Romans 1-1 - The Dual Nature of Jesus Christ#
Romans 1-1 The Dual Nature of Jesus Christ
(JP Text Group - Solomon Compilation)
Let us pray together:
Loving Heavenly Father, we thank you for your wonderful grace, bringing us before your word at this time. Please keep this time, so that each one of us may come to know the dual nature of Jesus Christ through this scripture today. Help us to understand the redemption that Jesus accomplished for us on the cross, so that we may have a clearer understanding of your love and what Christ has done for us.
At this moment, we are willing to open our hearts to receive your word. May the Holy Spirit lead each brother and sister, so that we may all gain something. May God's word be our help. We pray in the name of our Lord Jesus, Amen!
Let us first read today's main text:
Romans 1:3-6 Concerning His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh; and declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead. By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for His name, among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ. Amen!
The topic we are sharing today is called The Dual Nature of Jesus Christ.
In fact, this is a theological topic that would take a long time to discuss in full. Today, we will briefly share the benefits that the dual nature of Jesus Christ brings to us. The Bible says that Jesus Christ brings us grace and truth, so today we will examine the grace that Jesus Christ gives us through His dual nature.
First, let us look at the humanity of Jesus Christ#
In the scripture we just read, concerning the Son of God, our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the Son of God and also our Lord. First, according to the flesh, which refers to what we call His humanity. What does according to the flesh mean?
It means from the aspect of the flesh: Today, Jesus Christ is the content of the gospel; He is also the beginning of the gospel, and the gospel is realized and revealed through Him. He not only brings us the good news of God but also specifically manifests this gospel through Him. Therefore, there are two extremely important truths here: the first is that God became like a man. He came into this world in the likeness of men. Many people have questions, asking if God looks like us. Because you see in Genesis:
Genesis 1:26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness...
Does God look like us? From this perspective, Jesus Christ became like a man; Jesus looks like us because He was born in the likeness of men, becoming a descendant of David. We must not think that God is just a male. God is a spirit, and spirits are not divided by gender.
At the beginning of Genesis, it says, the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters; our image and likeness of God refer to our spirit being completely the same as God's spirit.
So what does it mean to be born in the likeness of men? What does it mean that He is a descendant of David? David was a great ruler of Israel and also a savior. Jesus Christ is not only the savior of Israel but also of all humanity. Therefore, from this aspect, He had to be born in the likeness of men so that we could see Him; otherwise, we would have no way to see the invisible God. The key point is that God sent His Son in the likeness of flesh into the world.
According to the flesh, means entering the world in the flesh, born through a human body. Just as the Gospel of John begins by saying, the Word became flesh. What does it mean that the Word became flesh? It means that the Word of God became flesh and dwelt among us, so that our eyes could see Him.
This tells us that He has humanity. So is the humanity of Jesus Christ the same as ours? He also has a physical body, and at the same time, He has intelligence, emotions, and willpower. What we have, He also has. If we pinch Jesus, He would feel pain, so when He was beaten, He also suffered greatly.
Many people always make excuses, saying that because Jesus is God, He could endure the cross without pain.
They overlook the fact that Jesus also has a human side; from a physical perspective, He is the same as us. He also needed to grow up, and He experienced everything we experience, and He understands the circumstances we are in.
John 1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
Jesus became like a man so that we could see Him with our physical eyes and witness His grace. Many times we say: "Lord, where is the grace you give me?" When you see Jesus, you see the grace of God. Because He is the God who became flesh, He appears in the likeness of man; He is fully human.
Since Jesus is the Word made flesh, He is also subject to temptation, just like us. Today we may be weak, but more importantly, Jesus is the same as us; He has a physical body, He has feelings, and He can understand everything we experience.
Jesus dwells among us and can communicate with us. If He appeared as a spirit, we are humans, and if He spoke to us, we would not hear Him; we could not communicate. Only when He became like a man could we understand what He wanted to express.
