Who Jesus Is

Wednesday, December 19, 2018

Philippians 2:3-11: Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who though He was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

There is No Doubt:
If you had any doubts as to who Jesus is, consider those doubts done away with. This is clear. Jesus is not just a man. Jesus is not just a "miracle worker." Jesus is not a nice man trying to do the right thing and got caught up in the politics of the day. 

Jesus is God, sent from heaven. Jesus is both God and man at the same time. Jesus obeyed God the Father right to the cross. Jesus bore the curse of dying on a cross so that we would not have to. Jesus died so that we would live. 

Therefore God the Father exalted Jesus, Y'shua, Joshua, "the one who saves," because of the humility that is Jesus. The Son of God and Son of Man set aside the power, majesty, and glory that is being God, and became nothing for you and me. Because of Jesus, we have the glory of God.

What Do We Do?
What else? We see Jesus as He truly is. Jesus is God. Jesus is man. Jesus saved us from ourselves, our ego, our pride, our arrogance, our "manifest destiny" of greatness, and takes us down "a few notches." Jesus helps us see ourselves with humility. In that humility comes confession, repentance, and forgiveness. 

And in that forgiveness we see God's grace flowing through us. No longer do we act solely to benefit ourselves. We see the needs of others more clearly. We grace and mercy that comes from God the Father through Jesus. We see that life of service that was given to us and, to use the phrase, we "pay it forward."

So...
When we experience Christmas, let us experience it with love, mercy, grace, and forgiveness. 

---