186 God speaks to us in Jesus - Part 1 - a podcast by Dr David Petts - Pentecostal preacher, former AoG Bible College Principal

Talk 2 God speaks to us in Jesus (Part 1)

In the last talk we gave an outline of what the Bible teaches on how God speaks to us. We saw that:

1. God speaks to all humanity through creation
2. He spoke to Israel by the prophets
3. He has finally spoken by his Son
4. He speaks today through the Bible
5. He speaks by his Spirit
6. He speaks through other people

Now because this series is primarily about how God speaks to us as Christians today, I won't be developing points 1 and 2 any further. This is because:

1. Although Christians may see more clearly than other people that God speaks through his creation, as we saw in the last talk, God speaks to all people in this way, not just to Christians.
2. The fact that God spoke to Israel in Old Testament times by the prophets has no direct bearing on how he speaks to Christians today. He now speaks by his Son.

 

It’s points 3-6, however, that do have a direct bearing on how God speaks to us as Christians today, and those are the things we’ll be dealing with in more detail in the remaining talks. We’ll begin in this talk by considering how God continues to speak to us in Jesus. As we have already seen, although in the past God spoke to Israel through the Old Testament prophets, he has now spoken by his Son:

In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son (Hebrews 1:1-2).

But he has not just spoken. He continues to speak to us through Jesus. Jesus is God’s Word to us (John 1:1-2, 14). In Jesus God continues to speak to us in the following ways:

• God speaks to us in the person of Jesus
• God speaks to us in the words of Jesus
• God speaks to us in the actions of Jesus (next time)

In these three ways God speaks  to us through Jesus revealing what he (God) is like, teaching us what to believe, and showing us how we should live.

God speaks to us in the person of Jesus

We have already seen from Hebrews 1 that in these last days God has spoken to us by his Son. But the passage goes on to make a staggering claim about who Jesus actually is:

In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven (Hebrews 1:1-3).

These verses make it clear that Jesus is none other than God himself. He is the exact representation of his being. Colossians 1 says the same thing:

For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him (vv.13-16).

Jesus is here described as the image of the invisible God. Putting it simply, both writers are saying, If you want to know what God is like, take a look at Jesus! Jesus himself said the same thing in John 14:6-9:

"I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him." Philip said, "Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us." Jesus answered: "Don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father…

All these verses confirm the truth that in the person of Jesus we see exactly what God is like. As we have seen, God has revealed his existence through creation and from it we have some understanding of what God is like. But that is nothing compared with the way God has revealed himself in Jesus. In Jesus we have a clear picture of who God is. John 1:18 tells us that No one has ever seen God, but the One and Only who is at the Father’s side has made him known.

Jesus is the full and final revelation of who God is. To see Jesus is to see God. God speaks to us in Jesus and reveals his goodness, his kindness, his compassion, his humility, his patience, and his love. In Jesus we see him healing the sick, giving sight to the blind, feeding the hungry, raising the dead and forgiving sinners. As we look at Jesus in the pages of the New Testament we hear God saying, I LOVE YOU!

God speaks to us in the words of Jesus

So God speaks to us in the person of Jesus revealing what God is like. But he also speaks to us in the words of Jesus teaching us what to believe. What we believe is important for three main reasons:

• It what affects we say
• It influences how we behave
• It determines our ultimate destiny.

Jesus made it clear that what we believe in our heart will affect what we say:

The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks (Luke 6:45. Cf. Matthew 12:34).

The apostle Paul expresses the same truth when he says:

It is written: "I believed; therefore I have spoken." With that same spirit of faith we also believe and therefore speak (2 Corinthians 4:13, quoting Psalm 116:10).

And again In Romans 10:9-10 he says:

That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.

These verses are not merely an illustration of how what we believe will affect what we say. They show that, when it comes to the matter of salvation, there’s a clear connection between believing in Jesus with our heart and acknowledging him with our mouth. If our faith is real, we’ll be talking about him. In the following verses Paul goes on to say that salvation is available to anyone who will trust in Jesus (v.11) and that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved (v.13). He then goes on to ask:

How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? (v.14).