If Jesus had not come into the world, we would have no way to understand the love of the Father, no way to understand what the kingdom of heaven is like, and we could not clearly know this God. The Gospel of John says, No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him. So when you see every word and action of Jesus, you know that God is like this because He now manifests God in the form of a man. Hallelujah!
Why did Jesus become flesh and take on the likeness of man? Hebrews 2 says:
Hebrews 2:14 Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, He also Himself likewise took part of the same; that through death He might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil.
This is why Jesus had to become like a man; because we have flesh and blood, Jesus also became flesh and blood, redeeming us with His own body.
Do you know why Jesus gives us His resurrection? It is because we cannot resurrect. We have no way and no ability to achieve this.
Why did He destroy the devil who had the power of death through death? Because we cannot overcome the devil; we cannot overcome death. So Jesus came, He died for us, and completely overcame all the schemes and powers of the devil!
Second, Jesus' humanity serves as an example for us#
Many people say that Jesus can perform miracles because He is God, so He can do such things. But do the brothers and sisters know? Jesus can do these things because the Holy Spirit is with Him, and He willingly obeys the will of the Father.
Acts 10:38 How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with Him.
Jesus said: My Father worketh hitherto, and I work.
John 5:19 Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He seeth the Father do: for what things soever He doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.
What does this mean?
It means that God the Father has always been in Jesus' heart. And Jesus clearly knows that He is also in the Father. Why does He say this? Because He wants to set an example for us. Because we do not know that the Father is in us, and we are in the Father.
Jesus came. Every word and action of His is actually setting an example for us. His baptism is an example for us. In fact, He had no need to be baptized, but through His baptism, He tells us that you are already saved, and your old self has died.
When you are baptized, you enter the water and stop breathing, which means your old self has died with Jesus. When you come up out of the water, you are no longer the original you; you have become a new person, and you have been resurrected with Jesus.
When we accept the Lord Jesus as our Savior, we believe in our hearts and confess with our mouths, and we are saved. Many people say: "But I feel nothing." But when you are baptized, you will feel it.
The Father has always said He loves us, but when you see Jesus, you see the love of the Father. Jesus came into the world; what did He do? He had compassion on others, forgave others, and healed others. This is the love of the Father that flows from His heart. He set an example for us, and ultimately, for our sins, He died on the cross. This is God's love, which Jesus has revealed to us.
When we know all that Jesus did for us on the cross, we understand that the Father loves us so much, and we have the strength to give thanks in everything.
Many times we say, "Lord, I am weak! We are in the flesh! We cannot always thank you! You really do not understand our situation!" Brothers and sisters, this is not what I want to say; it is what Jesus tells us, it is what His word tells us: "In everything give thanks." Why? Because Jesus did the same; He did not wait until after His resurrection to say, "You should give thanks in everything." He had already set an example for us in the flesh, giving thanks in everything.
So when you see the disciples afraid in the storm, with no way out, Jesus was not panicked; He stood up calmly and used the authority in His hands to calm the storm. When He saw ten thousand people sitting on the grass with nothing to eat, and the disciples had no way out and even began to worry, He took the five loaves and two fish, looked up to heaven, and gave thanks.
Brothers and sisters, do you see? He thanked the Father in everything because He understood one thing: the Father is in Him, and He is in the Father. So He believed that this little bit of five loaves and two fish in His hands, blessed by the Father, would be enough to feed those five thousand men.
So because of this little food in His hands, He thanked the Father, and as a result, the blessing in His hands multiplied. Many times, we keep saying: "Lord, let my blessings multiply! Give me a hundredfold blessing!" But when we hold only this little bit, instead of giving thanks, we complain, "Lord! Why did you give me only this little bit?"
Brothers and sisters, when you see Jesus walking on the earth with a physical body, His heart and mouth are often lifted up to heaven, thanking the Father. This is our example.
