Japan and God's Purposes

Anyone following the news recently will be inundated by Japan's recent 9.0 earthquake, the war against Libya, and the recent uprising in Egypt. The question that inevitably comes up is why would a Holy, sovereign God allow such things? In what possible way could God ultimately glorify Himself amidst all of these tragedies? Does God delight in watching humans suffer?


Let's Be Honest...
We all have thoughts about why would such things happen; however,  there are always a few things to remember. The first is that because of sin the whole earth is under condemnation and the Bible says that creation " groans together in the pains of child birth." Because of the sin of man, the earth has been subjected to futility. The question that we should be asking is not why did this happen to them, but rather, why has it not happened to us? Although the question of evil in the world often seems to be an unassailable obstacle for the Christian, the reason that evil exists is because ultimately God will be glorified by it. In ordaining that evil exists, God ultimately has a purpose and a plan behind it. We view with horrific awe the description of the crucifixion that the Gospels contain; however, the Bible tells us that God from the foundation of the world already had planned for the crucifixion of Jesus (Revelation 13:8, Acts 2:23). This shows us that even though we as Christians may not understand all of God's purposes for the existence of evil, ultimately it will lead to the glory of God and our greater good. Even when tragedy strikes, God has a greater purpose in it all.  

Jesus the Exact Imprint of the Father

But in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom He appointed the heir of all things , through whom also He created the world. He is the radiance of  the glory of God and the exact imprint of His nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of His power. After making purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on High. Hebrews 1:2-4


Perhaps one of the most controversial aspects of Jesus during His time on earth was the aspect of His being of the same substance of God. The Pharisees could not quite grasp the dual nature of the Man Christ Jesus. Perhaps fueled both by their jealousy and their religious zeal, the claim of Jesus to be equal with the Father is one of the primary factors of their seeking His death. 


Jesus was not just equal to the Father, 


but was of the same substance as the Father. The author of Hebrews says that Jesus was the exact imprint of the Father and representation of His nature. This understanding of Jesus is imperative to His ability to intercede for us. He needed both to be God and Man fully. When the disciples asked Jesus in John 14 to show them the Father, Jesus replied by saying, " Whoever has seen me has seen the Father."  


Without the proper understanding of the duality of Jesus' Nature, we cannot truly understand Jesus ability to both atone for our sin and sit at the right hand of the Father to serve as our intercessor. Jesus' divine nature is required to serve as a proper intercessor, creator, and Lord; however, Jesus' humanity was necessary in order for Him to serve as a proper High Priest and substitute. 

Jesus as the Word of God

1. Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 2  but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. 3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4 having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.  Hebrews 1:1-4

The central theme in all of the Scriptures is Jesus; throughout all the Old Testament and all over the New Testament, the influence of Jesus is felt even to this very moment. Skeptics and Agnostics have attempted to find ways to suppress His influence and quiet His voice; however, we see Jesus all over. Cults have debated and tried to repudiate His divinity, but apart from the outside corroboration what does the Bible say about who He is?  

 Jesus As the Word of God

Before we start, we must get the fact across that Jesus is the Word of God; that is, He is the agent of revelation and the means with which God communicates to us as humans. John tells us this (John 1:1-3, I John 1:1-3) in what seems to be almost an exact replication of what we find by the author of the book of Hebrews.  No longer are we restricted to the partial revelation of God by the prophets, but instead are the blessed recipients of a greater revelation. So much of a revelation of God is Jesus that He Himself says to the pharisees that, "If you knew me, you would know my Father also."  The author of Hebrews lets us know that in these last days He (God the Father) has spoken to us by His Son.

Jesus the Word of God is Equal with the Father

We are tempted to think that if Jesus revealed the Father that He is subordinate to Him. This is an especially confusing point among many professing Christians. John tells us that the "Word was with God and the Word was God" (John 1:1)  We see then Jesus as a revelation of the God the Father and the perfect representation of Him " the exact imprint of His nature". 

So What does this Mean to Me?

This position of Christ is crucial to our understanding of the Gospel. This is important because without Jesus as the exact imprint of God and without Him as the revelation of God we could never know Him. Jesus is the centerpiece of the Gospel and without Him we remain in darkness. This also puts to rest the idea that communication with God is unattainable. The fact that we can communicate with Jesus allows us to know for sure that we can have a relationship with the God of heaven. Let us pray with the Puritans this prayer, 

                                    O Thou who hast the hearts of all men in Thy hand,  

                                      Form my heart according to the Word,

                                         According to the image of Thy Son,

The Surpassing Worth of Christ

The crucial question that we all must face is how much exactly is Christ worth? Because whether or not we consciously answer that question, our lives will unconsciously answer that question by whatever we hold in the highest regard. Our lives are faced with every day worries and cares that if we are not careful will seem to possess more worth than Christ. In Philippians, Paul said, " Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord." The goal of this blog is to show how much Christ is truly worth, and how we can manifest that in our lives. How much did Paul value Him? Enough that he considered all that he possessed to be rubbish or dung  compared to simply knowing Christ.