Tag Archives: Jesus

Christ In The Old Testament

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Describe the Christ of the Old Testament.

Christ of the Old Testament plays an extremely significant role in comprehending the Christ of the New Testament.  In the study of Theophany, which is God appearing to man in human form, some evangelical commentators feel that this could have been the Lord Jesus.  Noah and Enoch “walked with God”.  God spoke to Noah concerning the ark.  In Genesis 18, the Lord appeared to Abraham.  “There is good reason to think that theophanies before the incarnation of Christ were visible manifestations of the pre-incarnate Son of God.”  (p. 847, Merril C. Tenney, 1963)  Christ therefore has appeared to man in human form in the Old Testament and the Christ of the Old Testament, whether in the form of theophany or prophesy, is as significant as the Christ of the New Testament.

The Messiah:  The word Messiah means the anointed one.  Messiah also means the Saviour promised to the world through the children of Israel.  Messiah is derived from Mashaeh which means to consecrate an individual or objects with the use of the sacred anointing oil.  The term Messiah has different meanings for the Jews and the Christians.  For the Jews, the term Messiah is one who would be king, a spiritual leader, a political head, and through whom they can enjoy peace and prosperity.  For the Christian on the other hand, the term Messiah refers to Jesus Christ as mediator who came to set his people free from sin and death and who is our spiritual deliverer.  Jesus Christ is therefore called Messiah because He is the original, essential and eternal Son of God (Merril C. Tenney, p. 529, Dr James Smith, p. 1, Jack W. Hayford, p. 699, Luis Berkhof, p. 92).

Messianic Prophecies:  The Messianic prophecies are divided into two groups – the general messianic prophecies and the personal messianic prophecies.  The general messianic prophecies refer to the eschatological sequence or the new age to come.  The personal messianic prophecies refer to Jesus Christ as the king, prophet, counsellor eg Isaiah 9:6 which tells us “And he will be called wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace”.

The messianic prophecy is divided into two pre-supposition, which ultimately are:

  1. The possibility of prediction (not being a rationalist, not a skeptic;  these predictions have come true and other spheres and aspects of the prophecies of the Bible are being fulfilled today).
  1. The omniscience of God (“Our God is omnipresent, omnipotent and omniscient”).  Our God is all knowing, when one looks deeper into the angle of omniscience with a Biblical point of view, one sees numerous spheres of hidden truths.  But the prophecies are not a hidden truth, they are an “open truth” which was fulfilled and which are being fulfilled even today, with historical data proving it.  Therefore our God is omniscient or all knowing.  God predestined us;  but above all God spoke to us concerning the Messiah and what He spoke He fulfilled. (Italics my own)  (Dr James Smith, p. 415)

The First Messianic prophecy:  Gen. 3:15 tells us that God would put enmity between the serpent (which is the devil) and man (and Jesus was the representative of man).  So in other words, the devil and Jesus Christ.  This verse shows us the deity and the humanity of Christ (Jack W. Hayford).

Messianic

Prophecies of His ministry:

Herbert Lockyer, p. 101, 1973 says:  “The sacred sublime task of the Christ of prophecy when He became the Christ of history was to become the Christ of redemption”.  The miracles that Jesus performed and the teaching of Jesus are a proof that Jesus is the authentic son of God.

  1. The Ministry of Jesus began in Galilee:  Ish 9:1,2 “Beyond Jordan in Galilee the light shines”.
  2. The Continuation of the ministry of Jesus went forth into Jerusalem.  “Rejoice greatly .. shout O daughter of Jerusalem, behold thy King cometh” (Zech. 9:9).
  3. Christ played a major role in the temple of God:  “I will fill this house with glory’ (Hag. 2:7).
  4. Christ ministry was the proclamation of salvation.  “Loose the bands undo the heavy burdens let the oppressed go free.” (Ish 58:6)  “The spirit of the Lord God is upon me to preach … to bind up … to proclaim.”  (Ish 61:1,2)
  1. The ministry of Jesus was both to the Jews and the Gentiles:  “My people hath been lost sheep” (Jer. 50:6);  “Rejoice o ye nations with his people (Jews)” (Deut. 32:43, Ps. 18:49).
  1. The ministry of Jesus flowed with the anointing of the holy spirit:  “The spirit of the Lord God is upon me” (Ish 61:1) (Herbert Lockyer, 1973, p. 101, 102)

Messianic Prophecies of the Crucifixion of Christ:  Ish 53:1-12.  These verses give us a detailed and accurate account of the crucifixion of Christ.  The purpose of the atonement for our sin is because we are all sinners but as Christ came to earth to die for our sins we are declared righteous and through the atonement of Christ we now have abundant life, abundance physically, spiritually and financially.

Ps. 22 can be divided into two parts, the first part denotes the suffering of Jesus on the Cross and the second part denotes the glory of Christ after his resurrection.

Christ’s suffering (vs 1-21)

  1. (vs 1-5) denote the theme of God the father forsaking Jesus Christ.
  2. (vs 6-10) denote the rejection of men that Christ went through
  3. (vs 12-18) denote the indescribable physical agony that Christ went through on the cross.
  4. (vs 19-21) denotes the love, fellowship and trust between God the father and God the son.  As Jesus calls upon God the father for deliverance.  (Hayford, Dr James Smith)

Eschatological Expectation of the Messiah:  There was a strong eschatological and apocalyptic expectation about two centuries before the ministry of Jesus commenced.

