Who God is
108. Who is Jesus Now?
In the Gospels we see
who Jesus was when He walked on earth.
He showed us the personality of God, His Father. The Apostle Paul had a revelation of
what Jesus did for us, even though Paul never met Jesus in the flesh. We see those revelations in Paul’s
epistles. The epistles also give
us a view of the present day ministry of Christ.
However, Jesus chose to reveal Himself in a very special way to
John.
Notice Revelation 1 verse 1.
It says, “The Revelation of Jesus Christ.” I believe that God gave us this view of Jesus because we
cannot see Him as He really is in any other way. Many walked with Him, many saw Him die, some saw Him
resurrected, but no one has really seen Him as He is right now. He is a Warrior, a Judge, the Lamb,
Almighty God, He is on the Throne, no being can stand up to Him, He is the
Victor, a “terrifying sight” to His enemies, and He is active on your
behalf. John needed to know all
this.
I believe Jesus showed this vision to John to comfort him by bringing
him faith and hope, to make sense of his crazy circumstances, to do the same
for the churches to which John wrote this letter almost 2,000 years ago and to
do the same for you and me in our lives today when we see all the crazy things
going on around us. It is a
handbook for obtaining victory in our lives.
John’s condition was similar to ours. The world, for John, was going crazy. For some of us, the world is going
crazy. Just imagine, John had been
living with Jesus for at least 3 years, he saw Him perform mighty miracles, he
saw Him crucified, he saw Him resurrected. Certainly, after the resurrection he thought, “Now there was
victory.” He saw the Holy Spirit
fall on mankind and the start of the Church. He established churches and he saw people getting
saved. All of the sudden, all of
the original disciples were gone and some were crucified (Peter upside down),
some were beheaded, others done away with by other means. He saw the world going into a wild
spin.
John himself was almost killed by being boiled in oil, but they could
not kill him. Now, at this time,
he was taken prisoner and banished forever to the Isle of Patmos (definition =
my killing – a rugged and bare island in the Aegean Sea). His daily chore included working a rock
quarry and hauling rock up and down hills on his back. He must have thought, “Has the world
gone crazy? Did I really know
Jesus? Was He really God in the
flesh like I wrote about in my Gospel book? Is the Church doomed?
Is my life wasted?” Then,
all of the sudden, BAM! Something
appeared to him that he had never seen before.
“I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day, and I heard behind me a loud voice,
as of a trumpet, saying, ‘I am the Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last,’
and, ‘What you see, write in a book and send it to the seven churches which are in Asia: to Ephesus,
to Smyrna, to Pergamos, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to
Laodicea.’ Then I turned to see
the voice that spoke with me. And
having turned I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the seven
lampstands One like the Son of
Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a
golden band. His head and hair
were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire; His
feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and His voice as the
sound of many waters; He had in His right hand seven stars, out of His mouth
went a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was like the sun shining in
its strength. And when I saw Him,
I fell at His feet as dead. But He
laid His right hand on me, saying to me, ‘Do not be afraid; I am the First and
the Last. I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore.
Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death’” (Revelation 1:10-18).
Christ Revealed
In Revelation chapter
1 John sees Who Jesus is now! He
is different from the last time he saw Him. He is the ascended Christ revealed! He is revealed as the faithful,
trustworthy witness, the firstborn of the dead, the Prince of the Kings of the
Earth, the soon coming One, and the Alpha and Omega, the first and last, the
Almighty Omnipotent One!
He is revealed as the one who is coming to judge His church with fire
in His eyes, a golden girdle and feet that shined as burnished brass. This judgment is not to condemn the
church, but to protect it from the coming wrath. Holiness is what will protect the church!
In Revelation chapters 2-3 Jesus is speaking to the church, both then
and now, as if a general was speaking to his troops getting them ready for
battle. Because a major conflict was soon to occur, and the seven churches
would be destroyed if not prepared, Jesus addressed each church according to
its own shortcoming. He encouraged
them to get in right standing with God.
Holiness is what will protect the church!
In Revelation 4, Jesus invites John, and you and me, to come up into
the heavenlies to see the events from His vantage point. We need to see events in life from
God’s perspective. We can get so
earthly minded, and our sight can be so horizontal in looking at our
circumstances that we miss seeing things from God’s point of view. We are sitting in the heavenlies with
Christ; therefore, the Holy Spirit can give us that view. When we see our circumstances from
God’s vantage point, they do not seem as bad.
