”And confessedly, great is the mystery of the godliness: He Who was revealed in flesh, He was justified in spirit, He was seen by angels, He was proclaimed in [the] nations, He was trusted in [the] world, He was taken up in glory.”
-The truth which the church is to support is unpacked right here, the first confession, the first great creed of the Christian faith, if you will. The truth with the premise that there is a God, and He made us - to know Him and be like Him, to be in a relationship with Him and bear His image and the truth about Him to the ends of the earth. The truth that the means to this end, the way back to this original intent and design which was severed and seemingly so irretrievably broken way back in the garden, our grand return to godliness (God-likeness) is centered and founded on a Person. Found in a Person, this One Whom God sent to earth to be the Savior of the world. God the Son, infinite and eternal - revealed in the flesh, stepping out of eternity and into the womb of a young Jewish virgin. A great, inexplicable and mysterious miracle.
-Justified in spirit - this could mean several things. The Spirit Who descended on Jesus at His baptism, vindicating Him and confirming that He was indeed God the Son. The power of God’s Spirit annointing Him to heal and work wonders and set spiritual captives free (which is also at work in us, I might add). The very Spirit which the crucified Christ committed to His heavenly Father (Psalm 31.5, Luke 23.26), Who subsequently did not abandon Him to the grave but raised Him up on the third day (Psalm 16.10, Acts 2.31-32). The resurrected Lord Whose same Spirit He pours out on us and will not only give life to our mortal bodies (Acts 2.33, Romans 8.11) but also a new heavenly quality of life which puts an authoritative stamp of authenticity on the Message of this life in the present.
-Seen by angels, these powerful and frightening heavenly messengers. Angels signify that the next great chapter in God’s great story is about to unfold. Anytime they are present, God is up to something. And He is definitely up to something in the person of His Son. Angels no doubt saw God the Son in eternity past, they saw and sang about His birth (Luke 2.13-14, when He was first revealed in the flesh), they ministered to Him after His temptation in the wilderness (Matthew 4.11) and during His struggle in Gethsemane (Luke 22.43), they saw and announced His resurrection (Matthew 28.2, 28.5; Luke 24.23; John 20.12) - they surely have been eagerly watching and longing to see this story unfold from the very beginning (1Peter 1.12).
-Proclaimed in the nations. From a tiny corner of Palestine, this truth, this Message of God’s Son has gone out into all the earth. Literally, according to Paul (Romans 1.8,; Colossians 1.6 1.23; 1Thessalonians 1.8). Now I suppose that technically not ALL nations had yet heard at that point - it hasn’t yet happened in our day, although that clearly is the stated goal of this heavenly enterprise (Matthew 28.19). Yet this Message has indeed gone forth, and had done so even in Paul’s day, and was being received and changing lives and societies everywhere. Jesus was being believed on not just by a handful of devoted fanatics from Galilee but in every place where the Message had gone.
-Finally, He was taken up in glory. His disciples stood there watching as Jesus, some 40 days after He had risen from the grave, one day was physically taken up into heaven itself. Right before their very eyes, He began to ascend up into the sky into the clouds. And not surprisingly, two angels then appeared, declaring that Jesus would return someday in the same way He had just ascended (Acts 1.9-11). The Ascension is not simply a stand-alone miracle, it is a divine marker that Jesus is definitely coming back. One day, at the end of time, when the time to proclaim and believe the Message has run out, Jesus will return in the same way He was taken up - in great power and glory (Mark 13.36). He is coming back, this Son of Man, one day soon, at the end of the age. The New Testament is replete with this message (Revelation 1.7, 1John 2.28, 2Peter 3.12, James 5.7, John 21.22, Luke 21.27, Matthew 26.64). This is Gospel Truth - you can take it to the bank.
No comments:
Post a Comment