THE CENTRALITY OF THE WORD OF GOD Tomorrow:
"I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for THOU HAST MAGNIFIED THY WORD ABOVE ALL THY NAME." (Psa 138:2) ". . . for You have exalted above all else Your name and Your word and You have magnified Your word above all Your name!" (Amplified Bible)
Devotion 4 of 30
The revelation of God's design reaches its apex in Christ Jesus. It is written, "For in Him [Christ] dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily" (Col. 2:9). This was a deliberate arrangement, "For it PLEASED the Father that in Him should all fullness dwell" (Col. 1:19). The purpose of the incarnation was to illumine man – to expose our race to God's "eternal purpose." The "mystery of His will" has now been made know unto us, and the revelation has been dictated by God's "good pleasure" (Eph. 1:9).
The "fullness of the Godhead" in Christ encompasses several things. First, the very character of God was put on display to man. Philosophers had groped in vain to understand the veiled God. Limited revelations of Him had been granted through the prophets. But now, in the person of Christ, man actually was given a full manifestation of the Father; of His character, His ways, and His responses. Jesus is the "brightness of His glory, and the express image of His person" (Heb. 1:3). His revelation of God was so complete that He declared, "he that hath seen Me, hath seen the Father" (John 14:9).
There is no aspect of God, that is pertinent to His great salvation, that is not made known in His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. If there is something concerning God Himself that is to be known, that knowledge will come through Christ Jesus – more particularly, from beholding the glory of God in His face, or Person. Apart from Christ, it is not possible to obtain a view of God that is adequate for the saving of the soul. It might be said that a proper understanding of the written Word depends upon the perception and apprehension of Him whose name is "the Word of God" (Rev 19:13) – even Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
But there is another aspect to this "fullness." In Christ we see an intelligent communication of God's objective undertaking to save man. It is communicated in Christ's words. Often His speech pointed men away from the mundane to heavenly aims. "I am NOT COME to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance" (Matt. 9:13). "Even as the Son of man CAME NOT to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give His life a ransom for many" (Matt. 20:28). "The Son of man is NOT COME to destroy men's lives, but to save them" (Luke 9:56). "For the Son of man IS COME to seek and to save that which was lost" (Luke 19:10). These words reflect heavenly objective, and speak of Divine purpose. They are an interpretation of the mind and will of the living God.
Christ's works also were a means of communicating the Divine objective. His compassion upon the multitudes, His gracious works, His mighty miracles – they were not ends of themselves. Jesus said, "I must work the works of Him that sent Me . . ." (John 9:4). ". . . the works that I do in my Father's name, they bear witness of Me" (John 10:25). They were not a mere performance, not a mode of entertainment. They were not meant to cause men to stand in awe. They were a communication of the will of God. In confirmation of this, Jesus said, ". . . though ye believe not Me, BELIEVE THE WORKS: that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in Me, and I in Him" (John 10:38).
God was communicating His purpose to men in the enfleshed Christ. It was in this sense that Jesus was "the Word": the expression of God's plan. He was "in the beginning," was "with God," and "was God" (John 1:1). God has never been without a means of expression, because He is a God of expression, not a God of secrecy. He is a God of revelation, not a God of mystery! When "the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us," a heavenly message was being transmitted to humanity.
This revelation was intended for man's mind. God wanted His purpose to be discerned, understood, and comprehended. He had created man with the capacity to discern, and here, in Christ, was the highest and loftiest reality to be discerned: the Word enfleshed, who was the appointed Means to knowing God Himself.
PRAYER POINT: Father, in the name of Jesus, I thank You for making Yourself known in the Person of Your Son.