In Revelation 5, God is the one who originates the battles. Satan does not originate battles in our
lives. Notice, no one was worthy
to unroll the scroll and take off the seals except for Jesus, as the Lion of
the Tribe of Judah and, at the same time, the Lamb of God. Jesus is the Lion, or the victor, and
the most powerful force. Jesus is the Lamb, the one who takes what we have
coming. We could not stand in the
difficult circumstances of life except that Jesus, as the Lamb, takes what we
have coming!
Jesus is the one who originates battles. We need to keep this in mind when trouble comes. It may be an evil attack, but it is
Jesus who has put a hook in the nose of our enemies to come at us so that we
may destroy them in His name!
Blessed be the Name of the Lord forever!!! Hallelujah!
In Revelation 5-16, there is great war, conflict, judgment and
persecution as the scroll is unfurled.
Things are going crazy, and events go from bad to worse to almost
intolerable. But in this, God is
looking for those who will overcome and stand.
Revelation 7:3 shows that those believers who are faithful in this
overcoming process are stamped by God for safe keeping. Things are going to get worse!
A parenthetical statement is made in Revelation 11 showing the victory
of the Cross and showing that the dominion of the world’s system has been given
to the Kingdom of God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Revelation 12:11 shows us that if we stand during this time of great
trouble that we will overcome the enemy by the blood of the Lamb and by the
Word of God being testified by our mouths, provided that we do not love our own
lives more than we love God and His purposes.
Revelation 17 is the revelation of the “world” system and its
corruption. It shows the
cooperation between the spiritual and the political.
Revelation 18 is another warning to God’s people to come out of the
“world” system because it is about to be destroyed and it is unreliable. The destruction of this system is
demonstrated.
In Revelation 19 there is victory, and the Lord returns on His white
horse to fulfill His promise and to bring His rewards. “Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a
white horse! And He who sat on him
was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes
war. His eyes were like a flame of
fire, and on His head were many crowns.
He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. He was clothed with a robe dipped in
blood, and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and
clean, followed Him on white horses.
Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike
the nations. And He Himself will
rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And He has
on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS”
(Revelation 19:11-16).
In Revelation 20, Satan is bound; judgment takes place.
Revelation 21 shows the Kingdom of God becoming more real, the New
Jerusalem. It shows a deeper
intimacy with Jesus as a result of all we have been through.
Revelation 22 shows ministry for those people who have stood and
overcome to the end. Here is a
picture of the Flowing River, mentioned in Ezekiel 47, with fruit on both sides
for the healing of the nations, meaning the gentiles, or the people who do not
know God. In my experience, real
ministry comes after much tribulation and overcoming. We take dominion over demons through the battles.
Revelation 22 is also a word of encouragement. “I am coming quickly, hang on, and you
will be blessed. Hang on, and you
will turn all this tribulation and trouble in your life into a blessing.”
This revelation, or glorification, of
Jesus Christ most likely is similar to what Jesus spoke to the two on the Road
to Emmaus, and later to the 11 disciples, explaining the Scriptures beginning
with Moses, the Psalms and the Prophets in Luke 24. Most likely, however, this was a more complete revelation. When we see Jesus glorified in this
way, we are candidates for the filling of the Holy Spirit (John 7:39).
I do not pretend to understand all of the Book of Revelation, nor do I
claim to do a complete teaching on it here. Neither am I saying that it does not apply to future world
prophecy and events. All I am
saying is that it is MORE than that.
It is an important application for our lives today. We need to know who Jesus is NOW! I also know that on August 26, 1979,
while reading the Book of Revelation, Jesus miraculously saved me and filled me
with the Holy Spirit. He revealed
Himself to me, and I have never been the same!
John then understood. There is more to life than just making
it to Heaven and living a good life here.
We are called to be in a war, and Jesus is alive and powerful to make
sure we get the victory! This is a picture for us to understand when things are
not going well. We need to place
ourselves somewhere in this process and know that it is God ordained. Then we can stand!
He is the warrior. We have
a lot of trials and warfare to go through before we go to Heaven. Jesus is our warrior; He wins our
battles. We need to know that He
is fighting on our behalf.
