| October 10, 1999 |
Vol. II, No. 24
|
Jesus Christ came to earth for more than His great sacrifice on the cross! God promised in Isa. 7:14, “Behold a virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.” The name Immanuel means “God with us” (Matt. 1:25) and implies more than a brief visit for one sacrificial act; rather it suggests a sharing of the human experience.
Why was it necessary for God to come and live with man? Just as designers of unassembled furniture often supplement their instructions with drawings, so God planned from the beginning of time to give man not only instructions, but a perfect model -- very Son whom man was created to copy. But to be a model for us He had to live in the same sinful world that we live in and face the same challenges that we face. And so He came. Immanuel, “God with us.”
How Our Model Helps Us Deal With Difficult Aspects of Life
When we face the various challenges of life, we can look at Christ’s example in dealing with similar circumstances and imitate Him. To accomplish this, we must analyze not only His words, but His actions. For example, consider the attitudes and actions of Jesus toward the following:
MONEY. Though Jesus was self-taught and some of His followers (Paul, Apollos) were highly educated, He had nothing but disdain for those who pursued titles and worldly adulation, Matthew 23. His attitude toward those who were proud of worldly achievements can be summed up in His words, “What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul” (Luke 8:36).
LUSTS OF THE FLESH. When tempted by Satan in the wilderness to change stones into bread, Jesus did not flirt with the temptation, but rejected it immediately while quoting Scripture, Matt. 4:3-4.
HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH THE FATHER. Jesus talked constantly with the Father, on occasio9ns spending all night in prayer. His attitude in prayer was always, “not my will but thine.” His perfect speaking of the Father’s words and doing of the Father’s works made it possible for Him to say, “He who has seen Me has seen the Father” (John 14:9).
DEALING WITH WEAK BRETHREN. Though Jesus often chided His apostles for “little faith,” He was careful not to destroy their spiritual self-esteem by insulting them or dismissing them as hopeless. He praised them whenever possible and let them know He expected better things of them.
SUFFERING INJUSTICE. “Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example that you should follow His steps: Who committed no sin, nor was guile found in His mouth; who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously” (1 Peter 1:21-23).
ET CETERA. Jesus must be our model in prayer, in the home, in dealing with government and unbelievers. In short, before responding to any situation we should ask: “How would Jesus deal with this?” We can only answer this question correctly if we are thoroughly acquainted with His life and teachings.
AN APPLICATION AND CONCLUSION. “Preach the man and not the plan” has been a slogan among modernists. Such words reveal profound ignorance of what it means to love Christ. How can one love “the Man” while ignoring His plan?
Is it possible, however, that some may go to the other extreme and preach “a plan” that focuses almost entirely on external acts while under-emphasizing the person of Jesus Christ? One young Christian recently admitted that while she had studied a lot about the organization of the church, acts of worship, etc., she had never really read much in the gospels about the life of Christ. Such an oversight indicates severe flaws in the system of teaching to which she had been exposed.
Some Christians know what are commonly called “the five acts of worship,” the “three ways to establish authority,” etc., but are still materialistic, proud and self-centered, making little progress toward Christlikeness. Perhaps they know “a plan,” but they obviously do not know “the Man!” Just as the attitude which says, “Preach the man and not the plan” leads to modernism, so preaching a plan while under-emphasizing the person of Jesus Christ, His life and attitudes, leads to cold, sterile ritualism. Neither extreme is true Christianity.
Immanuel did not come simply to leave a new set of regulations for the church. He came to serve as a model for God’s creation. The more we truly know Him and imitate Him, the more our responses to life’s challenges will be His responses instead of those of the flesh. Then we can say with Paul, “It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me” (Gal. 2:20). Only then are we truly approaching what God intended us to be -- “conformed to the image of His Son.”
--Gardner Hall via Christianity Magazine
In Matt. 12:22-30, The Bible tells us that a man who was demon-possessed was brought to Jesus. The demons caused the man to be blind and mute. Jesus “healed him, so that the blind and mute man both spoke and saw. And all the multitudes were amazed and said, ‘Could this be the Son of David?’ But when the Pharisees heard it they said, ‘This fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons.’ But Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to them: ‘Every kingdom divided against itself will not stand. And if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? And If I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they shall be your judges. But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you. Or else how can one enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house. He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad.’”
Notice first the effects of Jesus’ miraculous deed on the minds of those who were open minded versus the effect on those whose minds were already made up. The multitude was convinced that Jesus could well be the Son of David foretold by the prophets -- but the Pharisees were not open to such a suggestion. Since He wasn’t one of them, He had to be in league with the devil. Surely that was the source of His power.
Then notice Jesus’ refutation of such an accusation. First, Satan’s power would not be turned against demons, else Satan would be working against himself. He is much too cunning for that!
Second, some of the Pharisees own “sons” or disciples practiced exorcism. If the power to cast out demons came from Satan, were the Pharisees accusing their own people of being in cooperation with the devil?
Third, Jesus reasoned that the only way a person could successfully cast out demons and drive Satan from his abode, was to be endowed with a power even greater than Satan. We’re not told how many of the Pharisees were in the business of casting out demons, nor their degree of success in doing so, but we are told repeatedly that Jesus never failed to overcome the power of Satan in the lives of those who came to Him for help. Jesus’ miracle proved conclusively that Jesus was not only working against Satan, but was doing so with a power far greater than that of the adversary. And those whose minds were receptive realized the significance of such miracles. Perhaps it was mostly them that He cautioned, “He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad.” Surely, it makes more sense to work with Jesus and the power of God than to oppose them.
--CRJ
Better alone than in bad company