Let us now look into the context of Jesus as the Priest Messiah.  Jesus as high priest can be seen in the form Melchizedek (Heb. 5:7) (James H. Charlesworth, p. 372).

The Qumran and the Messiah:  What is the Qumran?  The Qumran is a region where there are eleven caves in which the Dead Sea Scrolls were situated.  The importance of the study of the Qumran documents for early Christianity is of immense significance.  According to F. F. Bruce, p. 72, “the Qumran community was sometimes called the community of Aaron and Israel.  A Messiah from Aaron and Israel should probably be taken to mean a priestly Messiah and a lay Messiah”.

The Messianic prophecies therefore are very significant, illuminating the life of Christ or Messiah as He was prophesied about in the Old Testament.  There are a few simple ways of viewing prophesy.  The first being the predictive element of prophecy and the second being to emphasise the message in modern day situations.  Both these points are evident in Biblical prophecy.  God is omniscient or all knowing and in Ephesians 1:5 it tells us the God pre-destined us.  God has a foreknowledge of the future and He knew exactly when the Messiah was to come and bring us salvation and when He is coming back again. (Italics my own.)

Prophecy is therefore like a window that God reveals to his saints the prophets.  The Messianic prophesies are not just windows but doors that Jesus walked through when He came into the world bringing salvation. (Italics my own.) (David Allen, Fredric William Sanford, p. 305

Types of Christ from the Old Testament:

Adam.  Adam, made by God for a divine plan and purpose, who was to commune with our Creator.  Adam, made by divine word.  How did Adam handle this responsibility?  Adam fell through disobedience and this fellowship with our Creator was marred.  But Christ in the New Testament, the second Adam, came to bridge this gap, by becoming the mediator between man and God.  (Andrew Jukes) (Italics my own).

Melchizedek:  James Strong calls Melchizedek a patriarch.  Who is this Melchizedek?  Genesis 14-18 tells us that this Melchizedek is both priest and king.  Zech. 6:13 tells us that he shall be a priest upon his throne.  Ish 32:1 “Behold a king shall reign in righteousness.  These verses show us that Melchizedek is both priest and king.  Another important point to note here is that after Abraham was victorious over the kings, Melchizedek refreshed Abraham with bread and wine and blessed Abraham.  This clearly shows us the character of Christ.  Abraham also gave Melchizedek, who is both king and priest, tithes of all that he had taken.  This clearly tells us that Melchizedek for me was not just a type of Christ, but was Christ himself who appeared to Abraham.  This leads us to the study of theophany.  Melchizedek is a good example of Christ appearing to man in the Old Testament. Alfred Edershiem says “Melchizedek appears like a meteor in the sky – suddenly, unexpectedly, mysteriously – and then as suddenly disappears”.  Ps. 110 tells us the priest, king must belong to “the order of Melchizedek”.  Jesus Christ, not with earthly priesthood such as the Levitical priesthood, but a heavenly priesthood.’  (Herbert Lockyer, Merril C. Tenny)  Italics my own.

Isaac:  Isaac is a type of Christ because when God asked Abraham to sacrifice Isaac on the altar, it was symbolic of the sacrifice that God the father required Jesus to go through.  The union of Isaac and Rebekkah was symbolic of the union between Christ and the church.  Therefore Isaac plays a very important role to symbolize Christ because Isaac was the sacrifice his father Abraham was to offer just as God the Father offered Jesus as the sacrifice for the sins of the world so that the world might be saved.  Herbert Lockyer says “In Melchizedek we see Jesus as the priest of the Most High God.  In Moses we see Jesus as the mediator between God and Man.  In David, we see Jesus as shepherd, ruler and king.  In Joseph, we see Jesus as preserver, provider and Saviour.

Conclusion:  In conclusion, I would like to say that the Christ of the Old Testament is as real as the Christ of the New Testament and the characters and events that occurred in the Old Testament are symbolic of the New Testament.  Christ is the fulfillment of the prophesies of the Old Testament.  Therefore, Christ is the chief cornerstone that the Holy Spirit has written his word on.  The whole Scripture is therefore like a sphere which starts and ends with Christ.


BIBLIOGRAPHY

Bruce, F. F., Jews and Christianity Origins outside the New Testament, USA, 1974.

Charlesworth, James H., The Messiah, Fortress Press Minneapolis, 1992.

Edersheim, Alfred, Old Testament Bible History, William B. Eerdman’s Publishing Company, 1977.

Hayford, Jack W., Hayford’s Bible Handbook, Nashville, 1995.

Jukes, Andrew, Types in Genesis, Kregel Publications, 1976.

Lockyer, Herbert, AU The Messianic Prophecies of the Bible, Grand Rapids, 1973.

Sanford, William, Allen, David, William Frederic, Old Testament Survey, Michigan, Zondervan, 1982.

Smith, Dr James, The Promised Messiah, Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville, 1993.

Strong, James, The Exhaustive Concordance of The Bible, Ablingdon Press, New York.

Tenney, Merril C., Pictorial Bible Dictionary, Michigan, Zondervan,

The Word

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“Yet not withstanding this, our full persuasion and assurance of the infallible truth of scripture and its divine authority is from the inward work of the Holy Spirit bearing witness by and with the word in our hearts.” ( The Baptist Confession Of Faith)

The word is alive, The word is real, The word is Spirit, The word is power.

