08/11/10

There has never been a more urgent need for proper foundations.  Foundations are those things upon which the superstructures of life are erected.  Without a proper foundation, there is no stability and certainly no integrity of structure.

In ever sports rule book, there is a chapter on definitions.  Unless an official knows the definition of a “horse-collar” tackle, his enforcement of the rule will be, at best, hap-hazard. Unless an official knows when a player becomes a shooter, he cannot properly and consistently enforce a penalty awarding free throws.

Many people have gone away from the foundations of the Christian faith.  While many still use the name Jesus, that name may not mean what the Bible expresses.  A recent fad of wearing a WWJD wrist band was a statement – but, not everyone was saying the same thing. It is not uncommon at our church for young people to come to our Wednesday teen groups or children’s ministries who have only heard the name Jesus used as an expletive.

So, who is Jesus?

The Bible states with conviction that He is the “Word” of God who was in the beginning with God. (John 1.1-5) It further states that He is God manifested in the flesh – co-existent and co-equal in every respect with the Father and Spirit (John 10.30, “one” = “of one essence, one and the same”). The expression “was in the beginning with God” requires the Jesus was already there, not that He was the first of Creation. Paul writes and expresses the fact that all creation was brought about by Him (Colossians 1.16, 17)

Not only is/was He God; but, He became (was made) flesh. (John 1.14) The author of Hebrews expresses this clearly when he writes, “a body hast thou prepared me.” (Hebrews 10.5) Thus, Jesus was not the “only Son” or the “unique Son” (as some modern translations maintain), but He was the “only begotten” Son of God.

The word “begotten” carries the idea of being physically born.  That is exactly what happened when the Holy Spirit came upon Mary and she conceived (Luke 1.35) – Jesus was physically conceived and was born.  Jesus, God from eternity past, received a body of flesh through which He would perform the work of the Sacrificial Lamb – the shedding of His blood in payment for sin.

This foundational truth is only one of many required for a proper understanding of the Bible. When Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life, no man cometh unto the Father but by me” (John 14.6), that is exactly what He meant. When Luke recorded the words, “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4.12), that is exactly what he meant.

Smudging foundational truths into a dingy gray only weakens the structure of the Gospel. When discussing Jesus, lay proper foundations – know of whom you speak.  Accept no fuzzy conversations, but stand firmly on the foundational truths of God’s Word.

Rev. John H Hill