Bible4u.info

Dr. Silas C. Nair

The Bible is the special revelation of God to mankind. Every word and all words of the Bible are inspired of God. The first part of this Judeo-Christian revelation was handled by the Jews with reverence. With the coming of the Lord the revelation was complete and today we have the full revelation of God in written form and divine provision to teach the word.

The Word has to be handled with reverence even today. We have the warning of Apostle James: “My brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation”. In spite of this many interpret the word without care or reason. Let us take note of the warning.

“I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matt.16.18). These were the words of the Lord Jesus to Apostle Peter and other disciples. This is true and the attacks of the enemy against the Lord or His bride will not prevail. Yet the apostles, Peter and Paul, warned us that the enemy will attack us from within and we should guard against it.

Church history teaches us important lessons. I quote: “In Ephesus we see the first point of departure, leaving their “first love” — the heart slipping away from Christ, and from the enjoyment of His love. In Smyrna the Lord allowed the saints to be cast into the furnace, that the progress of declension might be stayed. They were persecuted by the heathen. By means of these trials Christianity revived; the gold was purified; the saints held fast the name and the faith of Christ. Thus was Satan defeated; and the Lord so ruled that the emperors, one after the other, in the most humiliating and mortifying circumstances, publicly confessed their defeat. But in Pergamos the enemy changes his tactics. In place of persecution from without, there is seduction from within. Under Diocletian he was the roaring lion; under Constantine he is the deceiving serpent. Pergamos is the scene of Satan’s flattering power; he is within the church. In Smyrna he is outside as an adversary, in Pergamos he is inside as a seducer”. This was exactly what took place under Constantine. (Church History, by Andrew Miller, p.261)

Paul told the Ephesian elders that after his departure ‘shall grievous wolves enter in among you’ and “also of your own selves shall men arise speaking perverse things” (Acts 20.29,30). Peter also warned of “false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them” (2 Pet.2.1).

The enemy is so subtle and persistent. Those who are in the oversight should ever be vigilant and should “take heed unto themselves and also take heed unto to the flock of God”, and should also take heed unto the doctrine”

In this small article I would like to point out two areas of teaching we should be careful about. One is the attack against the person of Christ and the other against the work of Christ.

Is Jesus Eternal

The angel of the Lord appeared unto Joseph in a dream and told him “that which is conceived in the womb of Mary is of the Holy Spirit, and thou shall call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins” (Matt.1.20,21). This, the angel pointed out is the fulfillment of the prophecy of virgin birth of Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.

The angel of the Lord told the shepherds that “unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord” (LK.2.11). The angel told Mary that this child is the ‘Son of God’. Isaiah wrote: this “child born…the Son given is the Everlasting Father” (or Father of eternity)(Isa.9.6). What does this mean? How can the child and the son be called ‘father of eternity’. On a cursory reading it would appear that the Son was from eternity.

Jabal is called the father of such as dwell in tents and Jubal, the father of all such as handle the harp and organ (Gen.4.20,21). This cannot be true literally. The meaning would appear to be that with these brothers originated ‘dwelling in tents’ and “harp and organ’ players. Likewise Satan is called the father of lies (Jn.8.44). Lie originated with Satan. Likewise eternity originated with the Son. Son is eternal.

John begins gospel of the Son of God with the words “In the beginning was the word”. He cannot go beyond this point because beyond this there is no point. This speaks of the eternality of the Word. When Jesus Christ told the Pharisees, “before Abraham was I am” (Jn.8.58) they took up stones to cast at him. The Pharisees understood it to mean that Jesus claimed to be the Great I AM THAT I AM (Ex.3.14), Jehovah,  the self existent, non-dependent on any. He claimed to be eternal.

In His High Priestly prayer Jesus Christ prayed: “O Father, glorify thou with me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was” (Jn.17.5).

“Before the world was” – Albert Barns comments: “There could not be a more distinct and clear declaration of the pre-existence (meaning eternal existence) of Christ than this. It means before the creation of the world; before there was any world.  Of course, the speaker here must have existed then, and this is equivalent to saying that he existed from eternity.  See Jn.1:1; 6:62; 3:13 Jn. 16:28.  The glory which he had then was that which was proper to the Son of God, represented by the expression being in the bosom of the Father (Jn. 1:18), denoting intimacy, friendship, united felicity”. Jesus is eternal.

(In the next posts:  Is Jesus God, If yes, why is he called the "Son" of God; Why did Jesus say that he does not do anything of his own; Why did Jesus say that He did not know the time of His second coming? The writer welcomes any question on the Person and work of Christ, if it is for the edification of believers).

Dr. Silas Nair is a Bible Expositor based in Kochi. He writer welcomes question on the Person and work of Christ, if it is for the edification of believers. Emails can be sent to him using,  SilasCNair@Bible4u.info

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