The Magnificent Christ: The Face of Our Heavenly Father
Jesus Christ and the total Revelation of Redemption was the Father’s grand plan.
We speak continually of our redemption and salvation as the work of Christ and we are right to do so. He indeed is the total victory we enjoy. But we must not forget that the plan was the Father’s grand plan that He conceived and commissioned His Son to accomplish. The one classic description of this eternal theological master plan is found in the words of the Holy Ghost as given to Apostle Paul.
“God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high; Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they. For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son? And again, when he bringeth in the firstbegotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him. And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire. But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom. “(Hebrews 1:1-8) This is lofty truth that explodes the mind!
It was Jesus Christ Himself that left no doubt of His Father’s Divine mind that was sovereign in all Christ’s person, words, and actions. “For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak.” (John 12:49)Again He said, “I have many things to say and to judge of you: but he that sent me is true; and I speak to the world those things which I have heard of him.” (John 8:26) Listen to this, “I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.” (John 5:30) The following statement is powerful. “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.” (John 10:18) The Son was obedient to the Father.
There can be no doubt of our Father’s face present in every movement from Genesis One to Revelation Twenty-Two. People often speak of the actions of the Romans or the apostate Jews in crucifying Jesus Christ. They were guilty because they allowed themselves to be guilty. But it was the Father’s plan and the Father rejoiced in the victory. Isaiah spoke this truth prophetically. “Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.” (Isaiah 53:10-11) The cross of crucifixion was the Father’s greatest sacrifice in redeeming this lost world.
Nothing proves the magnificence of Jesus Christ more than Satan’s passion to produce his own son. From Nimrod to the present day, Satan has had a multitude of candidates to be his son, or to understand better, his antichrist. At every time as these evil persons have been near success, the Restrainer has acted to defeat Lucifer and his scheme. Studying history is a Biblical experience of every prophetic truth in Holy Scripture. Actually, History is “His Story”.
Today we are blessed to see the last effort of Satan to produce his antichrist. This time the Pre-Tribulation Rapture will occur and the Restrainer will end His marvelous history of holding the devil at bay. The Bride will be transported to the very presence of the Bridegroom and the son of Satan will begin his reign on earth. Apostle Paul described this awesome day in his second letter to the Thessalonians. “And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders.” (II Thessalonians 2: 6-9)
The grand picture of the Father and His description of His Son is filled with glory. I suggest you go back in this article and read again the words of Hebrew 1:1-8. The present world is on a binge to reduce, reeducate and destroy the lofty magnificence of our Lord Jesus Christ. As hard as they may try they are destined to fail. Let’s review a little of the great revelation of our Christ, the Son of God.
• “Whom he hath appointed heir of all things.” (Hebrews 1:2) The Father Himself has made all of church history the appointed time of His Son. He is the Lord of the church, the High Priest of every believer, and the Soon Coming King of Kings.
• “By whom also he made the worlds.” (Hebrews 1:2) John said it best in Saint John Chapter One: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.” (St. John 1:1-5)
• “Who being the brightness of his (Father’s) glory.” (Hebrews 1:3) The Father is the Eternal God that no man has seen His face. His glory is beyond the pale of flesh. Yet the Son of God is the brightness of that glory that we will soon behold in unveiled splendor. Everything about our Christ is very shortly to be manifest in the heavens and seen by the wicked as they hide themselves in rocks and mountains.
• “The Express Image of His person.” (Hebrews 1:3) There is no glory of the Father that does not also apply to the Son. Jesus prayed in His pastoral prayer of John 17: “These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee… And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.”
(John 17:1, 5) Our Christ was compelled to lay aside this glory of the Father until His earthly life and death was finished. Apostle John saw that glory unveiled in Revelation One.
(John 17:1, 5) Our Christ was compelled to lay aside this glory of the Father until His earthly life and death was finished. Apostle John saw that glory unveiled in Revelation One.
• “Upholding all things by the word of his power.” (Hebrews 1:3) While our world rejects the person of Jesus Christ, it is He that sustains the very life of the universe. If He could be dethroned and destroyed, this earth would vanish in seconds. He is the eternal light of the world. No wonder the devil was jealous of the Son of God. This is probably the very source of his being cast out of heaven. This fact also testifies to the authority and supernatural powers of His every word as reflected in the Bible.
• “Purged our sins.” (Hebrews 1:3) What a marvelous fact in our redemption. There is no forgiveness or freedom from sin and death but by His sacrifice for our sin. He did not die to cover our sins but to forgive and destroy our sins. Our God creates a saint in seconds when that person is surrendered to Him.
• “Sat down on the right hand of the majesty on high.” (Hebrews 1:3) The devil is tormented just to see and know that God’s Son is seated in the Heavenly temple and performing the tasks he was so determined to fulfill. Satan’s plan is still to dethrone God and install himself and his antichrist in the majestic temple. The battle is raging and we can see the struggle on every level of human life.
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