ONE-a-DAY READINGS
Number 02
An
Introduction to Jesus Christ
On every hand men are being exhorted to believe, but are they being given anything to believe? Are they being told the transcendent Biblical facts concerning the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ, the record God has given of His Son? May I introduce Him to you? First of all there is God Absolute, the Being who above all other beings is supreme. To Him you need no introduction. That He exists is known to all men. It is admitted by most. It is denied by some. His existence is no part of the Biblical record, it being assumed there. It is known to men who have never seen a Bible. It was known before the Bible was written. This knowledge or God-consciousness is a distinctive feature of our humanity. Men degenerate and become inhuman when it is given up. But beyond the fact that He exists, we can know nothing concerning Him, unless in some manner He sees fit to reveal Himself. This He has done.
He that comes unto God must believe that He exists, and that He is the rewarder of them that diligently seek Him (Heb. 11:6). He has spoken; therefore we seek Him in the book that tells us what He has to say, the Bible. When we open the Hebrew Bible, the Old Testament, we come face to face with God Manifest. For the purpose of revealing Himself, God Absolute has assumed a divine form, which in some aspects is like those of the man who was later created in His image. This is the Creator, the Elohim Who expresses, represents, and declares the Absolute God to men. It is God in manifestation who is seen in action throughout the Old Testament. He is called by the name Jehovah (Yahweh). This made it possible for believing men to say "Jehovah is my Elohim," that is, He is the One who expresses, represents, and declares God. Yet the revelation does not stop there.
Going on in the Bible we find that the One who was God Manifest in the Old Testament has become God Manifest in the flesh in the New. The One who was rich, for our sakes became poor, that we through His poverty might be rich (2 Cor. 8:9). The great Jehovah of the Old Testament emptied Himself and became the Lord Jesus Christ of the New. Thus Jesus the Christ became our Elohim, the One who represents, declares, and expresses God Absolute to us (John 1:18). To know Him is to know the Father (John 14:7); to believe in Him is to believe in the One who sent Him (John 12:44).
It was the great Creator who became our Saviour. Such a One, and He alone, is worthy and capable of being the Saviour of sinners. He is avail- able to individuals as a personal Saviour. Anyone who can truthfully say, "Jesus Christ is my Savior," has also the God-given right to say, "I am saved." So why go on being a sinner without a Saviour? Why not become a sinner with a Saviouur? God's Word to you concerning this is: "But as many as received Him, to them gave He authority to become the children of God, even to them that believe on His name." John 1:12.
Otis Q. Sellers