Jesus is also a man of prayer in everything. In fact, He does not need to pray at all because, from the divine aspect, He is God; how can He pray to Himself? That would be talking to Himself. But because at that time Jesus was in the flesh, He was also a complete man. So you will find in the Bible that for three and a half years, one thing He often did was go up to the mountain to pray alone before dawn. Sometimes after a day of ministry, He would be very tired. Jesus often spent the whole night alone praying. This is to set an example for us. In fact, we not only need to know that He is God, but we also need to understand from another aspect that He is also fully human; He also has times of hunger. But He learned to draw strength from the Father.
As your ministry increases, you need to pray more; when greater problems arise, you need to pray even more before God. When Jesus chose the twelve disciples, He prayed all night that night, so the next day He chose twelve men from that group to be His disciples. We see this as a very easy task, but very few people care about the fact that the night before, Jesus prayed all night. This is our example; Jesus sought the will of the Father in everything. Brothers and sisters, to be victorious Christians in life, you must imitate Jesus Christ. Especially, you need to learn from what He did while He was in the flesh before His death and resurrection; we can all do that.
Third, The Divinity of Jesus#
What Jesus did, we can also do. Do not say that Jesus is God, so He can heal the sick, and I cannot. He can feed five thousand people with five loaves and two fish; I definitely cannot do that. He can raise the dead; I certainly do not have that ability.
Do not let this become our reason and excuse. We forget that Jesus personally told us in John 14:12, Verily, verily, I say unto you... Every time we see such words in the Bible, the following words are extremely important because in the original language, it means I am "Amen, Amen" telling you, very certainly and importantly telling you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. Amen!
Brothers and sisters, Jesus clearly said, do not be surprised at the things I do today. What kind of things did Jesus do? Do not say that Jesus went to the cross, and I also want to go to the cross; I also want to be crucified. We cannot do the thing of going to the cross; that is not what we should do. What does Jesus mean here? Jesus healed others; today you can also heal others. When Jesus released those who were oppressed, you can also do that. When He raised the dead, you can also do that. What you bind on earth, He binds in heaven; what you release on earth, He releases in heaven.
Brothers and sisters, this is what Jesus wants to express to us. He also endured all kinds of temptations in life, but He did not sin. We can learn from the humanity of Jesus; we can know: We can indeed learn a lot from Him, and He is your example of a victorious life.
Thank the Lord, you see, for three years of ministry, Jesus prepared for thirty years beforehand, during which He spent more than a decade as a carpenter, enduring this silent process. Brothers and sisters, do you know? He entered into a human body, becoming like a man, which itself limited His ability. For God, He limited Himself in the flesh; this is a form of endurance. But many times, we do not have the ability to endure like that; we cannot stand even a little thing. "Oh, Lord, why is this happening? Why don’t You come to save us?" In fact, the time God gives us is just right; He will let you do the right thing at the right time to achieve the best results.
The humanity of Christ is the same as ours, with joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness. What about the divine aspect? He was the Son of God before He came into the world. Do not think that Mary gave birth to God; you see, some in other religions think that Mary's ability is greater than Jesus because they believe Jesus was born from Mary's womb, so Mary's ability must be greater than His. Therefore, they also worship Mary and pray to Mary, thinking that Mary can command Jesus to do things, and Jesus will certainly listen because no son disobeys his mother!
They even give examples, saying, look, when Jesus performed His first miracle, turning water into wine, Mary told Jesus that there was no wine, and at that moment, Jesus listened to Mary's words and turned the water into wine. So if Jesus does not listen, just pray to Mary. In fact, they overlook one thing; they only see Jesus from the aspect of humanity, ignoring John 2:4, where Jesus said to Mary: Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour is not yet come.
Actually, it seems very impolite for Jesus to say such unreasonable words to His physical mother. But at that time, Jesus was speaking from the divine aspect, My hour is not yet come...
No one has the right to command God to do anything; God has His timing. We cannot force God to act.