“ So is my word, that goes out from my mouth. It will not return to me empty but will accomplish that what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it” Isaiah 55:11

God’s word came from God’s mouth , The words that came from God’s mouth came from God’s heart, In the heart of God is the spirit of God therefore logically speaking the word of God is the spirit of God in writing.

Now how does the Spirit of God bear witness with the human spirit?

When a person accepts Jesus in his heart the spirit of God comes to indwell his heart and as a born again individual reads the scripture the spirit of word in written form begins to bear witness to the Holy Spirit indwelling the person and reveals the truth of the scripture to him. This enables the individual to grow to a higher level of glory illuminated by the Spirit of God. The spirit of God that is the Holy Spirit is our mentor, our teacher, our guide and also our conscience.

A born again Christian is able to distinguish right from wrong through that inward witness in his spirit. Therefore the individual must store up in his heart and in his mind the scriptures. So if the sub conscious mind is full of the word the individual is able to move to a higher degree of illumination and intimate level of communication with the creator. The word that stood through time, space and history because the word was above the human degree of authorship as it emerged from divine inspiration on earthly vessels as they try to grasp the comprehension of the divine authoritative word. This comprehension is not to be sought by human reason but by divine intervention of Holy Spirit revelation.

The word that came forth from the triune God of Divinity that spoke forth His word in creativity that it brought forth life and still brings forth life spiritually when the word is read objectively with sincerity.

A Poem About “Us”

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Our Wedding Day

He came into my life one beautiful October,
We dated all through November,
We were a couple, who people would remember,
He was tall and Caucasian and I was short and Indian,
It was love at first sight and he asked me to marry him within a month in December,
Much to my delight and that kiss after he put that ring that to my finger did cling was an evening to remember.
It was now or never,
When we spoke our vows it was forever,
He turned out to be a caring husband and lover,
I turned out to be great cook and soon to be  mother,
We are both different yet similar,
Love crosses boundaries, races, discrimination and racism erases,
I love his spiky dark brown hair.
He has a flair in combing my long black tresses.
Our customs,  habits, and dresses different
Yet our difference the other pleases,
Integration into society of another culture is a process that needs a Moses.
With each one taking the hand of the other as we travel over land and water.
We have been and lived in each others lands as compatible as holding hands.
We may be complexion shades apart, but our love for the other will never depart.
As we made a covenant between each other in front of man and God,
We are a union and till our life ebbs away we will share sweet communion,
With God and man as husband and wife, till everlasting life.
Keeping away from all anger and strife
And darling thank you for making me your wife.

A hypothetical discussion between a Messianic Jew and a Pentecostal Irish Belfast Bible College graduate regarding their views on the Old and New testaments of the Bible

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“In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning” John 1:1,2

Before time ever existed one thing existed and that was the Word. Jesus was the Word made flesh and dwelt among us. Before time existed Jesus existed therefore logically speaking the Word made flesh which is Jesus existed before time existed.

The play unfolds:-

There are two very important people I would like to introduce to you. One is Methuselah middle aged with salt and pepper hair, a big moustache and a bigger tummy with five children four girls and one boy and a wife named Hannah. Names of children are Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, Abigail and a son named Isaac. Methuselah has recently come to accept Jesus as Lord and Saviour and so has his family they are Messianic Jews who have come to Northern Ireland on holiday.

My next friend is Paul, who likes to think of himself as apostle Paul because of the prophesies he has received from his Pentecostal brothers and sisters from the Elim Pentecostal Church. He is six feet tall, blue/grey eyes with glasses, very thin and scanty blond hair. He is in his late thirty’s. Paul is single and has a Bachelor’s degree in theology from Belfast Bible College. He is hoping to go to Israel as a missionary. Paul met Methuselah in Jerusalem when he went there on holiday and is hoping to get to know Sarah as a prospective bride. Paul and Methuselah have arranged to meet for coffee at Star bucks.

Their conversation begins :-

Meths:- Shalom Paul ( gives Paul a warm hug)

Paul:- Praise the Lord brother and stretches out his hand to shake hands but is overwhelmed by Methuselah’s big hug.

Meths:- How are you Paul? When are you planning on coming to Israel, the land flowing with milk and honey as Psalms 48:1,2 says “ Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised. In the city of our God. In His holy mountain beautiful elevation.  The joy of the whole earth is mount Zion on the sides of the North. The city of the great King.”

Paul:- Can’t imagine why God would send Jesus to that wee little land to fulfil his purpose in all the earth. He could have come to Northern Ireland ya know it is so green and welcoming, ya know man I am not patriotic but why the Middle East?

Meths:- Laughs out loud Oye ,Oye ,Oye, now you want to turn Jesus Irish. Jesus was born in a manger in Bethlehem in that wee little land of Israel, through Him all the nations of the earth will be blessed as it says in Luke 2:30-32 “ For mine eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared before all the peoples. A light to bring revelation to the Gentiles and the glory to your people Israel.”

Paul:-Jesus is all that matters, once we have Jesus who came to save the world from sin and sickness and we thankfully, glory to God, do not need the law. As Martin Luther says (Ahem clears his throat and puts on his most important look) We are saved by grace and  not by the law.

