I’ve titled this blog As He Is because of a burning
desire in my heart to see the church come to a deeper understanding of Jesus
Christ. I’m sure your reaction is to say, “Come on, you really think the church
doesn’t know who Jesus Christ is?” Yes, the church knows Jesus on some level,
primarily as savior and Lord. He’s seen by many as the guy who came out of
heaven and took the royal spanking that I deserved from God the Father (a
Father who many believers aren’t sure they really care for, but that’s a topic
for another day).
The reality is that Jesus often serves merely as the
introduction to Christianity. You’re encouraged to come to Him and be saved
from your sins, and this is a glorious thing! And then what happens? Listen to
a televangelist and you’ll hear, “Go find a bible-believing church.” And from
there, if you stick with it, you begin reading the bible, attending various
meetings, maybe studying doctrines and teachings, learning about how to have a
good marriage and raise a family, hearing about what kind of life God wants you
to live and what steps you can take to get there, political opinions, etc.
All of these things can be good, but over time they unintentionally
become a replacement for Christ Himself. Ask other Christians about some of the
topics I’ve mentioned above and they’ll have things to say. Ask them about
Christ Himself and the conversations tend to be much shorter (at least in my
experience). Practically, Jesus is the savior we learned about early in our
Christian life, but the depth of our knowledge of Him hasn’t grown all that
much since then. Is that because we’ve already explored all of who Christ is?
Have we seen everything there is to see of Him? The fact is that most believers
do not see Jesus Christ as He truly is.
By comparison, here’s what Paul says about Him: “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all
creation; for in him all
things were created, in heaven and on earth, things visible and invisible,
whether thrones or dominions, whether principalities or powers—all things have
been created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold
together. And he is the
head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead,
in order that he might be preeminent in everything. For God was pleased to have all his fullness
dwell in him, and
through him to reconcile all things to himself, whether on earth or in heaven,
by making peace through his blood shed on the cross.” Colossians 1:15-20
This passage is a description of Jesus Christ that is
mind-blowing! He is more than just our Savior. He is more than just an
introduction to Christianity. He is ALL! To focus on just one point, Paul says
that the fullness of God dwells in Jesus Christ. What does that mean? The
fullness of God encompasses everything there is about Him. ALL that God the
Father is lives in Jesus Christ. The very heights and depths of God Himself are
found in the person of Jesus.
Here’s an example: I’ve flown through Zurich, Switzerland,
on one occasion. I never left the airport, I had lunch at a café and a poor
substitute for a nap on a bench. Technically, I can say I was in Zurich. But I
never set foot on it’s streets. I never had a real conversation with someone
who lives there, never saw the architecture, never had any local cuisine, never
saw any sites. So how well do I really know Zurich? Even if I had done all of
those things, there is so much more to Zurich. How much deeper would my
knowledge of Zurich be if I spoke the language? Or lived there for a year? Or 10?
Or a lifetime? I still wouldn’t exhaust everything and everyone that Zurich has
to offer.
Brothers and sisters, Zurich is a picture of Jesus
Christ. You can have a superficial knowledge of Him and be a Christian, but to
stop there is to miss out on the inexhaustible
riches of Him in whom the fullness of God dwells. And the reality is that
all of those topics I mentioned above, all of those I haven’t mentioned, they
ALL have their root and meaning in Him. They are rightly understood only within
the context of Him who is all in all.
In the coming weeks I’ll be sharing what I have seen of
Jesus Christ. He is my Lord. He is my Savior. And He is so much more… my hope
and prayer is that you will see Him as He is, in all His fullness, and be
captivated by Christ as I am.
Grace and Peace to you,
Ryan
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