Unveiling the Invisible God

Jesus unlocks the Hebrew Scriptures, reveals the Divine nature, and manifests the redemptive purposes of the God of Israel.

Jesus unveils the knowledge of God and implements His plan of redemption. He is the center of his Father’s purposes and the key to understanding the Hebrew Scriptures. Only the Nazarene is qualified to reveal the invisible God, and through Christ alone, all the promises of God are fulfilled.

The Gospel of John presents Jesus as the ‘Logos’ (λογος), the Living Expression of God. The Father made all things according to the ‘Logos’, which is now embodied – “made flesh” - in the man from Nazareth. The glory and presence of the God of Israel are exhibited in Jesus for all men to behold.

[Key to Heaven - Photo by Jessica Yong on Unsplash]

The “Law” was given by Moses, but “grace and truth” came to be through the “only born son.” Only the Son has seen the “unseen God.” Therefore, he alone is qualified to “interpret” what God is and what He does. This is why any man who has seen Christ has also “seen the Father.” God cannot be known apart from His Son:

• “The Word became flesh and tabernacled among us. And we beheld his glory, glory as of the only born from the Father, full of grace and truth. <…> For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came to be through Jesus Christ. No man has seen God at any time. The only born Son, he has declared him” - (John 1:14-18).

• “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father except through me. <…> He who has seen me has seen the Father” - (John 14:6-9).

• “Seeing it is God who said, Light will shine out of darkness, who shined in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” - (2 Corinthians 4:6).

As the “Son of Man,” Jesus is the “ladder” or gateway between the Earth and Heaven on whom angels “ascend and descend.” He is the only means by which we can approach God and the only source of salvation and everlasting life.

• “And in no other man is there salvation, for neither is there any other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” – (Acts 4:12).

• “And the witness is this, that God gave us everlasting life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has the life. He who has not the Son of God has not the life” – (1 John 5:11-12).

Christ is the true and greater “Sanctuary” prefigured in the ancient Tabernacle, the true Sanctuary “not made with hands.” Likewise, he is the place where men and women now worship God “in Spirit and in truth” - (John 1:51, 2:17-22, 14:1-7).

• “He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things he might be preeminent. For it was the good pleasure of the Father that in him should all the fullness dwell <…> for in him dwells all the fullness of God bodily, and in him, you are made full, who is the head of all principality and power” – (Colossians 1:19, 2:9).

• “But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for such does the Father seek to be his worshippers” – (John 4:23-24).

Jesus came to “fulfill the Law and the Prophets.” He authoritatively declared the true intent and meaning of the Law - “You have heard it said to them of old <…> but I declare to you!” Obedience to his words decides whether we are accepted or rejected by him on the Last Day, and Christ’s word is the final say on any matter - (Matthew 5:17-20, 7:21-23).

DIVINE MYSTERIES UNVEILED

At the Jordan River, the heavenly voice identified Christ as “My Beloved Son.” At the Transfiguration, that same voice declared, “This is My Beloved Son. Hear him!” Only Jesus has the words of God and life that all men need - (Mark 1:1-11, 9:7).

• “It is the spirit that gives life. The flesh profits nothing. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit, and they are life <…> Jesus said therefore to the twelve, Would you also go away? Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom will we go? You have the words of everlasting life”  – (John 6:63-68).

Jesus is the “Son” from the seed of David. He was “marked out as the Son of God by power, according to a spirit of holiness, through a resurrection of the dead.” In him, God revealed the “Mystery that was kept hidden since times everlasting but now is made manifest” - (Romans 1:3-4, 16:25, 1 Corinthians 1:24, Colossians 1:26, 2:2).

Indeed, “Christ is the mystery of God hidden for ages and generations, but now has been manifested to his saints.” Moreover, the proclamation of “Christ crucified” is the “Power and Wisdom of God.” This same Jesus is the one in whom “all His promises find their Yea and Amen” - (Ephesians 3:8-11, 2 Corinthians 1:20).

Indeed, Christ is the very “image of the unseen God.” The “knowledge of the glory of God” is seen in his “face” alone. The rituals and regulations of the Torah were but “shadows of the coming things.” However, Jesus is the substance that casts the shadows - (2 Corinthians 4:4-6, Colossians 1:15, 2:16).

• “For the law was given through Moses. Grace and truth came to be through Jesus Christ” – (John 1:17).

• “For the law having a shadow of the good things to come, not the very image of the things…” – (Hebrews 10:1).

It is Jesus, the sacrificial “Lamb,” who was found “worthy” to open the “Sealed Scroll” in the Book of Revelation. He is the one who unveils and executes the Scroll’s contents.  He is the “Faithful Witness” – His death – and the “Firstborn of the Dead” – His resurrection; therefore, Christ is now the “Ruler of the Kings of the Earth” who lives forevermore and holds even the “keys of Death and Hades.” There are no limits on his authority or the extent of his sovereignty - (Revelation 1:6, 1:18, 5:6-12).

Jesus of Nazareth is the one who holds all authority. He is the glorious “Son of Man” who “opens and no man shuts.” He is the key that unlocks and fulfills the promises of God, and the Messiah who “shows us the Father.”

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SEE ALSO:

• Jesus is Life and Truth - (Jesus is the key that unlocks the Hebrew Scriptures and reveals the nature and redemptive purposes of the God of Israel)

• Jesus Saves! - (Salvation and Redemption are found in no other name than ‘Jesus’. He alone achieved victory over Sin, Satan, and Death)

• The Word Became Flesh - (Jesus is the Living Word in flesh, the true Tabernacle where the Glory of God is revealed. He is the man who reveals God’s Grace and Truth – John 1:14)

• De onzichtbare God openbaren - (Jezus ontsluit de Hebreeuwse Geschriften, openbaart de goddelijke natuur en manifesteert de verlossende doeleinden van de God van Israël)