(Just then a beautiful blond waitress comes up to take their order, Paul adjusts his glasses and stares at the waitress unable to speak.) So Methuselah gives the orders of two cappuccinos. Paul keeps staring at the waitress till she goes back.

Meths:-Paul you might as well hang a sign around your neck that says ’single and looking intently’. Now coming back to what you said about the law, A.G. Herbert in his book ‘The Authority of the Old Testament says “ it is never said that the Mosaic law is now seen not to have been the law of God at all, on the contrary it is God’s law and it is holy and righteous and good. It is never said that the prophets are right and the law wrong, nor is the moral law endorsed and the ceremonial law repudiated, on the contrary Jesus has come not to destroy but to fulfil both the law and the prophets.”

Paul:- That’s good, Aha, Jesus never came to die for our sins in  the Old Testament. In the Old Testament they had sacrifices ,the Mosaic law and of course the prophets. But I says I like the apostles filled with the Holy Spirit doing signs and wonders in Jesus’ name.

Meths:- ( shakes his head) My dear boy let me take you through a journey back to the time of prophets and prophesies and how the Holy Spirit worked in the Old Testament. The prophets filled with the Holy Spirit played a very significant role in the life of the Jewish people and therefore in our lives as well. As I said earlier Jesus is the fulfilment of the Law that was prophetic. Now let me take you to I Samuel 16:13 ( Methuselah takes out his Bible from his brown brief case) ‘Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward.’ How did David kill the Lion and the bear 1 Samuel 17:49 ? The answer is simple dear boy because the Holy Spirit was on David. In the Old Testament the Holy Spirit was not a free gift to all people only a chosen few were filled with the Holy Spirit and they were the Prophets, Priests, and Kings. The moment Samuel anointed David with oil, David had a change in perspective from David the Shepherd boy to David the King. Now lets go to your favourite part of scripture Luke 3:22 ” And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon him and a voice from Heaven which said “ You are my beloved Son; in you I am well pleased”.  From that significant moment in Jesus’ life, Jesus had the ability to work miracles and now this is my point dear boy, which portion of scripture did Jesus read at the synagogue in Nazareth after being endowed with power from on high?  He read Isaiah 61:1,2 and if the Old Testament was just the Law and Jesus just came to give us amazing grace why would He read Isaiah 61:1,2 ? A prophecy concerning Himself. Now lets go to Zechariah 9:9 “Rejoice greatly O daughter of Zion, Shout daughter of Jerusalem, See your King comes to you righteous and having salvation gentle and riding on a donkey on a colt, The foal of a donkey.” This prophecy was fulfilled in Matthew 21:7,8 where Jesus sat on the donkey as He approached Jerusalem and the crowds lay their cloaks before Him on the road and Jesus entered Jerusalem riding on the donkey just as the law had foretold. Jesus fulfilled the law and the law was prophetic. Therefore dear son you cannot have the new without the old. Like two sides of a coin ( as Methuselah flicks a coin in the air and catches it)

Paul:- Sips his cappuccino, looks at the young couple who have just entered Star bucks and gives a gives a big sigh. He pauses for a moment, takes a big gulp of cappuccino and chokes as it is really hot, he gulps a mouthful of cold water wipes his eyes, puts his glasses back on and continues. According to J P Fokkelman in his book Reading Biblical Narrative

“ The narrative art of the New Testament can be found in the four gospels and the Acts of the Apostles. These books have been written in the Greek of the Hellenistic world of the first century. All of them move around two land marks, Firstly the person of Jesus Christ and secondly the group of texts that for Jesus, His disciples and the writers of the gospels and the letters constitute the Holy scriptures, The Hebrew Bible. Paradoxically, we can  only speak of the Old Testament after a New Testament has been written and recognised as a canon.

Meths:- Dear boy, what are you trying to prove? We had the law first Exodus 20 :1-17, the prophesies, example Isaiah 61:1-3 and Isaiah 53. The Old Testament foreshadowed the New. The Old Testament was the foundation on which the New Testament was built. The New Testament is a prophetic fulfilment of the Old Testament. Jesus is the Word made flesh who paid the ultimate sacrifice for our sins to fulfil the law and the prophets. Now coming back to a more personal level, You remember the time Rebecca was sick with typhoid I just prayed the Psalms with tears especially Psalm 42. ‘Tears have been my food’ when we did not have enough food in the house for our children to eat but by praying and fasting ( not optionally) God took us through that time when we were in Russia and brought us to the promised land of Jerusalem. Those prayers from the Old Testament worked and now we are here in Northern Ireland on holiday drinking Cappuccino.

Paul:- Takes of his glasses and wipes the tears from his eyes and blows his nose loudly on the Star Bucks serviette. Well Methuselah, it is great having you in Noren Ireian…. I agree with you dear  brother that we need the Old Testament to have the New Testament,

Let us pray, Paul clears his throat and prays with the loud voice that people turn around and stare “ Dear God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Thank you for the privilege of knowing Yahweh, Emmanuel God with us and at the same time have the sweet communion with the Holy Spirit. He then pauses and says God give me a wife soon, with a hint to Methuselah, adds someone from the Holy land he again pauses and says in the words of the song  by Keith Christianson  “ We believe in the Father, who created all that is and we believe the universe and all there is is His. As a loving heavenly Father, He yearned to save us all to lift us from the fall we believe. We believe in Jesus the Father’s only son existing  before time had begun a sacrifice for sin, He died and rose again to ransom sinful men we believe. We believe in the Spirit who makes believers one, our hearts are filled with His presence the Comforter has come. The kingdom unfolds in His plan, unhindered by quarrels of man His church upheld by his hand we believe. Though the earth be removed and time be no more these truths are secure, God’s word shall endure whatever may change these things are sure we believe. So if the mountains are cast  down into the plains when Kingdoms all crumble this one remains, Our faith is not subject to seasons of man with our fathers we proclaim. We believe our Lord will come as He said, The land and the sea will give up their dead His children will reign with Him as their head, we believe, we believe.

