It is all about Jesus

It all about Jesus!
The question that every person will have to answer regarding their life on earth is what did you do with the knowledge of Jesus? Jesus asked his disciples this very important question.
13 When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?” 14 So they said, “Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.
“Who do men say that I am?”Every person who has heard the gospel message will have to give an account for their decision whether they have accepted Christ as their Savior or rejected Him and his message. Every false religion and cult has a distorted image of Jesus.
The Muslims see Jesus as a prophet, a messenger who was sent by God but they deny his deity. They deny that he was the Son of God who died on the cross for our sins. They deny that Jesus was the final, conclusive revelation of God.
The Jehovah Witnesses believe that Jesus is a created being and that he is actually Michael the archangel. Jesus was just a man while he was on earth. He did not rise from the dead in bodily form but was a spirit. He also invisibly returned to the earth in 1914.
The Mormons believe that Jesus was our elder brother who pointed the way to salvation but is not The Way. They teach that Jesus suffered for our sins in Gethsemane providing personal salvation conditional upon our obedience to the laws and ordinances of the LDS gospel.
The Unification Church founded by Sun Myung Moon often called the Moonies believe that Jesus came to earth to marry the perfect wife so they could sexually procreate the Kingdom of God on earth and create the perfect family. But somewhere along the line Jesus got sidetracked from his original goal and got himself crucified. He failed in his mission and new Messiah was needed and Sun Myung Moon is that man.
When you examine Jesus question “Who do men say that I am?” you will find a variety of answers that do not line up with the teaching of God’s Word. The Jewish nation was one of the first nations to reject Christ as the Messiah. Saul who became Paul was a persecutor of the early church because he rejected Christ as the Messiah. He was bent on destroying the church because of his zeal for God and what he thought to be the truth. It took divine intervention on the Damascus road to change Paul’s viewpoint on Jesus. Act 9:3-6 recounts the life changing experience Saul had with Jesus.
3 As he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. 4Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” 5And he said, “Who are You, Lord?” Then the Lord said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads.” 6So he, trembling and astonished, said, “Lord, what do you want me to do?”

Jesus made it clear to Saul that he was persecuting Him, not just a group of errant believers. Jesus was dwelling in the believers, they represented him and when Saul persecuted them, he was also persecuting Jesus. It is the same today, when the Bride of Christ, His church is being persecuted, Jesus is also feeling our pain and he knows what we are going through because he is going through it with us. Jesus made the comment that it was hard for Saul to kick against the goads. This expression needs some explanation in order for us to understand what Jesus was saying to Saul. The Believer’s Study Bible gives this explanation, “Saul is pictured as an unwilling animal, such as an ox or donkey. The beast kicks vigorously at the driving goad, which may have been an extremely sharp piece of metal in the end of a staff. The picture suggests that this hard-crusted and zealous young man had been struggling for some time with his conscience. In the deepest recesses of his heart, he perhaps remembered the voice of the first martyr, Stephen, as he died: “Lord, do not charge them with this sin” (7:60).” I believe God had been trying to get Saul’s attention earlier but because of his rebellious and stubborn heart he rejected Christ. But in this encounter with Jesus everything changed for Saul. He realized that the one he was persecuting was truly the Messiah he was waiting for. From this point on, Saul’s life was going to be focused on fulfilling the mission God would give him. Paul began to discover who Jesus was and what he had done for him. As he read the Old Testament scriptures he read it with new eyes and new understanding. The Holy Spirit began to teach him and reveal to him all that Christ had done for him and for the entire world. This message was too important to keep to himself. Paul was compelled to share the message with his fellow Jews as well as the Gentiles. When Paul writes about Jesus I can just imagine that his heart was overflowing with love and gratitude for everything Christ was to him and had done for him and was presently doing in him. We need to be constantly reminded of the same message of what Christ has done, is presently doing and will do in the future. We have to have this understanding and assurance before us each day to remind us and compel us to live the life of Christ and proclaim his message of salvation in every opportunity that is given to us. Persecution often accompanies belief in Christ in many nations of the world.
