Jesus, the Revelation of God

In the gospel, God has revealed Himself in Christ Jesus (Colossians 1:15). He has done this so that there might be no mistake about who He is. There need be no speculation concerning what He is like.

 God is not some vague spirit being out there Who chooses to conceal Himself. He is not a God Who refuses to or is unable to communicate with us. One of the astonishing truths discovered in the gospel is that Christ Jesus is the revelation of God.  He is fully God and fully man.  He is in the Father, and the Father in Him (John 10:38).  It is in Christ alone that we see the exegesis ( full declaration) of God (John 1:18). In Jesus Christ, we have the express image of the Father’s person (Hebrews 1:3). Christ is the crossroads between heaven and earth. Don’t think for a moment that it was an angel or a created dignitary who went to the cross for sinners. A good man would not have had the strength to bear our sins. A created angel could never save depraved and fallen rebels … our sin was too great.  So what is God like? Is He humble? Yes, He is; one look at the feeding trough in which Jesus lay after He was born shows us that. Is God Holy? Yes, He is, one look at Jesus cleansing the Temple confirms His holiness. Is God gracious?  Yes, He is, Christ’s conversation with the adulterous woman who was hijacked and dragged before Him demonstrates that (John 8). Is God compassionate? Yes, He is. The Lord Jesus on the Mount of Olives weeping for Jerusalem displays that. Is God loving and yet just? Yes, He is, the Lord Jesus, at the cross, “hanging,” as Stephen Charnock says, “between heaven and earth like a disinherited son” makes that clear. Is God powerful? Yes, He is; the empty tomb fully illustrates that.  Christ is the revelation of God. If we, like Philip, say, "Show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us;" He answers, "Have I been so long time with you, and yet you have not known me? He that has seen me has seen the Father." (John 14:8-9).  When we look at Christ, it’s as if the Father says, “I have nothing further at this time to reveal about Myself than that which I have revealed in My Son. Look unto Him and you will find Me.”  Jesus is the way to know the Father, and no one comes to an understanding of the Father but by Him (John 14:6).  Too often we use that verse (John 14:6) merely as an evangelism verse and yes, it is indeed a good verse to use when talking to the unbeliever, but it also a verse that helps us grow in our knowledge of God.  Listen to what it tells us. It declares that only in Christ Jesus can we comprehend, see and come to an understanding of the Father. Jesus is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn (pre-eminent one) over all creation (Colossians 1:15).A little boy looked into the sky and asked his mother, "Is God up there?" When she assured him that He was, the youngster replied, "Wouldn't it be nice if He would put His head out and let us see Him once in a while?"What the boy didn't understand was that God has indeed let us see Him in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. We no longer have to guess what God is like. By Christ coming to earth as a man, the heavenly Father revealed Himself.  Jesus was and is God "manifested in the flesh." (I Timothy 3:16).Christ made this point clear when He said to Philip, "He who has seen Me has seen the Father" (John 14:9). God has shown us what He is like.  God Himself left heaven's glory and came to earth to be born of a virgin.  In fact, He was the One by whom "all things were created" and in whom "all things consist" (Colossians 1:16-17).Looking into the face of our Saviour, we can see displayed the holi­ness, grace, and love of our eternal, heavenly Father. This realization makes us rejoice, for we are gazing at God, Who stepped out of heaven and came to this earth. Jesus Christ is Imman­uel, God with us! “While some on their own works rely,And some of wisdom boast,I love the incarnate Mystery,And there I fix my trust.”  And that’s the Gospel Truth!


-preacher D G Miles McKee

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