Amen

Bibliography

1.Herbert A. G. The Authority of the Old Testament, Faber and Faber Ltd

2.Fokkelman J.P Reading Biblical Narrative, An Introductory Guide, John Knox Press 1995

3.Walter C Kaiser Jr. The Old Testament Documents, Inter varsity press 2001

4. Harrison RK Introduction to the Old Testament , The Tyndale Press 1969

Interview with a Presbyterian Pastor from Australia

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As I interviewed Pastor Don Kennedy, I was able to comprehend the Presbyterian approach to Jesus and how the Presbyterians view Jesus in this present time.

To the question, what was the atoning work of Jesus on the Cross, Pastor Don states that Jesus bridged the gap between us and God caused by sin and provided a way into the holy place of heaven by the shedding of his blood.

This is true.  I agree with Pastor Don that Jesus is the bridge that connects us to God.  Jesus is our mediator.  According to Pastor Brian Mulheran, Jesus’ death on the cross has laid the axe to the root of the tree of sin that was within our lives and in its place He has put His tree of righteousness and life.  Even though this has transpired, you and I still find ourselves committing the very sin we don’t want to commit.  We have this new nature within us that desires to do right, but often we do wrong.  The way we have lived in the flesh has been by aligning ourselves with our sin nature.  Once we have Jesus’ new nature placed within us, we can now realign our lives with it.

According to Pastor Mulheran, Jesus changes our sinful nature to realign us to divine nature.  Jesus is still the mediator but in a different view.

To the question, what does the baptism of Jesus signify?  Pastor Don Kennedy states that the baptism of Jesus is the beginning of the special ministry time of Jesus of 3-1/2 years.  Why was this baptism so significant?  Why was this baptism the commencement of Christ’s ministry?  I believe the holy spirit came down on Jesus with power and it was only then that Jesus went about with supernatural power from on high to do signs, wonders and miracles.  Jesus was no longer God/man;  I believe Jesus became complete God when He came up from that water.  According to Pastor Don Kennedy, he states that Adam was federal head of the rebel race of people.  We were identified with Adam and he identified with us.  Jesus died and we moved from being lost to being saved.  We move out from federal headship of Adam and come under federal headship of Jesus Christ.  Solidarity of Adam in Jesus Christ?  So therefore the baptism of Jesus was not just an example for us to follow, it was significant for God Himself as it was only after the baptism that the ministry of Jesus commenced, accompanied by miracles.  It was also prophetic in nature for the visible infilling of the Holy spirit who came on Jesus in the form of a dove.  In the second chapter of Acts, the Holy spirit came on the people in the form of tongues of fire.

To the question, what are the characteristics of Christ?  Pastor Don states that “He was begotten in the womb of Mary and therefore he received characteristics of God.  She bequeathed it to him”.  I disagree with this statement because I believe that these characteristics of God were bequeathed by God Himself and Mary was an instrument used and empowered by God for bringing Jesus Christ into the world.  According to J. Rodman Williams, “the truth is that the son of God had actually come in the flesh”.

When I asked Pastor Don the question, what is the authority of Jesus Christ he stated that Jesus is our prophet, Priest, King;  the head and Saviour of his Church, the heir of all things and judge of the world.  I agree with his answer but I also believe that there is more.  Jesus is omnipotent and all powerful;  Jesus is omniscient and all knowing;  and Jesus is omnipresent and his presence is everywhere.  This awesome Lord Jesus is the One who loves us, died for our sins and forgives us;  Jesus has the authority to forgive our sins.  According to Pastor Brian Mulheran, Jesus was preaching “change your thinking and believe in the good news of my salvation which brings the remission of sins”.

I, as a strong Charismatic (hopefully), believe the great authority of Jesus over evil spirits and the satanic realm which is very real and Jesus states in Ps. 91, “I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy and nothing shall by any means harm you”.  Praise the Lord.

In conclusion, I would like to state that Jesus, the word of God, Son of God, Light of the World, our Creator, came into this world with a unique purpose and Jesus fulfilled this purpose for our lives.

This interview has helped me to realize that whatever our views in theology, as long as we believe that Jesus is the Son of God, born of the virgin Mary, was crucified for our sins and rose again from the dead, we will be saved.  Not everyone is a Baptist, not everyone is a strong charismatic, not everyone is a Methodist, not everyone is an Anglican, but everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved as John 3:16 states “that God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in him shall not perish but have everlasting life”.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Williams, J. Rodman, 1990, Renewal Theology, Michigan, Zondervan

Martin Luther

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Martin Luther is associated with the doctrine of justification by faith alone.  What did he mean by this?  What were the alternatives he rejected.