He is High Priest,
Mediator, Intercessor, Advocate and Surety.
E.W. Kenyon, in
Chapter 25 of his book “The Bible in the Light of Our Redemption,” shows us
more of the present day ministry of Jesus, in addition to Judge and Warrior.
This quote is copyrighted material used by permission only from
Kenyon’s Gospel Publishing Society.
THE PRESENT DAY MINISTRY OF CHRIST
WE HAVE STUDIED in our course the working of God
for a period of four thousand years in the preparation for Christ's coming
(Galatians 4:4). We have studied
the earthly life of our Lord Jesus Christ and His death and Resurrection for us
through which He redeemed us from Satan's authority (Hebrews 2:14).
Now we are going to study the present ministry of
Christ, what He is doing now for us, and what He has been doing for almost
period of two thousand years. This
present ministry of Christ has been neglected by most Christians. So many, when they think of His giving
His life for us, think only of His death and Resurrection. They do not know that when He sat down
on the Father's right hand, that He began to live for us in as much reality as
He had died for us. How few
Christians have a clear conception of the present ministry of Christ.
There are three views of Jesus' ministry for us:
Jesus beyond the cross as the lowly "Man of Sorrows"; Jesus on the
cross as the "Son made Sin" (II Corinthians 5:21); Jesus seated at
the right hand of the Majesty on high, the "Exalted One, with a name above
every other name" (Philippians 2:9-10).
As we study our hymns, we realize how few teachers
and songwriters have understood this present ministry of Christ. Many see Jesus just beyond the cross,
the lowly Jesus. Another group
sees Him only on the cross. A very
small number have looked beyond the cross and the tomb to the Christ seated at God’s
right hand.
He is no longer the meek and lowly man of
Galilee. He is no longer the Son
made Sin, forsaken of God. He is
the Lord of all who conquered Satan, sin, disease and death.
He is the One who possesses all authority in Heaven
and in earth (Matthew 28:18).
We can today act fearlessly upon His Word, because
He is the surety of it. He is the surety of this New Covenant.
Hebrews 7:22, "by so much also has Jesus
become the surety of a better covenant."
The surety of the covenant is the Word.
Hebrews 8:6, "But now hath he obtained a
ministry the more excellent by so much as He is also the mediator of a better
covenant which hath been enacted upon better promises." The New Covenant has been enacted, it
is based upon the Word, and He is the Surety. This man today at the Father's right hand is the Surety of
this Word.
He who possesses all authority in Heaven and earth
makes good every word in these promises.
Let us now study what He is today to us in this New Covenant.
In the revelation which Paul received, God has
drawn aside the veil and given to us the present ministry of Christ. He sat down as our "High
Priest," our "Mediator," our "Intercessor," our
"Advocate" and our "Surety" of the New Covenant.
Jesus, Our High Priest
We have studied the High Priesthood of the Old
Covenant. The High Priest of the
Old Covenant was a type of Jesus, the High Priest of the New Covenant.
Once every year the High Priest under the Old
Covenant had entered into the tabernacle on earth with the blood of bulls and
goats to make a yearly atonement for the sins of Israel. Read Hebrews 9:25; 10:1-4.
The priests stood daily ministering and offering
the same sacrifices for the sins of Israel (Hebrews 10:11).
Christ entered into Heaven itself with His own
blood, having obtained eternal redemption for us (Hebrews 9:12, 23-27).
When God accepted the blood of Jesus Christ, He
signified that the claims of Justice had been met and that man could be legally
taken from Satan's authority and restored to fellowship, with Himself.
By the sacrifice of Himself, Christ had put sin
away (Hebrews 9:26).
The crime of High Treason of Adam had been met and
settled by His one sacrifice for sin (Hebrews 10:12).
By the sacrifice of Himself He had sanctified man
(Hebrews 9:10-14).
"To sanctify" means to "set
apart," "to separate." He had separated man from Satan's kingdom
and family. We had become as
separated from Satan's dominion as He was (John 17:14).
When Christ met Mary after His Resurrection (John
20:17), He said to her, "Touch me not, for I am not yet ascended unto the Father."
He was then on His way to the Father with His own blood, the token of the
penalty He had paid, and He could not be touched by man.
