Week Four – Book Notes – Beholding God in the Face of Jesus
Introduction: Isaiah 40:5 He wrote a message that God gave him about something in the future, something that would happen after the Babylonian exile. He wrote about the great hope of mankind when he wrote: Then the glory of the Lord will be revealed, And all flesh will see it together; For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” Jesus is the glory of the Lord revealed to all mankind. The NT bears witness to His divinity and His character. The objective this week to seek to grasp a little more than you previously had about the glory of our Lord, Jesus Christ.
The video lesson focused on the wonderful fact that God’s people have throughout history been captivated with God’s Son. The adoration of Christ has been the mark of the true Christian for the past two thousand years. One of the reasons we might have become bored with Jesus is might be because we haven’t gotten a proper, biblical view of Jesus. Seeing Jesus clearly is part of the path to a biblical view of God as He is revealed in His Son.
Charles Spurgeon: My soul, never be satisfied with a shadowy Christ. I cannot know Christ through another person’s brains. I cannot love him with another man’s heart and I cannot see him with another man’s eyes. I am so afraid of living in a second-hand religion. Lord save us from having borrowed communion. No, I must know him myself. O God, let me not be deceived in this. . I must know him on my own account.
Day One: The Invisible God made Visible to Us Where does a person see God’s character most clearly displayed? Is it in His creation? Is it when we experience a personal rescue? Is it in His judgments? No, according to the Bible, in Hebrews, God has made the invisible (Himself) visible to us through Christ.
John 1:14 – And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. . . .
Col 1:15 – He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. When the writer of Colossians uses the word image, Paul uses a word that was commonly used for the image stamped upon a coin. Jesus is the real and visible expression of the invisible God. Distinct and yet so like Him, Jesus made God in all His glorious fullness apparent to us.
John 1:18 – No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him. The word for “declared” had different uses. What is the common thread among these usages?
- A person drawing water out of a well.
- A poet interpreting a difficult passage of his poem.
- A lawyer explaining the law.
- A person revealing a thing once hidden (as an artist unveiling a painting)
I see the thread as revealing or bringing forth something that was either hidden of difficult to reach. To better understand this, the book uses Hebrews Chapter one. Written in late 63 AD or early 64 AD, the attention of the church had drifted in the 30 years of growth and then persecution. The temple had not yet been destroyed, and God’s prescription for a drifting church is to highlight (1) The superiority of Christ and (2) to provide a warning to those tempted to drift away from keeping their eyes on Jesus.
- Calls Him Son – Hebrews 1:5 – For to which of the angels did He ever say, “You are My Son, Today I have begotten You”? And again, “I will be a Father to Him And He shall be a Son to Me”?
- Calls Him God – Hebrews 1:8 – But of the Son He says, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, And the righteous scepter is the scepter of His kingdom.
- Calls Him Creator – Hebrews 1:10 – And, “You, Lord, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth, And the heavens are the works of Your hands;
- Calls Him Eternal – Hebrews 1:12 – And like a mantle You will roll them up; Like a garment they will also be changed. But You are the same, And Your years will not come to an end.”
- Calls Him Victor – Hebrews 1:13 – But to which of the angels has He ever said, “Sit at My right hand, Until I make Your enemies A footstool for Your feet”?
By acknowledging all these traits in Jesus, God the Father also confirmed that they were part of His character. When we look at Jesus, the Father is revealed to us. You are seeing God most clearly when you see Him reflected in the life of Jesus. This should impact the way we study our Bibles. It requires a serious approach to the Scriptures on the part of every believer.
Day Two – Silhouettes and OT Songs of Hope Remember the years when you did your silhouettes in grade school? We have some of those at home and if I didn’t know my grandchildren, having watched them grow up, I might not be able to identify which one was which because a silhouette is just the shadow of the person. The details are not there and perhaps that is what is so enduring about them. In the OT, there are many descriptions of Jesus that are merely the shape or shadow of Who He is. Because we NT believers know Him, we can recognize some of the silhouettes because we known the full version. But for those who do not know Him, it is not as clear. And those who refuse to see Jesus as God will not be able to see Jesus in the OT. It is said that Isaiah sings of God’s glory with the clearest of voices in some of his “Servant Song” chapters. (Chapters 42, 49, 50 and 53)
In Isaiah 42 – Christ is introduced as a Servant. Read Vs. 2, 3, and 4 and describe what you read. Verse 8 is one of the key verses to explain the deity of the trinity. Why would a person use this verse to define the godhead?
In Isaiah 53 – this is the final chapter in which the Servant accomplishes all that God has given Him to do by dying at the hands of His own people. What does this reflect about the character of God?