Martin Luther was born on 10 November 1483 in Eisleben, Germany.  Martin Luther was ordained as a priest in 1507.  In 1512, he earned a doctorate of theology degree.

According to Gary Thomas, “it was in response to teaching such as this that Luther performed perhaps the most influential religious act of the millennium when he nailed 95 theses on the Wittenberg church door on 31 October, 1517.  This date is often celebrated as the birthday of the protestant reformation”.  Luther married Catherine Von Bora, a former Cistercian nun, on 13 June, 1525.  Martin Luther believed that we were justified by God through faith alone, not by good works.  The holy spirit enlightened Martin Luther on the doctrine of justification.  “he put scripture above church tradition and stressed personal faith and experience.”

Luther died in 1546 in Eiselben.  According to Gary Thomas, “Protestantism was legally recognized nearly seven years later in the treaty of Passau in 1552”.

Martin Luther, Father of Protestantism.  Martin Luther was of medium build.  He was slender, not thin, and he had a clear voice.  Martin Luther seems to have had a happy disposition.  Martin Luther was vehement in his beliefs and he said “I am bound not only to assert, but to defend the truth with my blood and death.  I want to believe freely and be a slave to the authority of noone, whether council, university or pope.  I will confidently confess what appears to me to be true, whether it has been asserted by a catholic or a heretic, whether it has been approved or reproved by a council”.

Martin Luther was willing to give up his life for his beliefs.  The truth that Martin Luther so vehemently believed in was revealed to him by the holy spirit, who guided Martin Luther through the reformation which leaned towards all that was true and right and that truth was the infallible word of God.

R. C. Sproul asks “does saving faith require a trust in the righteousness of Christ alone as the grounds of our justification?  Or may a person have a different view of the gospel and still be a Christian?”

What is justification?  According to Merril C. Tenney , general editor of the Pictorial Bible Dictionary, p. 460, “justification is a reversal of God’s attitude toward the sinner because of his new relation in Christ;  justification is a declarative act by which the sinner is declared to be free from guilt and the consequences of sin’.

R. C. Sproul, p. 19, says “the logic followed by the reformers is this.

  1. Justification by faith alone is essential to the gospel.
  2. The gospel is essential to Christianity and to salvation.
  3. The gospel is essential to a church’s being a true church.
  4. To reject justification by faith alone is to reject the gospel and to fall as a church.’

According to Mike Butterworth, p. 14, “the verb translated ‘justify’ is derived from the noun sedeq – righteousness.  It is a causative form and we should expect it to mean ‘cause to be righteous, make righteous’.”

Steve Motyer, p. 45, states “the law itself had a demonstrably temporary nature, Paul believes.  So that the law was our custodian until Christ came, that we might be justified by faith.  (Gal. 3:24)”

I personally believe that man is justified, made righteous, by faith.  When a person accepts God ‘our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ’ enters his heart.  This person is made righteous and declared not guilty.  If we draw an eschatological diagram we see that justification plays a vital role in the eschatology of the believer.

James Atkinson asks “is justification by faith, then, the key to the bible?  Not in the sense of being a critical canon for judging its meaning and truth but it does give interpreters perspective, for it shows us that the God of the Bible is the God whose constant and proper work is justifying sinners by grace”.  Therefore justification by grace is the stability for our present and the hope for our future.

Now let us look into the controversial resolutions between the Roman Catholic and evangelical dialogues on justification.  One of their quotations was “we see justification by faith alone as an essential of the gospel on which radical disagreement continues, and we deny the adequacy of any version of the gospel that falls short at this point”.  The Roman Catholics and the evangelicals agree that justification is by grace.  The Roman Catholics, however, disagree that justification is by faith.  The Roman Catholics say, according to R. C. Sproul “Again Rome has always insisted that faith is a necessary condition for justification.  What they denied historically is that it is a sufficient condition.  The information was waged, not over the question of justification by faith, but over the issue of justification by faith alone.  It was sola of sola fide that was the central point of dispute”.

What did Martin Luther mean by justification and what was his doctrine?  R. C. Sproul says “For Martin Luther, justification by faith alone means that justification is by the righteousness of Christ alone, and his righteousness is appropriated by faith alone”.  R. C. Sproul goes on to say “the word alone was a solecism on which the entire reformation doctrine of justification was erected”.  Therefore, the pillar or the foundation of the doctrine of justification is that a person is justified by grace and “faith alone” in Jesus Christ.

According to Martin Luther, “if the article of justification is lost, all Christian doctrine is lost at the same time”.  According to John Calvin, “the doctrine of justification is the principal ground on which religion must be supported”.  J. I. Packer comments on Luther’s formula articulus stantis et cadentis ecclesiae:  “by this he meant when this doctrine is understood, believed and preached, or it is in the new testament times, the church stands in the grace of God and is alive, but where it is neglected, overlaid or denied, as it was in the medieval Catholicism, the church falls from grace and its life drains away leaving it in a state of darkness and death.  The reason why the reformation happened and protestant churches came into being was that Luther and his fellow reformers believed that Papal Rome had apostatized from the gospel”.

According to R. C. Sproul, the doctrinal causes for reformation were:

Formal Cause Material Cause
Latin name Sola Scriptura Sola fide
Translation Scripture alone Faith alone
Explanation Scripture is the sole authority in doctrinal matters. Justification is by grace alone through faith alone.

