Not without Jesus
"And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent." (John 17:3)
"Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus..." (1 Corinthians 1:1)
January 16, 2025
Dear friends,
It's not unusual to hear someone say, "I believe in God, but not Jesus." In other words, faith in the Lord Jesus is not necessary for a person to have a relationship with God. I've heard it said, and I think it's true, that if you believe in God, but don't believe in Jesus, then you don't really believe in God.
Is that too harsh? Yet, how can we know the Father who sent his Son, when at the same time we are rejecting the Son who reveals the Father? (John 1:12-18)
Recently, when reading chapter one of Paul's first letter to the Corinthians, I noticed how central the Lord Jesus was to the Apostle Paul’s thinking. Ten times in the first ten verses of the epistle Paul highlights the necessity of Christ himself for our salvation and life. Here's the list:
1) Jesus is the source of authority and service. Paul was "called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus..." (v 1) Paul went forth under the authority of Christ to serve in his name.
2) He is the source of sanctification. "...to those sanctified in Christ Jesus..." (v 2) Our cleansing, and our identity as saints, comes from the Lord Jesus.
3) We pray in Jesus name. "...who call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ..." (v 2) In every place around the world true believers pray in Jesus' name. His name stands for who he is and all that he has done.
4) Along with the Father he is the source of grace and peace. "Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ." (v 3)
5) He is the channel of spiritual gifts from God. "...in Christ Jesus, that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge..." (v 4-5)
6) He is the central subject of the gospel and the object of our faith. "...the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you..." (v 6)
7) He is our blessed hope for the future. "...as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ..." (v 7)
8) He sustains us until that Day. "...who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ." (v 8)
9) We are called into communion with Christ. "...you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord." (v 9)
10) He is the basis of our life and fellowship with other believers. "I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ..." (v 10)
Christ is the foundation upon which God's Kingdom is built. Christ is our authority, our sanctifier, the giver of grace and peace, our sustainer, our savior, and the object of our faith. He does not stand alone, for he comes with the purpose of reconciling us with the Father. Our union with Christ ("in Christ Jesus") brings us into fellowship with the Father. There is no gospel (good news) without Jesus Christ. It is through Jesus that we know God.
The Apostle Peter agrees: "And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12)
And Matthew recorded Jesus' words, "All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him." (Matthew 11:27)
This is not to question the sincerity of people's faith. There is a popular belief that faith, any faith, if held sincerely, puts a person right with God. The Bible says that it's not sincerity that saves us, but it is Jesus who saves us. And it's vital that our faith be in him as he is offered to us in the gospel.
Have you come to Jesus and put your faith in him?
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That's it for this week!
Sandy
Afterwords is an occasional newsletter by me (Sandy Young) on topics of interest to me since my retirement from full-time pastoral ministry. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from The ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.