CONFESSING CHRIST

Confessing Jesus the Christ as Lord

"Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses." 1 Tim 6:12

Ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce to you

JESUS the CHRIST your LORD!

He is the Human One! Son of God!

God is using JESUS to judge the World.

God raised JESUS from the dead as proof.

Satan works to distract us from God’s Act in Christ to put the world right with Himself. It is right to oppose sin - but if we shove Christ aside in the process - WHAT HAVE WE LOST! The very heart of the Gospel is THE MAN! THE HUMAN ONE! There could be no Kingdom without Jesus The King!

John the Apostle wrestled with deceivers who hated the doctrine that God the Eternal Word became flesh and dwelt among us. The Books of 1,2,3 John, the Gospel of John, and Revelation bear witness to this. Anyone who will not confess the Incarnation is antichrist and heretic. The gnostics were doing this (2 John 7). And some in the church today say Jesus wore a disguise and was not flesh & blood at all. They also deny Jesus was tempted in every way that we are yet without sin. But this destroys the Atonement. The Lamb of God purged sin by His sacrificial death and resurrection. (Hebrews 1:1-3; 4:15-16)

Should there be a Confessing Movement in the church? YES! This is the ancient shout of the church. JESUS IS LORD! Crucified! Risen! Coming Again! Every knee shall bow! Every tongue confess! HE is Bridegroom. The Church is the Lamb’s Bride. In 1 Cor 15 Paul the Apostle shows Christ as the second Adam, federal head of the redeemed race of humans. He is Risen! We shall rise! New bodies, incorruptible, eternal. As we bore the image of the first Adam, flesh & blood, skin & bones - so shall we bear the image of the Risen Christ.

The Revelation: A vision. Christ Jesus. Dressed as a High Priest and a King. Voice like a wild-water river. The basic message of Revelation is the same as the rest of the NT. The Lamb opens the sealed scroll and puts into effect God’s Great Plan for the human race. Jesus is the Alpha and Omega. The Originator and Finisher. Was dead - now Alive forever!

But wait, we see all these dodgy lives. Has the church lost her way? Hear what the Spirit says to the churches. "He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels." Rev 3:5 Revive Your church, O God!

Revelation shows churches with many problems. It is in the context of struggle that God is working His Plan. Christians have hope in a world filled with despair. We struggle, but Jesus has overcome the world! If we could see as He sees, we would be amazed! And encouraged!

Jesus came as a male person. But His mission is for both male and female. Women of faith followed Him as well as men of faith. Perhaps the church has not always recognized this. In the upper room in Acts 1, both men and women were among the 120 there for the prayer meeting. And both women and men participated in choosing the replacement for Judas. On Pentecost the Holy Spirit was poured out on both sons and daughters. Philip had unmarried daughters who prophesied. Phoebe was a servant of the church. In Acts 5, both men & women became Christians. Paul wrote: "Nevertheless, neither is man independent of woman, nor woman independent of man, in the Lord. For as woman came from man, even so man also comes through woman; but all things are from God."

(1 Cor 11:11-12) The man and the woman together (for both are essential) attain the pattern of redeemed humanity represented by the bride, the Church.

In the creation account, a rib is taken from Adam to produce Eve. Not a separate creation, but a companion counterpart for Adam. A prophecy is given that the Seed of the woman will bruise the head of the serpent. In the Childbearing, Mary by divine intervention becomes the Theotokos, the God-bearer. This is what some mean when they call Mary the mother of God. God Himself (Eternal Word) was coming into our World of Time to save the world (John 3:16-17). He - Eternal Word - took flesh & blood, skin & bones - while still remaining God. He became the Author & Finisher of Faith - to Save the world and bring LIFE! God’s great Plan was made before the creation of the world. "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, " Eph 1:3-4