Luther stated “A Christian is righteous and holy by an alien or foreign holiness.  I call it this for the sake of instruction – that is, he is righteous by the mercy and grace of God”.

John Calvin says “It is entirely by the intervention of Christ’s righteousness that we obtain justification before God.  This is equivalent to saying that man is not just in himself, but that the righteousness of Christ is communicated to him by imputation, while he is strictly deserving of punishment.”

Therefore the doctrine of justification is that man is justified by Christ only by the grace of God and only by faith in God.  Man is therefore now not under law but under grace.

The Second Heluetic of 1556 is very explicit in affirming the same truth:  “But because we receive this justification not through works, but through faith in the mercy of God and in Christ, we therefore teach and believe with the apostle that sinful man is justified by faith alone in Christ not by the law or any works”.

Therefore, justification can be attained by man through faith alone and not by works due to the immeasurable grace of God.

What were the alternatives that Martin Luther rejected?

  1. Aristotle’s ethics at Whittenberg.  According to Iurtitia, the work of Aristotle is that it demands a reason.  In other words, a good person has good coming his way and the contrary.  Alister McGrath states “for Luther however, justification is totally contrary to reason in that God justifies sinners”.
  1. Via Moderna:  This is the second alternative that Martin Luther rejected.  Via Moderna is that God blesses us when we do good works.  For example, when an individual sins then goes on pilgrimage, he gets a reward from God, that is forgiveness of sins committed.  In many eastern religions, especially the concept of punishing oneself or going on a pilgrimage to please the deity, is the core of Hinduism.  Through Via Moderna, pactum came into being.  Alister E. Mcgrath defines pactum as “a reliable framework within which the mutual rights and obligations of God and man have their context”.  Luther says in his lectures on Romans “because of sin, not because of human weakness, but as the penalty of sin; but your spirit, that is your inner man, is alive because of justification”.  Martin Luther was greatly influenced by Saint Augustine and realized Saint Augustine believed or came to the knowledge of justification.
  1. The understanding of Bielian was equity and justice.  Bielan says “Equity and justice are usually distinguished in the Scriptures, in that equity is concerned with persons, while justice deals with causes”.  According to Alister E. Mcgrath, “Luther however uses the term in the sense of absence of partiality.  If God judges in equity, he considers only a man’s deeds, and not who the agent actually is”.

Through the enlightenment that Martin Luther received through the word of God, we are now protestants and we have the infallible word of God in our hands.  Martin Luther in his commentary on Galatians says:  “Do we work nothing for the obtaining of this righteousness?  I answer:  Nothing at all.  For the nature of this righteousness is to do nothing, to hear nothing, to know nothing whatsoever of the law or of the works but to know and to believe this only, that Christ is gone to the father”.

In conclusion, I would like to say that Martin Luther was a man chosen by God to change history in the Christian world.  It is because of Martin Luther and his devotion and study of the Word of God that we are now able to study the Word.  The foundation of Protestantism is God working through his word.  I would like to quote A Mighty Fortress is Our God written by Martin Luther during a very difficult time in his life.  It was written in 1529.

According to Henry Gariepy, “Mired in depression, Luther turned to two of his most effective antidotes – music and scripture.  The second verse says

“Did we in our own strength confide

Our striving would be losing

Were not the right man on our side

The man of God’s own choosing.

Dost ask who that may be?

Christ Jesus, it is He.

Lord Sabaoth His name,

From age to age the same.

And He must win the battle.”

Amen.  God won the battle.  Martin Luther, the great reformer, who brought about Protestantism was an awesome, powerful instrument used by God.  The doctrine of justification brings about the essence of Christianity.  It is by grace and not works.


BIBLIOGRAPHY

A Commentary on St Paul’s Epistle to the Galations based on lectures delivered by Martin Luther, University of Whittenberg in the year 131, and first published in 1535, James Clarke & Co. Ltd London

Gariepy, Henry, Songs in the Night, Eerdman’s Publishing Co., Cambridge UK, 1996.

Glosses & Scholia, Luther’s Works, Lectures on Romans, Concordia Publishing House, Saint Louis, Missouri, 1972

MacArthur, John, Sproul, R. C., Beeke, Joel, Gerstner, John, Armstrong, John, Justification by Faith Alone, Soli Deo Gloria Publications, 2000.

McGrath, Alister E., Luther’s Theology of The Cross, Blackwell Publishers, Oxford UK, 1985.

Packer, J. I., Butterworth, M., Motyer, S., Atkinson, J., Bray, G. L., Carey, G., Wheaton, D. H., Here We Stand, Hodder and Stoughton.

Sproul, R. C., Faith Alone, Baker Books America, 1995.

Tenney, Merril C., Pictorial Bible Dictionary, Michigan, Zondervan, 1963.

My Shopping List

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My husband told me he was going shopping to our departmental store and asked me what I would like and this is what I said,

1. A bag of humility

2. A fresh carton of tenderness

3. A bunch of sweetness

4. A big bag of understanding the word of God

5. A bottle of joy that bubbles over as we shake it

6. A fresh packet of thankfulness

7. A bar of gentleness

8. A yard ofpeace

9. A carton of faith

10. A blanket of love

11. A dozen prayers for loved ones and friends

12. A camping tent of laughter

13. A baseball bat of fun

14. A piano of practice

15. Two shirts of praise

A house of prayer and before you go darling give me a kiss of commitment.

