I love the Lord's interchanges with the religious rulers of His day, the Pharisees. Jesus always cuts to the heart of every issue of life, every point of the Law that these religionists would bring up.
Perhaps one of my favorites is the encounter described in the gospel of John, chapter 5. In the midst of "discussion" about Jesus' claims of relationship with His Father, we find this surprising "jewel" tucked away in the discourse:
You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life;
and it is they that bear witness about me,
yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.
John 5:39-40 ESV
Wow! I remember the first time I really got this! I began to realize that even though we Christians have come to Christ for eternal life initially ("salvation"), we can live our lives as if Bible reading and study, in and of themselves, are what gives us a greater experience of that "life." We can treat the Bible above the Lord Himself, if we are not careful.
But here's the truth:
All...yes, all...of the Scriptures points to our Lord Jesus Christ, who is the Father's All. And we come to HIM to experience LIFE!
Paul said it well,
Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ...
Galatians 3:24 NASB
And even as believers, the Scriptures expound Christ to us so that we can know Him in ever increasing measure. Along with Paul we can exclaim,
I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead.
I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death,
so that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead!
...Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.
Philippians 3:8-10 NLT
So as promised in yesterday's post, here are just a very few of the precious Scriptures that point to our Christ. Our brother, Watchman Nee, has saturated his writings with the truths of Scripture concerning our glorious Lord Jesus Christ.
Take a few moments today and meditate on these gems (many of which are familiar) which are tucked away in the short excerpt of Christ, the Sum of All Spiritual Things.
Our Jesus is...
I am the way, and the truth, and the life.
No one comes to the Father except through me.
John 14:6 ESV
And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature,
and upholds all things by the word of His power...
Hebrews 1:2 ESV
For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily,
and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority.
Colossians 2:9-10 ESV
And because of him, you are in Christ Jesus,
who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption,
so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.
1 Corinthians 1:30-31 ESV
If you are journaling, add your own Christ-centered favorites. And if you care to, comment and add them in below...we would love to share them with you so that...
...in everything he might be preeminent.
Colossians 1:18c ESV
For a good read, visit High Calling, What Does it Mean that Jesus Came to Fulfill Scripture
