The Life and Light of Jesus

I've been thinking about my life when others get around me.  Could it be that they only see me, or can they see Jesus in me?  That's a loaded question that each of us should be concerned about.  It reminds me of the old question ... "If you were arrested for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?"

So, while I'm just talking over some things, I want to look at what "life" is, or what His life in us should be, so that Jesus can be seen in us.  Do you know why we get not only our hands dirty, but our soul as well?  It's because we are made of dirt.  Yep ... you're dirt.  So am I.

Genesis 2:7 … "Then the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath or spirit of life, and man became a living being."  (Amplified)

In the original translation, the K.J.V. should read like this …"And the LORD (Jehovah) God (Elohiym) formed (squeezed into shape) man of the dust (clay) of the ground, and breathed (to puff, or blow) into his nostrils the breath (Nesh-a-mah or wind/spirit/inspiration) of life; and man became a living soul (Nephesh or breathing creature)."    

I assume the creator had to make the dry dirt into moldable clay to form man.  I wonder if He did the same thing Jesus did in John 9:6 when He spit into the dirt and made mud before He placed it on the blind man's eyes.  Could it be that Jesus remembered spitting into the dust of the earth to make clay when He formed Adam from the dust of the earth?  Yes, I believe Jesus is the creator.

In John 1:3, the disciple is speaking about Jesus when he says … "All things were made and came into existence through Him; and without Him was not even one thing made that has come into being."  (Amp.) 

Would I be correct in my thinking if I combine Genesis 2:7 with John 1:3 and come to the conclusion that Jesus has and gives the breath of life to men?  Job seemed to believe this as well.  Compare ...

Job 27:3 … "All the while my breath (wind) is in me, and the spirit of God is in my nostrils …"   (Hebrew for spirit is "ruach" or breath)

Job 33:4 … "The Spirit (ruach or breath) of God hath made me, and the breath (wind) of the Almighty hath given me life."

Man is a compound being, having a body, spirit and soul created separately ... the body out of the dust of the earth, and the spirit, breathed into him by God, making him a living soul.  It's just as Job declared ... "the breath of the Almighty hath given me life."
   
This proves that the soul and body are not the same thing.  The body comes from the earth and will decompose and go back to the earth … dust to dust.  When we take our last breath, we die and our spirit then leaves our body as we exhale for the last time.  The spirit of man, the life and breath that God breathed into us will go back to God whenever He gives the command to do so.  I like to think that our breath is just on loan to us.

As I have been speaking about the natural life the Lord has breathed into us, I am reminded of the time Jesus breathed upon His disciples and said unto them in John 20:22 ... "Receive ye the Holy Ghost."  By doing so, I believe Jesus was imparting more of His spiritual life unto them, the life changing power of His Holy Spirit they would need to begin building the Church of Jesus Christ around the world.

There is "life" in the breath of Jesus.  Has He breathed on you or just in you?

John speaks of himself as the disciple Jesus loved.  It's almost like John seemed to know who Jesus was before the others.  It's as if he had a closer relationship with Jesus than the rest of them.  Jesus did tell John to take care of His mother Mary before He died.

In John 1:4, he is the one who says ... "In Him was Life, and the Life was the Light of men."

Jesus is declared to be "life" because He is the source of life.  This attribute of …"life"… both physical and spiritual, came from "Him," the One who created all things.  The One who breathed the spirit of "life" into man … was Jesus … and John declares this with his very first sentence … 

John 1:1 … "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."

If that first verse isn't perfectly clear to those who would read his written words, John leaves no doubt a few verses later in ...

John 1:14 …"And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us …"
 
These two verses can only speak of one man … and that man is "Jesus."


The Life and Light of Jesus ... will be continued in Part II.

From the Kingdom Mom

I read this post the other day from Karen Cooper, on her blog ... "The Kingdom Mom."

Karen has wonderfully insightful Bible studies that really say something ... not just taking up space ... like some of mine have done in the past.  This is one of those.  It is entitled ...

WHAT MAKES YOU ... YOU?

Jesus asked his disciples who men thought he was. While some thought him to be a teacher or a prophet, Peter declared in Matthew 16:16 ... "You are the Christ the Son of the Living God."

That’s who Jesus was and is and always will be.

We all have a name. Or something that defines us.

Who do people think you are? What names define you?

I’ve had a few throughout my life. I advanced from one stage to the next as daughter, wife, mother, mother-in-law and grandmother.

EACH NEW STATUS REQUIRED A NEW NAME.

My progression of identity was based on the family God put around me. Yet I have a greater identity than what my cherished family provides. It’s found in my relationship with Jesus Christ. He tells me who I really am.

I AM THE ONE JESUS LOVES.

One of the disciples of Jesus assigned himself that title. John knew Jesus loved others, but he often referred to himself as THE ONE Jesus loved.

You and I can claim that identity as well when we come to Christ.

I love the new worship song that simply describes who God is and who we are.

"You’re a Good, Good Father. THAT’S WHO YOU ARE.
And I’m loved by You. THAT’S WHO I AM."

Our good works do not define us. Nor do our failures. Being loved by Jesus is our identity. All because of what Jesus has done for us on the Cross. If we will believe and receive.

Someday we will have a new name. It’s a mystery described in the book of Revelation.

"I will also give him a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to him who receives it."  Rev. 2:17

Commentaries explain that a white stone represented many things. Sometimes it proclaimed a person’s innocence when brought to trial. It also provided admission to banquets. It gave the holder their identity. Proof they belonged. I love that imagery.

As believers in Jesus Christ, we are proclaimed innocent. We are made white as snow when we confess Jesus as Lord of our lives.

King David prayed ... "Wash me and I will be whiter than snow."  Psalm 51:7

Our new name will be engraved on that white stone. Our identity will provide entrance into the Great Banquet. Who am I?

I am the one Jesus loves.

Who are you?


The easiest way to find Karen is on her Facebook page ...

https://www.facebook.com/pages/KingdomMomcom/123391564504544

As God

Is there an answer to this question I have asked many times in the past ... "Did Jesus use faith when He performed miracles such as healing people or raising the dead?"

I've thought about that often and even spoke to that subject in one of my earlier blog posts.  While discussing with Peggy one of our Pastor's Sunday sermons, the Lord dropped a new thought into my heart ... at least it was new to me.

I had years ago come to the conclusion that Jesus was God ... just wrapped in human flesh from Mary.  And as God, He had the power and authority to do whatever His Father told Him to do.  Jesus said something like ... "If you have seen Me, you've seen the Father."  Also ... "No man takes my life ... I have the power to lay it down, and I have the power to take it up again." Etc.

Understand, I believe that God cannot be less than He is ... even if He is in a body of flesh as Jesus was.  And the opposite then is also true ... He cannot become greater than He already is, meaning, nothing can be added to Him. 

So, that is where I am coming from when I ask ... "Did Jesus need faith to perform miracles?"

As God ... no.  But as man ... yes He did.  Here's what was dropped into my heart.

The only "faith" Jesus needed, was to "believe" that even as a man ... He was God. 

Jesus as an adolescent, had to learn that He was God as He grew into a man.  Yes, He was with God in the beginning as "the Word of God" (John 1:1) before He became "flesh" (John 1:14) and was born of Mary.  But now He was one of us.  So my mind wonders ... when did Jesus first know who He was after He was born as a human? 

The first Adam was created as a fully developed man.  He had no childhood, although he probably had a learning curve.  The Apostle Paul states in (1st Corinthians 15:45) that Jesus was the last Adam, but He was born as a normal baby and had to learn and grow as all children have to.  Yes, He was God even then ... just miniaturized down to about 8 pounds or so ... therefore He had to wait until His body grew and He matured before assuming His characteristic Godly nature. 

Notice Isaiah 7:14-16 ... "Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.  Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good.  For before the child shall know to refuse the evil, and choose the good ..."

This is speaking of Jesus as a child and expresses the truth of His human nature and how He would be brought up as other Hebrew children were.  Ignorance of good and evil denotes a designated time, perhaps infancy to the age of accountability.

Allow me to let my mind run a little here.  Let's go back to when Jesus was a child. 

This Jewish boy eventually starts thinking that He is God.  After all, He is, right?  So this kid starts thinking along those lines and asks His mother all these strange questions about Himself.  "Mom, how come I don't sin and get into trouble like other kids?" ... or whatever questions they might have been.  He had to know He was different.  We also know that by the age of twelve He already knew who He was and was found teaching in the Temple. (Luke 2:42-52)

Just as we have a human spirit or (the heart and soul) within us, Jesus also had a human spirit within Him.  But I believe that His human spirit was not really the same as we have been given.  I believe that the heart and soul of Jesus was the Holy Spirit.  As God, that would have to be.  If you believe in the Trinity, the Three in One ... God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit ... that seems logical to me.

I believe the titles, the Holy Spirit, the Holy Ghost and the Spirit of Christ, as referred to in the Scriptures, are all one and the same.  The Apostle Paul spoke of the Spirit of Christ as being the One who takes up residence in our hearts.  (Romans 8:9-10)

If Jesus was God, and I believe He was, therefore ... as God ... He had all the faith within His soul already, so that nothing was impossible with Him.  But some would say that Jesus emptied Himself of all that was God when He was born of Mary.  I don't think so.  If that was so, that means Jesus was just a man; and if just a man, how could He say not only ... "Take up thy bed and walk," but also, "Thy sins be forgiven thee" ... for even the scribes said, "Only God can forgive sin."  (Mark 2:5-12)    

I am not presenting this as some new doctrine.  Just some food for thought.  It may just be too much sugar or my mind running amuck.

Blessings ...



Comments are welcome.