I listened to a story of a Muslim convert named Akmed who grew up in the Middle East. He grew up in an Islamic community, all he knew was Islam, and he had the Koran memorized from front to back. As he grew up he realized there was no freedom in Islam and he felt trapped. He began to listen to a short wave radio program that spoke about Jesus. He became interested in knowing more about Jesus so he sent in his personal information so that someone could contact him. A missionary in his city contacted him. This missionary sat with him on 4 different occasions and explained the scriptures and who Jesus was according to the Bible and the freedom he could experience in Jesus. As Akmed heard and understood the gospel, he decided he wanted to receive forgiveness for his sins and he gave his life to Christ. As he began to experience the freedom in Christ, he started to share the gospel message with his family and coworkers. The more he shared the more upset the people around him became. In his culture it was illegal for a Muslim to become a Christian and this was punishable by death. One day he went to work and he was turned in to the political police by his boss and he went to jail. During his first week in jail he was questioned about what materials he had. The tortured him, the electrocuted him and they beat him. When they were not getting the answers they wanted they forced him into a 2ft. by 2 ft. cell. They made him put his knees to his chest and wrap his arms around his knees, and then they blind folded him and wrapped a rope around him. When the guard left the room and locked the door, Akmed would feel a presence leaning up against him. The presence would take off his blindfold, loosen the rope and for 13 hours he would be free. Akmed knew that the presence in the room was Jesus. When the guard came in after the 13 hours he was amazed that the rope was undone and the blindfold was removed and he asked how he did this. Akmed would reply that it was his God was with him that did this. This happened every day for 5 months. He would feel this presence of Jesus, who would take off the blindfold and loosen the rope. After 5 months he was freed and now he is a more passionate witness for Christ. Akmed experience the same freedom that Paul experienced. Though he was persecuted like Paul he became more passionate for Jesus. He understood what Jesus had done for him and nothing could stop him from believing in him and sharing his faith with others. We can never lose sight of what Christ has done for us; it will keep our love of Christ fresh and will strengthen us in times of adversity.
When Paul was in prison when he wrote the letter to the Ephesians. He immediately focused his attention on Jesus and recounted what Jesus had done for him. Let’s look at what Paul stated that he had received from Christ.
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, 5 having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.
7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace 8 which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, 9 having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, 10 that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him. 11 In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, 12 that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory.
13 In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.

He stated we have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. What are the spiritual blessings we have received? Many people want to focus on the material blessings and let that be a sign of God’s approval on your life. Many preachers paint a picture of how God wants to bless them financially, give them a promotion, make a new job opportunity available to them etc. but this are all temporary things and are different than the spiritual blessings we have in Christ. The spiritual blessings are timeless and will be with us throughout eternity. We need to focus on these things and give praise to God for what he has done for us in Christ. Without Christ none of the spiritual blessings Paul lists would be ours. It is all about Jesus.
In verse 4 we have the blessing of being chosen by God before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and blameless before Him. God’s plan for our lives has been well thought out, preplanned. He did not make it up as he went along; he designed it before we came into existence. I did not just happen. My life is part of God’s eternal plan; he has no plans to dispose of me when my earthly life is over. He has set us apart, sees us as blameless. God could only choose us if Christ was in us. Without Christ we would be abandoned to our sin, separated from God. But the Father, God has chosen us to be a part of his family because of what Jesus did for us to make it possible.
We have been predestined to adoption as sons as noted in verse 5. Graham Cooke in his booklet called, “Towards a Powerful Inner Life” explains more clearly the idea of adoption from God’s perspective.
