı̂ym of the preceding Psalms 79:1; the One who did commission Moses to go and tell Pharaoh, “Let my people go!” Of this Shepherd it is written in Exodus 13:21, “And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night:” so, Jehovah is the Shepherd.

Who dwelleth between the cherubim in the holy of the holiest? Of the cherubim God said, in Exodus 25:22, “And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubims which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel.” What proves that this is God speaking is found in the first verse, “And the LORD spake unto Moses saying:”

The well-known Psalm 23 establishes God’s bucolical stance. “The LORD is my shepherd.” ‘LORD’, in capitals is the Hebraic YAHWEH. The God of Psalm 80 is not different from that of 23. I caught a revelation in Psalms 80:17, “Let thy hand be upon the man of thy right hand, upon the son of man whom thou madest strong for thyself.” Who else but Jesus who alone dwells at the right hand of Majesty? Verse 18, “So will not we go back from thee: quicken us, and we will call upon thy name.” The last Adam -Jesus- is a quickening spirit. Verse 19, “Turn us again, O LORD God of hosts, cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved.” Only Jesus can save (Acts 4:12; John 3:36; John 14:6; 1Corinthians 3:11; 1John 5:11-12 & Revelation 7:10).

So, when Jesus said, “I am the good Shepherd,” the Jewish discipular audience, who were conversant with the Psalms caught the revelation. Those who had ears believed Him. Their eagerness to drink from the well of salvation and to gourmandise the heavenly manna facilitated the smooth digestion of Psalm 80:17. The Spirit of God, seeing their readiness, pointed out Jesus as the ‘son of man whom thou madest strong for thyself.’

They had no reason to disbelieve, but every reason to presume true, His testimony of John 10:11, “I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.” The bucolic office of Jesus was ventilated by prophetic utterances. Isaiah 40:11, “He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.” And who is the subject of verse 11? He is called, in verse 10, Lord God which is ‘Ådônây Yehôvih (yeh-ho-vee’) in Hebrew. ‘Ådônây (ad-o-noy’) going by BDB Definition: ‘Lord – title, spoken in place of Yahweh in Jewish display of reverence.’ Strong’s Definition: ‘An emphatic form of Adon; the Lord (used as a proper name of God only).’ God, in verse ten, is Yehôvih (yeh-ho-vee’): ‘A variation of Jehovah (used after ‘Ådônây, and pronounced by Jews as Ēlôhı̂ym, in order to prevent the repetition of the same sound, since they elsewhere pronounce Jehovah as ‘Ådônây).’

Ezekiel 34:23, “And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd.” God and David cannot hold the same bucolic office. When you read prophecies like this you must understand that David is used as a metaphor for the Messiah. Another good reason is that David had long died when Ezekiel made the prophetic pronouncement.

Is it lucidly unambiguous when Jesus declared, in John 10:11, “I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep?” It was categorical! Jesus gave a testimony of His deity! By this revelation, Jesus unveiled His true identity: Jesus is the LORD (Jehovah) of Psalm 23; and the God (Ēlôhı̂ym) of the third verse of Psalm 80.         (…to be continued…)

Read the 2nd part here

Read part IV here