Jesus' ministry as High Priest did not end with His
carrying His blood into the Holy Place, but He is still the minister of the
Sanctuary (Hebrews 8:2).
The word, "sanctuary," in Hebrews 8:2, in
the Greek means "Holy things." He is ministering in the "Holy
things." These "Holy Things" are our prayers and worship. We do not know how to worship Him as we
ought, but He takes our oftentimes crude petitions and worship and makes them
beautiful to the Father. These
"Holy things" are our "Spiritual Sacrifices" which He makes
acceptable to the Father. Every
prayer, every worship is accepted by the Father when it is presented in the
name of Jesus.
I Peter 2:5, "Ye also as living stones are
built up a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual
sacrifices acceptable to God, through Jesus Christ."
Study the High priestly ministry of Christ as it is
given to us in the book of Hebrews.
He is a merciful and faithful high priest (Hebrews 2:17-18). He is a High Priest who can be touched
with the feelings of our infirmities (Hebrews 4:14-16). He is High Priest
forever (Hebrews 6:19).
Jesus, the Mediator
When Christ sat down at the Father's right hand, He
had satisfied the claims of Justice and He became the Mediator between God and
man.
I Timothy 2:5, "For there is one God, one
mediator also between God and man, himself man, Christ Jesus."
Jesus is man's mediator for two reasons. He is man's mediator because of what He
is, and He is man's mediator because of what He has done.
First: Jesus is man's mediator by virtue of what He
is. He is the union of God and
man.
John 1:14.
He is the Word "Who was with God and was God ... the Word made
flesh" (John 1:1). He is the One who existed on equality with God, made in
the likeness of men (Philippians 2:8-9).
He has bridged the gulf between God and man. He is equal with God and He is equal
with man. He can represent humanity
before God.
This, however, was not a sufficient ground for mediation
between God and man. Man was an
eternal criminal before God. Man
wag alienated from God (Ephesians 2:12) and under the judgment of Satan (John
16:11).
This brings us to our second fact. Jesus is man's mediator because of what
He has done.
Colossians 1:22, "Yet now hath He reconciled
in the body of His flesh, through death, to present you Holy, and without
blemish and unreprovable through Him."
2 Corinthians 5:18, "Who reconciled us unto
Himself through Christ." There could have been no mediator between God and
man if there had not been first a Reconciliation made between God and man. Man was unrighteous in his condition of
spiritual death. While he was in
that condition of spiritual death, he could not approach God. Neither could any Mediator have
approached God for him.
Christ has reconciled us unto God through His death
on the cross, so that He now presents man holy and without blemish before
God. Therefore, man has a right to
approach God through Christ, his Mediator.
From the fall of man until Jesus sat down at God's
right hand, no man had ever approached God except over a bleeding sacrifice,
through a Divinely-appointed Priesthood, or by an angelic visitation or dreams.
On the ground of his High Priestly offering of His
own blood, He perfected (or Redemption satisfied the claims of justice) and
made it possible for God to legally give man Eternal Life, making him
righteous, and giving him a standing as a son.
Every unsaved man now has a legal right to approach
God.
Jesus, the Intercessor
Jesus, as High Priest, carried His blood into the
Holy of Holies, satisfying the claims of Justice that were against natural
man. As Mediator, He introduces
the unsaved man to God.
John 14:6, Jesus is the way to God, and no one can
approach God except through Him.
As soon as a man accepts the reconciliation work of Christ, he becomes a
child of God. Then Christ begins
His intercessory work for him. Jesus is Mediator for the sinner, but He is
intercessor for the Christian.
The first question that comes to us is: "Why
does the child of God need someone to intercede for him?"
We can find the answer to that in Romans 12:2.
At the New Birth, our spirits receive the life of
God. The next need is that our
minds be renewed. For the number
of years that existed before we were born again, we walked according to Satan
(Ephesians 2:1-3). He ruled our
minds.
Now that our spirits have received the life of God,
our minds must be renewed, so that we will know our privileges and
responsibility as children of God.
Ephesians 4:22-24 shows us the need of a renewed mind. The New Birth is instantaneous, but the
renewing of our minds is a gradual process. Its growth is determined by our study and meditation of the
Word.
