November 27, 2005

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The Eternal Christ

John 1:1-18

            What you see on the screen is a picture from a movie.  It is a single still shot.  You probably don’t know what movie it is from or what the movie is about.  All you have is one moment in time from the movie which spans more than two hours.  It is impossible to tell what this movie is about from this single frame.  You could make up almost any story to go with it.  You don’t know if it is a horror film, a romance, an historical drama or a documentary.  You don’t know how it begins or how it ends.  You don’t know who made the movie.  You don’t know the plot or the story line.  You don’t know the major characters, and which of them are the heros and which are the villains.  All you know is the scene that you are presently seeing.  This happens to be a scene from The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.  Once you understand that, you probably know that the film is from one book of a set which actually consists of several volumes.  If you have read the book, you may guess that this is a picture of the house where the children enter the wardrobe.  You will know the beginning and end of the story.  You know who wrote the book it is based on.  You know the characters, the plot and the meaning of the story — all the things that you could never understand by seeing just one frame from the film. 

            The point is, there are many people who try to make sense of life by only looking at the brief moment they are alive in the world — a single frame of the movie.  They take their little slice of the world’s history and assume they understand all of life without taking the trouble to learn any more.  But they do not know what came before or what will come after.  They do not understand who the major players are.  They don’t know who created this world and gave life to us.  They do not know the plot, the plan and the purpose of what this life is all about, because they don’t see the bigger picture. 

            It is the same in our understanding of Jesus.  If you see a single picture of Jesus in a manger, you have no idea what came before and what comes after that picture.  People often take one look at Jesus and assume they know all about him.  They may make the mistake of simply thinking of him as an historical figure — that he was a man who lived and died about 2,000 years ago.  These people miss the complete picture of who God is and what he is doing. 

            In the Scripture today, we read that Jesus was not just a religious leader who lived in one particular slice of the world’s history.  He existed before the world began, and had a part in the creation.  He was not born in the normal way, he came to earth from heaven.  And there is even more to the story: he will return to the earth again and claim his rightful position as King of kings and Lord of lords.  His kingdom will never end.  In other words, Jesus existed before the world began and will reign long after the present world is over.  He is the Lord of history.  He is, as he has always been, in complete control of the world.  He is eternal.

            But what does this have to do with us personally?  How does this intersect our lives?  What difference does it make ultimately?  There are many ways that this effects us personally, and one is: It means that Jesus Christ is God.  It means that he is alive today and has the power to help us.  There could not have been an incarnation of God if Jesus did not previously exist.  This truth changes everything we understand about who God is and what he is like.  If Jesus is God, then we know what God is like.  John wrote: “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched — this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us” (1 John 1:1-2).  This means that we have a God we can know.  He has revealed himself.  He did not stay aloof and separate from us, but came to be with us.  

            But how do we know this is true?  Doesn’t it seem strange to think that Jesus was not just an historical figure who lived and died in a certain period of time, rather that he has always existed as God?  Not at all, if you believe that we serve a God of love who is pursuing us throughout history.  Several scriptures speak to this truth.  Jesus said, “No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven — the Son of Man.  Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life” (John 3:13-15).  Jesus himself claimed to have come from heaven, and the purpose of this journey was to give the human family eternal life.  That is why we call his message Good News. 

            In the Scripture we read, John says, “In the beginning was the Word, [John’s code word for Jesus as the expression of God] and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was with God in the beginning.  Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made” (John 1:1-3).  So Jesus has not only existed eternally, he was actually an agent in the process of creation.  He was not a man who suddenly appeared on the world scene, he was God who has always existed. 

            This is difficult for some people to comprehend.  I remember preaching on the deity of Christ one Sunday many years ago and a woman came up to me and said, “Rev. Buchanan, saying that Jesus is God sounds like something from a cult!”  I wanted to ask if she had ever heard words like Immanuel — God with us, or Incarnation — God taking on human form, or Trinity — the fact that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are one.  I wondered how someone could be in the church their whole life and miss this important truth — how a person could only see one frame from the movie when they should have had a larger understanding which was available to them. 

            Did Jesus’ life begin in a manger?  Did he merely become the Son of God at some point in his life?  No, for there could not have been an “incarnation” if Jesus did not previously exist.  Micah, the Old Testament prophet, told of the birth of Christ when he wrote: “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times” (Micah 5:2).  He prophesied of the place of Jesus’ birth and the fact that he would step out of eternity to come here.  John writes: “No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father’s side, has made him known” (John 1:18).  The poet Milton said that he,

Forsook the Courts of everlasting Day,
And chose with us a darksome House of mortal Clay.