Thank the Lord, because Jesus Christ was already the Son of God before the foundation of the world, so it is not that Mary has greater ability than Him; Mary is just an ordinary person like us. It is just that the Holy Spirit used her body to give birth to Jesus. So you see, there are four Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. The first three books introduce Jesus from the aspect of humanity. But when John introduces Jesus, he does so from the aspect of His divinity, so you see that what John wrote in the Gospel is completely different from the previous ones.
He starts from the perspective of God: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God. He directly says the Word was God. Before the world was created, He was already with God, so this is called divinity.
What are the characteristics of the divinity of Jesus?
The first point is He is sinless.
This is the divinity of Jesus; none of us can choose to be sinless. As long as we are born, we are sinful people; we are born with sin because our ancestor Adam was a sinner. And sin has a characteristic: it is hereditary, so we already have sin in our mother's womb.
Psalm 51:5 Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.
But Jesus is different from us; Jesus was not born of man and woman; He was conceived by the Holy Spirit, who is a holy spirit, a pure spirit; He is sinless. This is something none of us can achieve, so this is one aspect of Christ's divinity.
So from this aspect, it proves one thing: only He can save us; that is to say, only the sinless can substitute for the sinful. If He were also sinful, He would not be able to take away our sin, nor could He substitute for our sin. So He is first a sinless person, and only then can He have the qualification to speak before God. He is born of the Holy Spirit, so He is holy and pure.
Although He appeared in the flesh, He is still sinless. 2 Corinthians 5:21 tells us: For He hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.
The second characteristic of Jesus' divinity is He did not sin.
Hebrews 4:15 states:
For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.
You see, today we humans have two places where we cannot overcome. The first point is that when we are born, we are born with sin. That sin is not a sin we commit by our actions but the sin of Adam. Many people call this original sin; this is a theological concept. Today we say, I am born with sin; no one can change your identity as a sinner before God.
The second point is that after you are born, you will definitely sin; no one can say: I live without sinning. No one can do that, but Jesus accomplished both points. First, He was born without sin because He was conceived by the Holy Spirit; second, while living in this world, He did not commit any sin, not even one. He did not hate anyone; He did not steal anything from others; all His actions conformed to the Old Testament law.
Thank the Lord, so He is our high priest. The Bible particularly mentions one thing: He is not unable to sympathize with our weaknesses; this means that while He is living in the flesh, He can understand your suffering. Brothers and sisters, this is very important; no matter what suffering you have, no matter how wronged you feel, when you tell Jesus and pray to Him, He knows. Because what He suffered far exceeds what we have suffered; He has experienced everything we go through, and He has gone through all the sufferings of this world, so He can understand and sympathize with us. Just like today, if you have never been sick, you will not understand the pain of the sick. When you are healed from your illness, you can look back and comfort those who have the same illness because you know their difficulties.
Brothers and sisters, Jesus has experienced all our sufferings, so He understands very well. He encountered many sick people, so He knows how to heal you. Thank the Lord, so do not say: "Oh, no one understands me, Jesus understands you!" Do not say: "Who can know my grievances?" Jesus knows. You say, "I am suffering; who can sympathize with me?" Jesus can sympathize with you.
Because He is our high priest, He has also been tempted in all points, directly from the devil; all kinds of temptations came upon Him, but He overcame. The difference between Him and us is that He overcame all of this; He did not sin. Thank the Lord.
Such a holy, unblemished, and high priest above the heavens, do you know that such a priest is praying for us?
Thank the Lord, so there is nothing you cannot get through; your God knows everything. When you pray to Him, He can understand and give His comfort to you. Hallelujah!
So the Bible tells us that although He lived with a physical body, He did not sin, nor was there any deceit in His mouth.
The third point of Jesus' divinity is: He cannot be held by death.
Brothers and sisters, if someone says He is sinless, death will absolutely not come upon Him.
Thank the Lord, this can be seen in the Bible. If Adam had not sinned, he would have lived forever. So today, when people die, it shows that there is sin in them because the wages of sin is death.
