[Biblemat] A> The Proper Place Of Jesus

[Steven C. Harper]

From: TRUTH & REASON, a bulletin of the Glendale church of Christ, Glendale, AZ. 
Editor: Steven Harper 
January 11, 2007

The Proper Place Of Jesus

 

     Many people proclaim faith in Jesus without really comprehending the depths of what that means. I am positive I did not understand the full meaning of "believing in Jesus" when I first obeyed the gospel, but I knew enough to know that I should not linger in my sins. However, I could not remain in ignorance or in that state of spiritual immaturity and be pleasing to God. As one who was now a disciple of Jesus Christ, it was in my best interest to learn more about Him and what He would have me do if I was to truly be pleasing to Him and show myself to be a true, maturing disciple. That meant I had to study God's Word intensely and dig deeper into the Word and its meaning and application each time I returned to its pages. It meant I had to discover all that God's Word revealed about Jesus that I might truly know the one I had willingly chosen to serve. It would be dishonest to continue saying I believed in Him if all I knew of Him was that He was God's Son, that He died for my sins and was raised again. Yes, those things are true, but God has given us much more than those things that we may truly know Jesus and understand His proper place in our lives, the church, and in the world.

     A comprehensive study of God's Word would be necessary to fully understand the proper place of Jesus, but there is a passage worth considering that gives us great insight on the place He has and the view we should have of Him, as those who are His disciples. The passage is Hebrews 1 and 2. The things stated here about Jesus are important to the disciple of Jesus Christ, and will help us to gain a better understanding of who He is. Consider just a few things said about Him within this short text:

     God Speaks To Us Today Through Him. (1:1-2; 2:1-4) Some religions teach God speaks to us through other 'prophets.' Islam teaches Mohammed as the last [and greatest] prophet sent by God and demands all must listen to his words to please God; Mormonism teaches that Joseph Smith, Junior, was God's last prophet [and the only one we can believe]; many in the denominations teach that God speaks to individuals through a direct operation of the Holy Spirit [charismatics and many mainline denominations]; and still others teach that God speaks directly and personally to them [Pat Robertson, et al].

     An honest seeker of truth might observe all of this and wonder, "Who is right? Is anyone right? And how would I know?" The multiplicity of claims that God is speaking through individuals or long-dead prophets is confusing, at best, and deceptive, at worst. God's Word plainly says that He speaks to us now through Jesus, His Son. Back when Peter was ready to erect a tabernacle on the mountain for Elijah, Moses, and Jesus, God spoke from heaven and said, "This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to Him" (Matt. 17:5). [The emphasis should be on the "Him" because it is Jesus that we should heed, not Moses and the prophets. That is exactly the point of that scene - to let it be known that it was Jesus we should now heed!]

     Jesus Himself reminded us that it is His words that will judge us in the last day (John 12:47-48), and Paul reminded us that it is Jesus before whom we all shall stand in judgment (2 Cor. 5:10). That position of Judge was given to Him by none other than God (Acts 17:31). That means we should not follow after Mohammed, Joseph Smith, Jr., not expect a miraculous message from the Holy Spirit, or wait for some 'little voice' to direct us in our daily lives. Let us accept the words of Jesus as that which should guide us in our daily lives.

     The writer of Hebrews pleads with us to "pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it" (2:1), and warns against neglecting this "great salvation" that was spoken by the Lord [Jesus] and confirmed by God through "signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit" (vv. 2-4). We would do well to heed that warning!

     He Is Not An Angel. (1:3-14; 2:5-9) Would you be surprised to hear that a supposed 'Christian' religious denominational group teaches that Jesus was not the Son of God, but an angel? The Jehovah's Witnesses teach, "Jesus Christ, who before his human birth was the archangel Michael.Is there any question who is the Michael the archangel?  He is no one else but Jesus Christ." [Then Is Finished The Mystery of God, (NY: WTBTS) pp. 249, 305.] This isn't something the 'Witnesses' get into when they come to your doorstep, but I would press them on it until they either accepted it or denied it, if I were you! This is clearly in contradiction to what is stated in Hebrews, so whose explanation of Jesus is more credible?

     The writer of Hebrews plainly implied that no angel was called God's Son (1:5), that angels were to be subservient to Jesus (vv. 6-9), that Jesus  was the Creator (vv. 10-12), and that Jesus was ruler on the throne while the angels were ministering spirits (vv. 13-14). Yes, we find the writer of Hebrews also speaking of how Jesus was made "for a little while lower than the angels" (2:7), but that speaks of Him leaving heaven and coming to the earth in the form of lowly man [not His eternal nature]; this was done temporarily, and that He might become the Savior of all men (2:9). To deny Jesus is the Son of God is to deny the testimony of God Himself - not a position in which any man would like to find himself on Judgment Day (1 John 5:10).

     He Is Our Savior. (2:10-13) Jesus became the perfect offering for our sins in that He did not sin (cf. 4:15). But even as Jesus was perfect [sinless], He was 'made perfect' [complete] by that suffering (2:10). It was when Jesus went to the cross and died for us that He completed the work God sent Him to do, and in so doing He became our Savior. He became a man, and by this He could call obedient men "brethren" and would testify of the glory of God to them, making it possible to bring them before God now as His children (vv. 11-13). John was right when he said, "See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God" (1 John 3:1)! Truly, God's love was demonstrated toward us in sending His Son to die for us while we were yet sinners (Rom. 5:8)!

     He Is Conqueror. (2:14-15) This same Jesus, in coming to earth in the form of man, died as every man does, yet He also arose to never die again, conquering death and the one who held its power (v. 14). By that resurrection, He has now given hope to those who lived in fear of death (v. 15) and we look forward to rising again to be with Him forever (1 Thess. 4:13-17). Is it any wonder God would tell us, "Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on" (Rev. 14:13)? We are blessed because those who were once without hope (Eph. 2:12) now have hope!

     He Is Our Mediator. (2:16-18) Again, the writer of Hebrews states that Jesus did not take on the form of angels, but of men (v. 16), and that so He could "become a merciful and faithful High Priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people" (v. 17). His sacrifice was that propitiation, but that was not the end of His work for us and for God. Now, having ascended into heaven, Jesus is "able to help those who are being tempted" (v. 18) because He Himself faced temptation and overcame it every time (cf. 4:14-15). He knows what we are going through and He sympathizes with our weaknesses. For this reason, we may "with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need" (4:16). As long as Jesus is there, we may know that we have someone who is willing to make intercession for us (7:25) and we may know that when we come to God, confessing and repenting of our sins, "He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9).

     In no other man do we have these things. Put Jesus in His proper place! -- Steven Harper
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