So what we believe is important because it affects what we say, and what we say is important because it affects other people. If we believe what Jesus says about himself and tell others about him, we will be sharing with them the truth that can lead to their salvation. As we read the New Testament, then, we should pay attention to what Jesus says. His words are the expression of his heart and he himself is the Word of God and is the expression of his Father’s heart. God speaks to us in the words of Jesus teaching us what to believe and tell others. On the other hand, if we believe and say things that are not true we may lead others into error.

Secondly, what we believe is important because it influences how we behave. We only have to look around us to see plenty of evidence of this. From a negative perspective, believing something that isn’t true can have disastrous consequences. It’s evident in the thousands of girls whose lives have been ruined through female genital mutilation (FGM) in countries where there is a tradition of female circumcision. Why do they do this? Because they believe that it’s the right thing to do! Belief influences behaviour. That’s why what we believe is so important.

And as Christians it’s the teaching of Jesus that determines what we believe and how we behave. Or at least it should be! We need to believe what he says and put it into practice. In James 2 we’re told that believing is not enough. If our faith is genuine it will be expressed in action:

What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead (vv.14-17).

So when our faith, our belief in Jesus, is real it will be accompanied by action. If we love him we will do what he says – even when it seems crazy! Let me give you one small example. As a teenager I was personally challenged by what Jesus says in Matthew chapter 5:

You have heard that it was said, 'Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.' But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also… You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbour and hate your enemy. 'But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven (vv.38-39, 43-45).

Did Jesus mean that literally, or was there another explanation? Now explain it away as much as you like, I couldn’t escape the clear meaning of what Jesus said. If someone hit me I was not to hit back. Shortly after coming to this decision, I had an unexpected opportunity to put into practice what I believed.

It was a Sunday evening and I was walking home after church. Two boys about my age were coming in the opposite direction towards me. Suddenly, as they got level with me, one of them, without warning, took a swing at me and hit me on the side of my face! I think I was surprised rather than hurt. I didn’t know him. As far as I know, he didn’t know me. I hadn’t done anything that could have offended him. So why did he hit me? I didn’t ask, but, remembering Jesus’ teaching, I said, ‘I don’t know why you did that, but, if it gave you any pleasure, perhaps you’d like to hit the other side now’. How did he react? A look of sheer amazement, an embarrassed laugh, followed by a speedy retreat!

Now let me make it clear. I’m not suggesting that Jesus gave us these instructions as a piece of advice on self-defence! I think that in such circumstances we should expect to be hit a second time, but I believe that on this occasion God was honouring my obedience to the words of the Lord Jesus. And I’m not trying to tell anyone else how they should behave. I’m just asking the question, How seriously do we take what Jesus says? John tells us that we love him because he first loved us (1 John 4:19) and Jesus said that if we love him we will do what he says (John 14:15).

Finally, what we believe is important because it determines our ultimate destiny. The most important thing Jesus teaches us to believe is to believe in him. Trusting in Jesus is the only way of salvation. The things we have done wrong separate us from a holy God. Our only means of access to God, either in this life or the next, is through Jesus. That’s because only Jesus was good enough to take the punishment our sins deserve. In the words of an old hymn:

There was no other good enough to pay the price of sin.

He only could unlock the gate of heaven and let us in.

Nowhere is this clearer than in John’s Gospel where Jesus clearly states:

I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me (John 14:6).

Peter proclaims the same truth when, talking about Jesus, he says:

Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved (Acts 4:12).

And Paul tells us that

there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus who gave himself as a ransom for all (1 Timothy 2:5-6).

We can’t put things right with God by trying to do better or ‘turning over a new leaf’. Our only hope is for God to have mercy on us – and he will, if we put our trust in Jesus. These verses in John 3 could not be clearer:

16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.

36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him.

What we believe is vitally important because it affects our ultimate destiny.

Next time:

God speaks to us in the actions of Jesus

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