“He longs to adopt us, but not in the way we use the word in modern, western world. It is not about taking someone who is not your child and bringing them in to your family; we are all born again of the spirit and are already children of the Father. God doesn’t want legally-bought children; He wants love-bought children. Adoption, in ancient Hebrew times, was a ceremony that marked a rite of passage for a son, where his male parent went from being “Daddy” to a more mature “Father.” Adoption is about moving from childlike immaturity to a more compelling, fuller relationship with God as the Lord of our life... He wants to make us into His huios. The adoption ceremony always involved the community. A son would grow up in his daddy’s house, taking on more responsibility as he got older, learning to be trustworthy and faithful. Daddy would correct him here and there, and eventually the child would come to a place where he could be trusted. At that moment, the father would call for a ceremony of adoption in the village square and put a big feast. In the midst of the party, dad would stand up and call his son forward. In front of the whole community, he would say, “This is my son, in whom I am well pleased.” At that moment, the son became like father. If he wrote a check, the dad would honour it. If the boy gave his word, it was as if the father had himself. A son’s promise committed the father. The boy could act and speak for the father. He was the father’s fully-mature son, his huios. The community’s demeanor toward the child shifted after the feast. They would treat the son the same as they treated the father from that moment on.
God wants a relationship like a father to us and he has adopted us into his family, his Beloved according to the good pleasure of his will. God takes delight in us as his sons and daughters. We bring him pleasure through our relationship with him made possible by Christ. We are now acceptable to God because of what Christ has done for us. We who once were the object of God’s wrath have now become the object of his love and we bring great joy to him. All of this is possible only because of the grace, God’s unmerited favor that he has showered upon us through Christ.
Paul continues his praise to the Lord Jesus as he remembers that the blood of Jesus paid the price for our redemption. Jesus met the righteous demand of the Father to pay for our penalty and take the guilt for our sin. His blood was sufficient and it is the only thing that would satisfy God. We are now bought by God. I remember growing up and my mom would collect Gold Medal stamps. She would paste them into a book and when she had collected as many as she needed she would go to the redemption center to present the stamps and purchase whatever things that were given the value of the stamps. The price for our forgiveness was paid for by the blood of Jesus. When his blood was shed for us God forgave us our sins. Without his blood there could be no forgiveness of our sin, redemption would not be possible without his blood.
The next thing Paul gave praise for was the special understanding or enlightenment he received regarding the mystery of will of God. The mystery was solved when Jesus came to earth, died and rose again and is now seated at the right hand of the Father. Through Jesus heaven and earth have been brought together. The will of God in heaven has been brought to earth in Jesus, the Kingdom of God has come to the earth and we are part of it! The Kingdom will be fully realized when Jesus comes to reign for 1000 years and we will get to be a part of it.
On top of that Paul understood that because of Christ, we now had an inheritance waiting for us and we have been given the Holy Spirit of promise as our guarantee until we are forever united with Christ. The Holy Spirit dwells in us and produces his fruit in our lives, making us more like Jesus. He gives us gifts to use to carry out the work of God to bring glory and honor to Him. Paul experienced the might power of the Holy Spirit in his life. He lived a supernatural life through the power of the Holy Spirit yet this was only a foretaste of what is yet to come for the believer. For the sinner life on earth is as good as it will ever get but for the believer we have not seen anything yet!
Though Paul penned these words from a prison his heart was set free to praise God as he remembered everything he had been given in Christ. I am sure the devil thought he had gotten Paul into a situation that would break him and cause him to lose faith but it worked just the opposite. Paul rejoiced even more as he thought about everything Christ had done for him and what he had yet to experience.
God is working out his plan in our lives to bring him the maximum glory. We may not understand completely what he is doing but we can look at what he has done for us in Christ and be assured that he is doing everything according to the counsel of his will and for his pleasure. God knows exactly what he is doing in our lives, he has a purpose for everything that is happening and if we can keep an attitude of praise and thanksgiving we like Paul will be able to not just endure things but find enjoyment knowing that God is at work in us. It is truly all about Jesus and he deserves our highest praise. When you are feeling down or forgotten or overlooked, discouraged or defeated, remember what Christ has done for you and what he is doing in you and what he will do in the future and take courage and give him praise!