Lesson for the Lord’s Day
Jesus cried and said, He that believeth on Me believeth not on Me but on Him that sent Me. John 12:44
A young man with whom I frequently debated loaned me a book that raised the question whether Jesus is in the Godhead or the Godhead is in Jesus. It was not much of a book, written by a ‘Jesus-only’ man named Magee, and was filled with errors and misrepresentations. Most of the Bible references he quoted said the opposite of the points he was trying to make. Typical of those who claim that Jesus is the only member of the Godhead, he had to resort to misquoting Scripture and ignoring most of the Word of God. That Jesus is one of three Persons in the Godhead is precious to us, even if we don’t fully understand it. Because we would never have known about Jesus if the Father had not sent Him.
When we turn our attention to the Lord Jesus, we do so at the prompting of the Holy Spirit. And we do so to the delight of the Father. Scripture has Him as its focus, and gives us the assurance that it pleased the Father that in Him (the Lord Jesus) should all fulness dwell (Colossians 1:19). All of the prophecies of the Old Testament, all of the ordinances of the tabernacle and temple, all of the types and shadows pointed to One person. The New Testament is taken up with His life and death, and everything that flows out from His great provision for us. We are promised that in the ages to come we will have unfolded to us the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus (Ephesians 2:7). With so much focus on the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ, let us not lose sight of the truth that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world (1 John 4:14).
Amid all of the lovely pictures we see throughout Scripture of the Lord Jesus, we cannot miss the accompanying pictures of a loving Father. We read of a heart of compassion for fallen and helpless creatures. We read of a love so powerful that it is unconditional and eternal. We read of a purpose that is unshaken by the rejection and disobedience of a rebellious race. When we consider the sacrifice of the Son, we must remember that the sacrifice was also on the part of the Father.
Consider today the majesty of the revelation that God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son! – Jim MacIntosh