During this period we need the intercession of
Christ. Many times we sin and in our
fellowship with the Father, as in our ignorance of His will, we many times say
and do things that are not pleasing to Him. Then again, we need His intercession
because of demoniac persecution against us.
Matthew 5:10, "Blessed are they who are
persecuted for righteousness' sake." This isn't the persecution of men but
the persecution of demons.
Matthew 5:1-12 refers to the persecution we receive
from men. Demons persecute us for righteousness' sake. They hate and fear us because God has
declared us righteous. Because we have not fully learned of our authority they
cause us to tumble many times.
Regardless of this, He is able to save us to the
uttermost because He ever lives to pray for us (Hebrews 7:25). No one can lay
anything to the charge of God's child.
God has declared him righteous.
There is no one to condemn him.
Jesus is living to make intercession for him (Romans 8:33-34).
Jesus, the Advocate
We came to the Father through Christ, our
Mediator. We have felt the sweet
influences of His Intercession on our behalf. Now we want to know Him as our Advocate before the Father.
How many Christians today who are living in broken
fellowship would be living victorious lives in Christ if they had known or knew
that Jesus was their Advocate?
Because of our unrenewed minds and Satanic
persecution, we sometimes sin and cause our fellowship to be broken.
Every child of God who breaks fellowship with the
Father goes under condemnation. If
he had no advocate he would be in a sad position. The Word shows us that if we
do sin we have an advocate with the Father.
I John 2:1, "My little children, these things
I write unto you that ye may not sin, and if any man sins we have an advocate
with the Father, Jesus Christ, the Righteous."
I John 1:3-9 is God's method for maintaining our
fellowship with Him. If we sin so
that our fellowship is broken, we may renew that fellowship by confessing our
sin.
Jesus' ministry as an advocate is a work of Jesus
on the part of God. However, He is
unable to act as our advocate unless we confess our sins. The moment we confess them, He takes up
our case before the Father.
The Word declares that when we confess our sins, He
is righteous and faithful to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all
unrighteousness. God can forgive
our sins and be perfectly righteous in doing it, because Christ bore them
(Isaiah 53:6).
He is also faithful and ready at the moment we
confess to wipe them out as though they had never been.
It is absolutely essential that Christians know
Jesus as their advocate. Many who
are out of fellowship have confessed their sins many times without receiving a
sense of restoration, because they did not know Jesus was their Advocate. They did not take forgiveness when they
confessed their sins. They do not
act upon the Word which declares that the Father forgives the moment they
confess.
No Christian should ever remain in broken
fellowship any longer than it takes to ask forgiveness. What the Father forgives He
forgets. A child of His should
never dishonor Him by ever thinking of his sins again.
Jesus, the Surety
Jesus is our personal surety. This is the most vital of all the
ministries of Jesus at the Father's right hand.
Under the law the High Priest was the surety of the
Old Covenant. If the High Priest
failed, it interrupted the relationship between God and Israel. The blood of the atonement lost its
efficacy.
Under the New Covenant, Jesus is the High Priest
and the Surety of the New Covenant. Hebrews 7:22, "by so much also hath
Jesus become the surety of a better covenant."
Our position before the Father is absolutely
secure. We know that throughout
our lifetime, we have, at the right hand of God, a Man who is there for us.
He is representing us before the Father. He always has a standing; we have One
representing us before the Father.
Our position is secure.
Keep this picture
in your mind about who Jesus is now.
Revelation 19:11-16
says, “Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! And He who sat on him was called
Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. His eyes were like a flame of fire, and
on His head were many crowns. He
had a name written that no one knew except Himself. He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is
called The Word of God. And the
armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white
horses. Now out of His mouth goes
a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a
rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the
fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And He has on His robe and on His
thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.”
He is coming again! Besides
knowing that Jesus is all these things to us, we need to know that He has given
us these ministries to others.
Jesus is our Priest, Mediator, Intercessor, Advocate and Surety. However, He has given us the job of
distributing these ministries to people here on earth who are in need. We do
not become the intercessor, or advocate, only Jesus is worthy of that, but we
distribute those powerful ministries on His behalf, in His name. Adam was supposed to have represented
God on this earth, but he failed.
Now our job is to represent God on this earth and to represent people on
earth to God.