The Special of the Day… From the Orange Moon Cafe…
"Christ Personified. Christ In Print"
As God works in born again believers to conform us to the spiritual and moral image of the Lord Jesus Christ, the question must be raised, "What is Christlikeness?" (Romans 8:28-29). How can we know if our countenance, demeanor, attitudes, words, and deeds reflect our Savior's holy Person and way? We have one authoritative source to find the answer:
"Search the Scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of Me" (John 5:39).
The living Word, the Lord Jesus, and the written Word, the Bible, perfectly correlate. Christ is the Bible personified. The Bible is Christ in print. "I am the light" declared our Lord of His Person. "The entrance of Thy words giveth light" declared the Psalmist of the Scriptures (John 8:12; Psalm 119:130). Yes, in the light of the Scriptures, we see Christ. In the light of Christ, we understand the Scriptures:
"In Thy light shall we see light" (Psalm 36:9).
Satan ever seeks to separate the Lord Jesus and the Bible regarding our response to God, to people, to our doctrinal understanding, and to the practice of the Christian life. Such deception directly contradicts the Savior's affirmation of Himself in terms of Scripture. Indeed, of the law and the prophets in existence at the time of His incarnation, He declared…
"For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed Me: for he wrote of Me. But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe My words?" (John 5:46-47).
The words of the New Testament also serve as the center and circumference of God's revelation of the living Word, Christ. The devil, however, tempts us to create in our minds "another Jesus" who does not align with the only objective authority we have to know if we are worshipping the real and the authentic (II Corinthians 11:4). "Thy Word is truth" declared our Savior, referencing the written Word then in existence, and the written Word to come (John 17:17).
To know the Lord Jesus as He is and to be conformed to His image requires the revelation of His likeness found only in the light of Biblical truth and authority. Who is He? How does He think, speak, act, and relate? What has He done? What is He doing? What does Scripture promise He will do forevermore? Only the Scriptures can define the Savior. Christ in print. Only the Savior can illuminate the Scriptures. Christ personified. We minimize either to our own detriment and grievous harm. Let us expect our spiritual enemies to tempt us with "another Jesus." Even more, let us expect the Holy Spirit to reveal the true and living Christ in the pages of the true and living Word He inspired for this most vital and blessed purpose...
"And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, He expounded unto them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself."
(Luke 24:27)
Memory Verse
What hast thou that thou didst not receive?
(I Corinthians 4:7)
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