What is special about this? You see, today when a person dies, he must be carrying sin; otherwise, he cannot die. If he has no sin, even if he dies, death cannot hold him. Jesus Christ died, but in fact, no one could kill Him; He willingly laid down His life for us. In truth, no one could kill Him.
John 10:17 Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again.
John 10:18 No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.
You see, when He was in the Garden of Gethsemane, those people came with sticks on the fifteenth night, with the moon shining brightly, carrying torches to find Jesus. Jesus said: I am. When they heard Jesus say this, they all fell to the ground. No one could seize Jesus, beat Him, or crucify Him; if He did not want to, no one could do it. But Jesus willingly laid down His life. He was willing to offer His life so that we could have life.
The divinity of Jesus is vividly expressed in this aspect; He offered His life to us, but because He is sinless, even though He willingly offered His life, because He is sinless, death cannot hold Him. It cannot confine Him; He rose from the dead.
Jesus' resurrection demonstrates that He is the Son of God. After people die, they cannot come back to life by themselves, but Christ is not like that; He indeed laid down His life for us. But He rose again, and now He lives forever before God. Death cannot rule over Him, not because He is the Son of God, but because He is sinless, because He has never sinned, because He is complete and holy, death cannot hold Him.
Acts 2:24 tells us, Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that He should be holden of it.
Brothers and sisters, this is the important aspect of divinity. When we die, we cannot come back to life because we have sin. But Jesus is different; no one can kill Him; this is the aspect of Jesus' divinity. We must be clear about this; otherwise, it is easy for people to misunderstand.
For example, some people say that when Jesus was nailed to the cross, He did not feel pain because He is God; no one can kill Him. This is wrong because at that time, He had a human side.
Brothers and sisters, from the divine aspect, we can explain it in three aspects: first, He is sinless; He is born of the Holy Spirit. Second, He did not sin! Because of the first two reasons, He cannot be held by death. His resurrection from the dead is to demonstrate that He is the Son of God. So although He took on the likeness of man, He humbled Himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
Because He paid the price of His life for us, God has highly exalted Him and given Him a name which is above every name.
So when we briefly share the dual nature of Jesus Christ, apart from His divine aspect, there are things you cannot do, such as going to the cross for our sins, shedding blood, and sacrificing; do not imitate Him, do not do it because you cannot. Also, you cannot do the aspect of not sinning, nor can you imitate Him in being born without sin.
In addition, Jesus has given us His authority and power. We can imitate His humanity; we can imitate how He draws strength and power from the Father.
From the divine aspect, it shows that God loves us so much, laying down His life to save us. Jesus became like a man, to be exactly like us, to become one of us, so that He could be hung up to bear our sins, to save us from sin. Jesus understands everything about us, including suffering, and no one can understand the pain Jesus experienced.
By His stripes, we are healed. You are to receive His healing. By His punishment, you gain peace. You are to receive His peace today. Hallelujah, thank the Lord. We have briefly shared the dual nature of Jesus Christ. Let us continue to look at (read verse 5).
Romans 1:5 By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for His name.
Thank the Lord, what benefits does the dual nature of Jesus Christ bring us?
During His ministry on earth, what did we see from Him? Grace and truth. In other words, the grace and truth that come out of Jesus Christ. Just like we read in verse 5, we have received grace from Him.
Brothers and sisters, what we have received from Him is not torment, not pain. What we have received from Him is not more law. We have received His grace and the apostleship from Jesus Christ.
Thank the Lord, what the twelve apostles did, we can do today. Do not envy them because their ability also comes from Jesus Christ; they also received grace from Jesus Christ.
Third, Jesus gave us His life#
What kind of life is He? He is a holy life, a righteous life, a wise life, an abundant life. He has given us such blessings. He has received grace from God, received His mercy, love, and salvation. All of this is accomplished by God, and there is not a bit of our own effort involved; God has given these to us through Jesus, showing how much God loves us. How long is this love? Do not say it is ten thousand years because that is too short. Thank the Lord, in the world, some movies say that if one must put a time limit on love, the longest time people can think of is ten thousand years. But ten thousand years is too short in God's eyes. The love God gives us is an everlasting love. The grace God gives us, the mercy He gives us, the love and salvation He gives us last forever. There is no time limit.