On Being Black

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On Being Black

A little boy sitting all alone, no one to play with

Children running around him, few stop to call him names

Others just ignore him

Bewildered, this little boy looks at his hands

They are as dark as the earth around him

He looks at the children who are playing

It is then that it dawns, he is a different colour

He goes home and says

No one to play with, no one cares for me at school

People call me black and a fool

Why is it Mummy? Have I done something wrong ?

Or is it because I am black ?

A little girl smiled at me yesterday

I gave her a pretty flower

She said ‘Thank you’ as she looked up

Her mother dragged her away and told her not to talk to me

Mummy, is it because I am black?

I went walking home the other day

And there a group of boys punched me

Beat me and called me names

Then they stabbed me, I remembered no more

God, is it because I am black?

I walked through the pearly gates

Angry with God for making me black

Black as the soil of the earth

Curious to see this God who made people black and white

I looked into his eyes filled with pain, anger and grief

God, why did you make me black ?

He looked into my eyes

Tears rolling down his cheeks as he hugged me

Knowing now He felt the pain that I felt

He looked at me again

Holding my shoulders he said

“Son, I too was black”.

Why I feel called to serve God

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I want to be a servant of God,

You may ask me why,

That is between God and me and nothing can destroy,

The love of God for me.

He saved me from the pangs of death when I was about to die,

For He has a purpose and this purpose is I

I wrote this poem on August  1989 when I was 10 years old.

My father Rev Rajkumar Sathyaraj in 1989 was the spritual co-ordinator to about 2000 students in an engineering college called Karunya in Coimbatore India. This college was started by one of the greatest evangelists that India had ever known  Late Bro D. G. S. Dhinakaran. This college was situated in a beautiful country side surrounded by mountains and lovely green fields.

Dad usually spoke at the Sunday evening service. That remarkable and special sunday in August my dad urged the young people to give their lives in serving the Almighty to go out to the communities, to their cities, to the mission field and as many teary eyed young people re- dedicated their lives in serving God I was one of them. From that moment on the passion to serve God grew in my heart.

As I grew up I got involved in serving God at the Sunday school of our church called St Mark’s Cathedral in Bangalore India, I also got very involved in Campus Crusade for Christ in Bangalore India and I went about to little huts trying to explain the four spiritual laws to the people living in these huts  in my broken tamil always fitting in an English word now and again to the words that slipped my mind in my language.But God was merciful and many people asked me to pray for them so in my broken Tamil with English rushing to my rescue to words that evaded my bilingual mind.They understood my prayer and I had to hope that God touched their heart.

God brought me through failure in my final exam in school when I failed by 5 marks in mathematics they sent my paper for re-evaluation but it did not work I got A’s in English, Home science  and History but because of this failure in maths I had to redo my exams it was a terribly humiliating process but I spent more and more time at the feet of Jesus and sometimes I would be be awake almost the whole night talking to Jesus I had a prayer mat as big as a carpet in my room and I had two pillows I gave Jesus the better pillow to rest on and I would kneel on the not so soft pillow and just talk as I would talk to my best friend and confidate.And I would hear God speaking to my heart or being urged to read a particular verse in scripture.I eventually passed and moved on to university and then to Sweden.

In Sweden I joined the street mission and sang on the streets alone with my British friend Natile Chen and I aslo devoleped a  few fans during my street mission and was able to minister to a lot of people on the streets in the cold swedish climate. I remember one time singing in the street and this couple was kissing right in front of me I guess they liked my music 🙂 but it was difficult to sing with a straight face.

So I still feel called to serve God and He knows the future and the commitment I made at 10 years of age 20 years ago has not gone waste. God still remembers me and I know that He the Mighty God will open the right doors at the right time.

Romans 8 :28 says For we know that all things work togather for good to them that love God to them that are called according to His purpose.

A lot of bad too had happened in my life like my depression that struck me out of the blue but you know what God has been faithful and helped me through it and has healed me and still is healing me of the residue of the roots of this sickness.

Jer 29 :11 For I know the plans I have for you plans for good and not for evil plans to give you a future and a hope.

God has a plan , a purpose, and a call in every believer’s life it is up to us to either accept his call or reject it.

I urge you accept His call and watch Him use you and bless you for the extension of His Kingdom on earth.

Amen

Why did the authors write the Bible

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In the beginning was the  word and the word was with God and the word was God. John 1:1

The authors under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit wrote these books. These books were written so that man might read the word of God and be inspired.
Hear the word of God and interpret. Interpret the word of God and receive revelation.

The bible inspired by the Holy Spirit written by mortal man so as to build a bridge of revelation between man and God. This bridge being our Lord Jesus Christ. So that man might comprehend the word and accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour of their lives.

The whole word revolves around one significant figure that is the Messiah Jesus Christ . Jesus Christ is the fulfilment of prophecy.

Why did the authors write ?  God knowing the heart of man, knowing the troubles of man gave us the gift of His word through His servants to write this awesome word called the Bible.

The Bible is for every individual offering the forgiveness of sins and eternal life through Christ. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.  John 3:16
God wants the world to enjoy eternal life in His presence in out of His manifold love. The Bible signifies one word that word is love .  Love for the world given to us through His word . Why did the authors write ? The author wrote because of God’s love for mankind . That  love came in the form of His Son Jesus. Accept Jesus and receive eternal life in Christ.