Day Three – God is seen by Man Since the OT provides a shadowy silhouette of Jesus; the four Gospels are the coming of this great Person into man’s world, that man might clearly see God through the Son. There are enemies of this truth and the problem with these enemies (viruses) is that their favorite host is found in the life of a religious person’s life.
- The first enemy is a casual familiarity with the biblical description of Jesus. This is easy to imagine. What are some things in our lives where a casual familiarity with it, deadens us to the beauty of the object? (Our family, our jobs, our spouse, our health, our blessings etc.) We forget to be amazed with the common place. There is a song – can’t remember who sings it – “Don’t let me lose my Wonder”. This is the heart of the person who refuses to permit God or Jesus to become ordinary or common place.
- The second enemy is a tendency to read every passage about Jesus as if it is primarily about us. The reason this is hard is because we know we have been rescued but although Jesus came to seek and to save that which is lost, if you asked Jesus He would tell you His primary goal was to glorify the Father. You and I are the fortunate recipients of the work the Son did while living to please the Father. Because Christ’s aim was to glorify and obey God the Father, we are the recipients of redemption. We so often look into the Bible to find what is there for us – we should be asking what each passage reveals to us about the Father.
John 2:13-22 – Jesus cleanses the Temple. Can we see the characteristics of God in this act? (Holiness – Psalms 5:4; Sovereignty – Psalm 103:19; Zeal for His Reputation / Name – Isaiah 48:11)
John 4:7-39 – Jesus and the Woman at the Well. Can we see the God’s quality in this act? (Fullness – John 1:14, 16; Mercy – Micah 7:18)
Day Four – The Glory of Jesus fills a Prison Cell The NT contains all that the believer needs to understand what he has been seeing of Christ in the OT shadows and the Gospel accounts. Colossians is particularly powerful in this regard. The church there was tempted to think they need to add to Jesus by using clever philosophies, Jewish ceremonies, strict rules and worldly self-indulgence. Paul brings them to a laser focus on the person of Christ and that in Him is the fullness of God. (Col. 2:9-10)
Colossians 1:15-19 gives us nine different descriptions of Christ. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything. For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him,
Note the verse where the truth is found.
v. 16_ He is the purpose for which all things exist. _____ He is the first-fruit of the resurrection. _____ He is the creator. _____ He is the visible expression of the invisible God. _____ He is the living and governmental head of His Church. _____ His humanity is the dwelling place of the fullness of God. _____ He is preeminent, holding the highest place of honor. _____ He is heir (possessing all the rights of the firstborn). _____ He is eternal, existing before creation.
Using the example from the video – apply these principles about Christ to your own life:
- What is this passage telling me about Jesus?
- What do I see here that is worthy of my adoration?
- What do I see in Jesus that is worthy of my trust?
- How do the things I see to be true of Jesus affect the way I call upon Him in prayer?
- Even if there are no commands in the passage, what have I learned that affects the way I submit to Him?
Day Five – Blinded Eyes Much of what we see today in the religious world in not characterized by a preoccupation with Jesus. And if we are honest in our reflection, we might even find we are not enamored with a love and interest in Jesus. He points out that a person doesn’t have to alive spiritually to:
- Be active in the local church.
- Be emotional moved by sermons, songs or testimonies.
- Be loyal to the right beliefs about the Bible.
- Be sacrificial in service.
- Be faithful in daily Bible reading.
- Be zealous in evangelism and missionary efforts.
No one is immune to such attacks. The question to ask ourselves: Is Christ Himself the attraction in Christianity for you?
| People who Love Christ | People who love Religion | |
| 1 | Want to hear sermons about Jesus | Want to hear sermons about how they can fix their problems |
| 2 | Count all things loss that they may know Him | Want Jesus Plus something |
| 3 | Look forward to quiet times | Feel quiet times are a bore |
| 4 | Come to church to focus on Christ | Come to church to be entertained, to feel they have a purpose |
| 5 | Believe that Jesus’ obedience and death are the only things that can make them acceptable to God | Hope in something they have done or sacrificed or will yet do |
| 6 | Are merciful | Are critical |
| 7 | Are interested in Jesus because of Who He is | Are interested in Jesus because He is useful |
| 8 | Love to exalt Christ | Love to be recognized and praised |
| 9 | Are not easily offended | Are often offended |
| 10 | Often lay down their rights | Often demand their rights |
If you don’t find beauty in Christ it should alarm you but not paralyze you. There is a silver lining to this cloud. The solution is found in rediscovering the beauty in the Savior. Knowing Him must be our goal. The remarkable effects of loving Him are secondary. Knowing Jesus is life.