So today, as you listen to the word, at this moment, God's love is also upon you. His grace, His mercy, His salvation is also upon you; His righteousness is also upon you; His eyes are also upon you, never leaving you. Hallelujah, because He has given you the life of Jesus.
He freely gives us grace, and we do not need to pay a price to receive it.
The salvation of Jesus Christ, the love of Jesus Christ for us, is not because we have good behavior that Jesus loves us, but because He loves us, He freely gives us everything. What we need to do is to believe and receive what Jesus accomplished for us on the cross.
Just like the scripture we just read, we have received this grace from Him. What you need to do is to continuously receive this grace. Every day you need to receive it. We are saved by the grace of the Lord Jesus, just like them, just like who? Just like the people of Israel, just like the Jewish people. Today we are under God's grace; because of the redemption of Jesus Christ, we are justified freely; this salvation is God's grace, it is His grace, and it is also because of our faith; believe and you will receive it, not of yourselves.
So do not envy: "Wow, because Jesus is born of the Holy Spirit, so He is born without sin." If you say that, we will never reach that standard. Today, Jesus has also freely given you salvation, so we are saved, not by our own efforts, not by works, lest any man should boast.
The Father watches over us every day.
After Jesus gave us His life, He continues to watch over us and supply us. Philippians 4:19 tells us: But my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
Brothers and sisters, you can constantly meditate on this scripture. Every day, God supplies you according to His riches and glory, making sure you have everything you need. The reason is that He has given you His life; He loves you so much, and you need to receive His grace. Thank the Lord.
He grants us the promise of eternal redemption and glory.
Today we can change our identity and become children of God, becoming blameless, glorious children of God because He has given us His life, allowing us to be with Him forever, to worship Him together, and to receive His grace forever. Everything God does today has only one purpose: to let you continuously receive His grace.
What you need to do is to enjoy all that He has accomplished. Every day, receive what Jesus has done, and live with the power of Jesus. What comes out of Him is not condemnation, not shame, and not curses. What comes out of Him is always grace and truth. Hallelujah, God is willing to treat us this way because Jesus has placed His life upon us and given it to us. Hallelujah.
Let us continue to look at,
God has shown His exceedingly rich grace, which is His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus, to the coming ages.
Thank the Lord, brothers and sisters, do you know what else this means? Why does God bless you so much today? Because through you receiving God's blessing, you are to become a testimony for future generations. Do not understand this blessing too narrowly; many people always say: "Wow, I am very wealthy; this is a blessing." But it is not necessarily like that; it is God watching over you in everything, keeping you, allowing you to live joyfully in any environment; this is being blessed.
Brothers and sisters, do not say that we are blessed just because our wealth has increased. In fact, living a joyful life without lack in your heart every day is being blessed. Because you know that God supplies you every day, watches over you, and when you have difficulties, He will help you. When you are in trouble, He will save you; you are blessed. You understand that God walks with you; you understand where you are going in the future; you understand who supplies you, yet you do not need any conditions; His love is unconditional, His supply is unconditional, and His healing is also unconditional. Hallelujah, thank the Lord.
Brothers and sisters, you need to live out the likeness of Christ in your life. Do not say, "Lord, I have no money; how can I live out Your likeness?" You need to see that God is supplying you every day.
Because your life is in God's hands, your living is also in God's hands; as long as you are willing, God can give you. Thank the Lord, so you need to be a testimony to those around you, letting them know God's grace. God can use you to spread the gospel to them, so they can also trust in this Lord, so they can come to Jesus Christ to receive His grace and the apostleship.
What is the apostleship for? It is to be sent out to preach His gospel, to proclaim the mysteries of the kingdom, to share the good news of Jesus Christ.