In Jesus Christ, time and eternity meet.  The writer of Hebrews says, “In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe.  The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word.  After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven” (Hebrews 1:1-3).  The religious leaders of Jesus’ day understood the implications of Jesus’ claims.  They said, “We have a law, and according to that law he must die, because he claimed to be the Son of God.”  The passage goes on to say, “When Pilate heard this, he was even more afraid, and he went back inside the palace.  ‘Where do you come from?’ he asked Jesus” (John 19:7-9).  Pilate knew that if what Jesus was saying was true, he was not of this world — he had to come from another world. 

            Paul makes this remarkable statement: “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.  For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him.  He is before all things, and in him all things hold together” (Colossians 1:15-17).  Jesus, in one of his final moments with his disciples, prayed saying, “And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began” (John 17:5).  He understood who he was and where he had come from.  The Bible describes the incarnation, that is, God becoming man, in this way, “[Jesus] Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness” (Philippians 2:6-7). 

            What does this mean to us?  Secondly, It means God cares for us.  This is not a god who, as the deists claim, created the world, wound it up and set if off into space never to take an interest in it again.  Far from it.  This is a God who is full of emotion and passionate caring for the world and the people he created — “"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).  That is why the Bible can say, “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7).  If Jesus did not care, he would never have come.  He certainly would not have allowed himself to be abused and crucified if he did not love you enormously.  It just wouldn’t have happened.  The eternal God stepped into time and space to allow you to know him, be forgiven and inherit the kingdom of heaven.  If that isn’t love, I don’t know what is.  This is the kindness of God.  The Bible says, “Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness leads you toward repentance?” (Romans 2:4). 

            How can we continue to live selfish, self-centered and sinful lives when God has done all he can do to demonstrate his love for us?  How can we hold onto our sin when Jesus gave up everything for us.  Mary Magdalene was more than ready to leave her old life behind when she was transformed by the amazing love of Jesus.  Likewise, Peter, Paul, James and John and countless others left their former life in order to embrace a new life in Christ.  Countless people through the ages, up to the present moment, have given up everything in order to follow Jesus.  They personally experienced his love and transforming power. 

            What else does this mean to us? The third thing is: It means there is a plan.  Here is the plan: Jesus came from Glory, and he wants to bring you into that glory.  He said, “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world” (John 17:24).  He wants you to be with him.  It is a plan that was in place before the creation of the world.  The apostle Peter explains it like this: “For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.  He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake” (1 Peter 1:18-20).  The prophets spoke of it, Jesus promised it, and the day will come when you will inherit it — the plan of God that started before time began, to bring you into an everlasting kingdom.  This kingdom has a King.  It is Jesus himself, and he has reigned in glory before the world began and will reign long after the present world order is over.  He has invited you to be a part of that kingdom.  This is the generosity of God.  The Bible says, “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9). 

            The plan is to give us eternal life.  The Bible says, “This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.  This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins” (1 John 4:9-10).  This is God’s plan, and it is taking the world in a specific direction regardless of what the godless try to do.  No one can resist him.  His plan is for those who love and serve him, and the future for those who belong to God is more glorious than anyone can imagine.  As it is written: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him” (1 Corinthians 2:9). 

            The story is told that before Leonardo Da Vinci was about to paint the face of Christ in his painting of The Last Supper, he went into a place of hiding.  He waited before the Lord and prayed.  He was committed to coming into the presence of Christ before he would paint the face of the Lord.  After much time in prayer, meditation and fasting, he arose from his secret place, lifted his brush and was about to give expression to his thoughts of the Lord Jesus, but was not able because his hand began to tremble.  He couldn’t paint.  He began to get the whole picture of who Christ was and it overwhelmed him. 

            I believe that is what happens anytime we begin to see who Christ really is in all his eternal glory.  Not just a babe in a manger or a teacher in Galilee, but the Lord of the universe who existed before the universe came into being.  The Lord of history who lives and reigns on high.  This is the pre-existent, eternal Christ, terrible in holiness and power, awesomely beautiful, radiating love and living in eternal glory.  Glory be to you O’ Christ! 

Rodney J. Buchanan

November 27, 2005