And the Father Himself, who
sent Me, has testified of Me.
You have neither heard His voice
at any time, nor seen His form.
But you do not have His word abiding
in you, because whom He sent,
Him you do not believe.
You search the Scriptures, for in them
you think you have eternal life; and
these are they which testify of Me.
But you are not willing to come to Me
that you may have life.
John 5: 37-40
All the knowledge in the world will not save one person. Only a true conversion to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the One promised of old, that He is Who He says He is; this is the narrow path that leads to eternal life. Some who call themselves "Christian" have degraded Scripture by placing either equal to or above Scripture other writings. Theologies are built upon such misuse of Scripture, or that they have replaced Scripture with some sort of writings that are fall removed from the inspired word of God. Yet, many have fallen prey to such misuse and have followed after heresy. Jesus was not saying to search out other writings, as there were many other writings that were of a religious nature, no, He said to search out Scripture and by that He pointed to the inspired writings of the prophets, the men of old that God used to reveal Himself. This He did, and it is the theme of the Bible to reveal Who He is and Who is the One He sent forth. Other writings may have some benefit, but only Scripture is true and has the truth that we can know Him and Who He sent, and what all this means for us.
We have taken time to examine history and see that this question as to the Person Jesus Christ, if He is actually God, or a god, or a created being, or just a mode of God. And we have found that those councils did not take this question lightly and it took many years of study to come to a conclusion. We take from their example that we are to study His word, not just some other writings, although they may be helpful, but only when such writings are in harmony with Scripture. They may add clarity, but they will not reveal some "secret" or some "key" so that there are hidden mysterious things of God that only some have come to know and impart. There are those who rely on the Supernatural revelation to them, as though God must reveal to them what is not already in Scripture. They run after signs and wonders, or to have some special imparting of the Holy Spirit, a second baptism, which the Bible does not speak of, and by this they believe a lie. It is in Scripture where we find the truth, so this is where we are going to continue to examine. Remember this: God's purpose for Scripture was not speak of a Trinity, rather to reveal Himself and by that revelation we will come to know Him and He will give us the answer as to the Godhead, to the One sent, to the men of old, in the person of Jesus Christ the God/Man, the One who manifested God, who is invisible to man, who is loving and kind so that by His mercy He saves those whom He gives to His Son.
Let us examine a familiar narrative: Abraham offering up his son Isaac. The opening scene: "Now it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham, and said to him, 'Abraham!' And he said, 'Here I am.' Then He said, 'Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you'" (Genesis 22:1-2). At first this sound so crazy, kill your son? Cause him to be a burnt offering? Wait a minute; Abraham was speaking to God, and God was speaking to Abraham. If fact God called out to Abraham; "Abraham!" (vs. 1). Abraham answered: "Here I am" (vs.1). Had not Abraham spoken to Jehovah, the messenger of God, the Angel of God, and did not Abraham call Him Jehovah? Yes; and did not God speak to Abraham and tell him to leave and go to a land that God would show him? Yes. So, Abraham had personal contact with God, and saw Jehovah, and this calling out to him was not different from times before. Jehovah was well known by the nations. Shem, Noah's son, lived 500 years after the flood, and Abraham was the 10th generation from Shem. Do the math and you will be surprised. Shem begat many children and they would have known of the flood and of Jehovah. So would have Abraham. Furthermore, it was a custom and religious rite in some heathen nations to kill and burn as a sacrifice a child. Abraham would have wondered about this request but this request was not from out of the blue, he knew that this was done and if Jehovah requested it then he would do it. God was testing Abraham and God will test you as a child of Him. Isaac went along with dad, but he asked, "But Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, 'My father!" And he said "Here I am, my son." the he said, "Look, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?" (Genesis 22:7). Here is the lesson for us by Abraham: "And Abraham said, "My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering." So the two of them went together" (Genesis 22:8). Notice this: God will provide for Himself what was needed, it is God who provides for His children under all circumstances. Abraham's faith is such an example for us. Do you or me have this kind of faith, if not why not? Now, Abraham took Isaac who himself was a willing partner in this sacrifice for their faith was that God would provide, not just a lamb, but would raise them up on the last day, when He would come for His children, and this is still true today, God will raise up His children on the last day. Now, after placing Isaac on the alter and binding him, Abraham took the knife and began to plunge the knife into his son, when, the Angel of the LORD spoke to Him and by this revelation tells us who this Angel of the LORD is: "But the Angle of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, 'Abraham, Abraham!" So he said, "Here I am." And He said, 'Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me" (Genesis 22:11-12). The Angel of the LORD is God, for it is plain by this Scripture that the Angel of the LORD and Me are the same person, and the One testing Abraham. Examining further the Angel of the LORD called to Abraham a second time and said, "Then the Angel of the LORD called to Abraham a second time out of heaven, and said: 'By Myself I have sworn, says the LORD, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son-- blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore, and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies. In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice" (Genesis 22:15-18). This Angel of the LORD has all authority of God, for He is God,as the Scripture so clearly reveals. This Angel of the LORD has sworn by Himself, not some created angel, no, rather it was God as messenger to Abraham who has the power to do what only God can do.
I will not settle for just one example of what God has revealed about Himself so then in the next blogs I will illuminate those other narratives that God used to reveal Himself, His nature, and we are the beneficiaries of such revelation. Look forward to this for in this we search the Scriptures not for salvation, rather so that we grow in grace and Sanctification.
For I have come down
from heaven, not to do
My own will, but the will
of Him who sent Me.
This is the will of the Father
who sent Me, that of all
He has given Me, That everyone
who sees the Son and believes
in Him may have everlasting life;
And I will raise him up at the
last day.
John 6:38-40
Our Savior Is Jesus Christ: Of the Bible
Richard L. Crumb
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