Thank the Lord, we have received such a calling; today we can all say we are evangelists, we can all say we are priests, we can all say we possess all the authority and power of Jesus.
So what the apostles could do at that time, you can also do today. This is the authority God has given you. Hallelujah, so you have received grace and then use this authority so that those around you can see God's glory.
Because Jesus came, we saw God in Jesus; today you need to be that kind of person, letting others see the beauty of Jesus through you. Hallelujah!
Thank and praise the Lord; this is the important reason we rely on God every day while living in this world, which is to let others, those around you, see Jesus in you. The eyes of the world cannot see God, but they can see you.
When one day they say: "It is good to believe in Jesus; your God is truly good," that gives glory to God. Hallelujah!
So Jesus said, "If you have seen me, you have seen the Father."
How many of us today dare to say: "If you have seen me, you have seen Jesus?" How many people dare to say that? Some say, "My behavior is not good; my life is not good, so how can I dare to say that if you see me, you see Jesus?" But do you know? The authority Jesus gave you has not been discounted. He has already given you the apostleship.
You must first receive God's grace, then let others see this blessing of God in you. Receive grace, live out grace. In this way, you will attract many people to come close to Jesus and be willing to draw near to Jesus. Hallelujah, thank the Lord!
What does receiving His apostleship mean? The second half of verse 5 says: among all nations, for His name, to bring them to obedience to the faith. Originally, the one we proclaim with our mouths is only one person, His name is Jesus Christ, because He is the truth. Today, when we can bear good witness for Jesus among all nations, we make people obey God's word through what we do!
Verse 6 particularly tells us: among whom are ye also the called of Jesus Christ.
Do you know that you are now called and belong to Christ? No one can change this identity of yours; no one can take away this apostleship from you. So you can become a beautiful witness for Jesus.
Thank the Lord, right where you are, in your workplace, in your family, in your social circles, let those who deal with you see the grace of Christ through you, so they may obey the truth in the name of Jesus Christ.
The more we understand Jesus, the more we understand His goodness, His authority, and how great His power is. The more you understand, the more you will reflect it in your life. If you are a child, then in your eyes, candy may be the most valuable thing, but as you grow a little older, you will find, "Wow, it is not candy." Why? Because there are clothes; clothes are much better than candy. Why? Because your values have changed. The more you know Jesus, the more joy you will have, and your life will continue to grow.
As your life grows, you will find that there are other greater gifts and blessings within God's blessings. So you are willing to know Jesus more deeply, willing to understand Him more deeply.
Later, you will discover that all authority, all glory, and all blessings in heaven and earth are in Jesus Christ. The more you know, the more you will receive, and the more blessings you will be able to bear. When you receive, your heart will be filled with the grace of Jesus Christ. At that moment, when you see people, you will want to tell others.
Brothers and sisters, today many people say: "I cannot evangelize." It is because you have not received enough. Brothers and sisters, when you have received enough, you will be eager to tell others, and you will have a lot to say. So you are here listening to God's word; we talk about Jesus Christ to let brothers and sisters know more about the grace of Jesus Christ.
Paul understood the goodness of Christ, and he crazily dedicated his life to Jesus Christ, preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ everywhere.
Brothers and sisters, may we know the grace of Christ more and receive His grace; let us start with receiving!
Let us pray together:
Loving Heavenly Father, thank you for your grace. We come into this world in the flesh, and many things we experience, You already know. The grievances we suffer, the pain we endure, You understand, so You can comfort us, and You can give us Your comfort and peace.
Thank you for giving me authority and power. Let me no longer rely on my own wisdom today, because You have placed Your life in me; I am willing to live according to Your word. Please help me!
Lord, we truly know that You supply us every day; we receive grace not because of our good behavior, but because You love us, and You are willing to give it to us, and You are happy to do so.
Lord, thank you for loving us so much. Please give us strength to become beautiful witnesses for others, so that those around me can see Jesus Christ through me. We pray in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen!