Last night we began a series of studies looking at the revelation of Jesus in scripture and what it tells us about God, ourselves, and life. The notes a re a little sparse, but here they are:
Scriptures & Implications:
John 1:1-4, 14, 17-18 – Christ “declares” God. He who is God reveals God in a unique way.
John 14:6-10 – If you’ve seen Jesus, you’ve seen the father
Hebrews 1:1-3 – Jesus is the exact image of the father.
1. God doesn’t hide away. He has revealed himself. (more on this later.)
2. The fullest revelation of God is in the person Jesus. (more on this later.)
3. Jesus images the father. To see him is to see the father. (He is not the father, but he is the perfect representation of him in human form.)
4. Any other revelation from God, Jesus fulfills and completes. He is the fullest and final revelation.
John 12:44-45 – if you believe Jesus, you believe God. If you see Jesus, you see the Father.
Luke 10:21-22 – only Jesus reveals the Father.
5. Anyone that claims to have a knowledge of God and ignores or belittle Jesus is wrong. They do not have any true knowledge of God. (See John 5:36-39)
2 Cor 4:3-6 – The Glory of God shines in the face of Christ, who is the image of God
6. If a person hears about Jesus, and doesn’t see the glory of God, it is an indication of spiritual blindness.
Summing it up:
1.
The problem with knowing God is that he’s…God. He’s infinite, and we’re finite.
This creates an issue, because how could we, with our finite brains, ever know anything infinite?
The answer is that we couldn’t, except in a remote, vague way, maybe.
But if God, reveals himself to us, then we can.
But he does more than that…because in order for us to know God, we have to think about God from a point in God, and not just a point in our own minds.
Jesus is “in God” — the father is in him and he in the father.
By becoming a man, he creates an overlap between God and humanity.
So he reveals the very being of God to us.
So we can really know God.
2.
We don’t just worship God. We worship God who revealed himself in Christ.
As Jesus said, he is the only access to the Father. You can’t know God and avoid Jesus, and you can’t get to God by going around Jesus. You have to go through him. You must call him Lord and trust him to forgive your sins because he died in your place and paid your debt. And when you do, you get God, for real. (There’s no other, unknown God behind Jesus’ back.)
SO…and when you think about God, starting with Jesus is the only way to go. You can’t start with your own mind or thoughts. – 1 John 5:20