Jesus Christ (eBook)

A SOLID FOUNDATION

For no one can lay any other foundation than that which has been laid, which is JESUS CHRIST.

PAUL

When he, the Spirit of truth, has come, he will guide you into all truth, for he will not speak from himself; but whatever he hears, he will speak. He will declare to you things that are coming.

JESUS CHRIST

Before we start, we should pause and consider briefly that if books represent “teaching in the form of print”, then Paul’s maxim really does show us which way to go, as the word suggests. Paul was only willing to talk to the congregation after receiving a revelation, a specific teaching or some other form of enlightenment to share with the brethren (1 Corinthians 14:6). He only shared the most significant of these and then only with those who were already following CHRIST. All unbelievers were presented with the dramatic, and yet convincing message of the Cross, coupled with the urgent plea to repent and convert. Paul was well aware of the fact that he should only – or indeed could only address certain topics as a Christian to other Christians. A person can possess sound or even superior powers of understanding, but if they are not disciples of JESUS CHRIST, the Bible and its inspired Word of God usually remains completely incomprehensible for them, sometimes even repellent (1 Corinthians 1:18). The Spirit of Truth alone is capable of opening the human mind to things divine (John 14:17). For that very reason, this book was written exclusively for Christians.

Esteemed reader, should you have not yet found a living Faith in JESUS CHRIST, God’s only Son, then please lay this book aside. It will not only be uninformative; it will most probably also be puzzling. It would be more to your advantage if you were to read the original Book of Books – perhaps The Gospel According to John. The Bible satisfies curiosity and the need to discover new facts. JESUS CHRIST Himself affirms: “If anyone desires to do His (God’s) will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or if I am speaking from myself.” (John 7:17).

Dear reader, if you are already following JESUS CHRIST, you are most welcome to read further. The teachings in this book will provide you with new food for thought, they will hopefully enrich your spiritual environment and help to advance your Faith. One very encouraging verse tells us: “But he who is spiritual discerns all things” (1 Corinthians 2:15). If readers and author have that Spirit in common, then this work will be successful and fulfil its purpose.

For those of us who are well versed in the world of computers, here is another way of putting it: In the Bible we are dealing with information which has been coded by the Holy Spirit. The Bible assures us that no-one has ever spoken (or written) one single Word of or from God or through their own inspiration (2 Peter 1:21). The input is always from God. The Bible is perfectly correct to speak about itself saying: “Every Scripture is God-breathed and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness, that each person who belongs to God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16). This is true because God’s Word is effective. Thus decoding the Word with active help from the Holy Spirit is, and will continue to be, the task and goal of every Christian.

We should therefore perhaps stress this fact once more right at the beginning of the book: No-one who believes in JESUS CHRIST has ever understood the

Bible using their own intelligence or understanding. Understanding the Word of God is a gift bestowed on mortals by the Holy Spirit; starting with the acknowledgement of our own state of sin and the accompanying realisation that God’s redeeming Love overcomes all things. God’s Love shines like a bright light in our darkness. We encounter JESUS CHRIST not as a judge, but as a saviour. We become filled with Faith and Truth. When they have passed through the “needle’s eye” of genuine repentance and conversion, the Spirit of Truth takes up His abode in the believer and begins the work of sanctification, giving them many very individual gifts of the Spirit (Please see 1 Corinthians 12). The newly-born Christian may, in fact should, now strive to gain practice in the use of their spiritual gifts.

God, in His infinite wisdom, arranged for the Bible to contain ever reoccurring “training sequences”. We discover illustrated examples to help us understand God’s Word the way He means it. The Parable of the Sower is a good example (Matthew 13:1-23). We will now read it together, and then interpret it:

Including this parable in the Bible was, of course fully intentionally on God’s part, and in no way accidental; a little later JESUS explains the parable to His disciples:

The inclusion of JESUS’s interpretation is, again, completely intentional and by no means accidental. What does this mean for us in this day and age? Quite simply that we are all designated to learn how the Scriptures are to be interpreted. We all are invited to experience in a realistic and gripping way just how JESUS CHRIST explained and gave meaning to inspired Words (in this case a parable) for the benefit of others.

Theologians call this phenomenon – somewhat theorizingly – “The Golden Rule”. The Golden Rule claims that “the Scriptures interpret themselves!” If we are to imitate our LORD and Saviour in all ways, then we must learn the heavenly trade of exegesis for ourselves. Joseph was a carpenter, and JESUS learnt that same craft, in the same way we can learn heavenly “carpentry” and help to build God’s Kingdom.

As soon as we have seen this remarkable fact clearly, a further uplifting thought will follow. We “modern-day” Christians are supposed to be learning all the same Truths that the disciples learned hundreds of years ago. JESUS CHRIST is no less our “Rabbi” than theirs. The exact same Gospel is there for all Christians – neither a higher one, nor a lower one, not different in any aspect. When we get down to it, what counts is that we grasp the meaning of the unchanging Truths to be found in the Scriptures, that we internalize them, that we live according to them and that we protect, defend and preserve them (John 17:17 and Jude 1:3). As we continue our journey of life and learning, we will soon notice that each step leads to new and uncharted waters. We will not reach the end in...