Donn Moomaw — Jesus the
Christ
Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:5-11
Often we forget that Jesus did not come into existence as a babe in Bethlehem. He left the royal garments of a king to don swaddling clothes. He stepped down from the battlements of heaven, where He commanded legions of angels, to become the child of a peasant girl.
Bethlehem does not erase the fact that Jesus has always been Lord of all history. We do not make Him Lord. He is Lord. The Bible speaks this central truth from Genesis to Revelation.
And if He is Lord, then He is alive.
With this truth before us, how can we groan with the changes of history? How can we become discouraged
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or despair when the headlines tell of the triumph of evil men?
The Lord of all creation lives! Think of it! If we fully realized this fact, we would never frown again. We couldn't keep from shouting for sheer joy. This was the fact that sent the first-century disciples out upon an amazed world after the resurrection of Jesus. They could scarcely contain themselves. They stammered. They stuttered. They tried to express the earth-shaking news and observers recorded tongues of fire standing on each man. Small wonder their enthusiasm on that first day captured 3000 converts!
And what was their message? "He is alive!"
What if the United Nations would believe this!
What if the Security Council and the heads of states and the men of authority in every land would believe this!
What if you — as you read this page — would believe it!
Because it's true! Jesus is just as powerful now as He was in the days of His flesh when He made the blind to see and the lame to walk and raised the dead to life again. And He stands ready to perform even greater marvels — to cause warring tribes to be at peace, to heal the nations and bring in His own Kingdom of justice and love.
Jesus Christ exercises His Lordship in three ways:
First, he is a Prophet. A prophet is one who declares, proclaims, reveals. And Jesus is still the only "revealer" of God. While most of humanity guesses about the divine identity and builds rival religions around its suppositions, Jesus says plainly, "He who has see me has seen the Father"; "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life."
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Our spiritual lives begin when we see God in the face of Jesus Christ.
On the final night of last summer's Fellowship of Christian Athletes' summer conference at Estes Park, Colorado, 750 of America's finest athletes stood with hands clasped, looking at a giant picture of Jesus as they sang "The Lord's Prayer" in a mighty chorus. I saw some of the roughest, toughest athletes you'd want to meet weeping unashamedly as they sang — weeping at the revelation of God they had received through Jesus Christ, the great Revealer.
Jesus is also Priest. With His coming, the old priestly rule described in such detail in the Old Testament is gone. It is no longer necessary for the high priest to go behind the veil of the temple into the holy of holies once a year to offer sacrifices.
Every time you and I cry out, "O God, be merciful to me, a sinner!" Christ, the great high priest, intercedes for us. And the one sacrifice He made on the cross two thousand years ago proves sufficient again and again and again. His healing, cleansing, forgiving office of priest is exercised every minute of every day in behalf of those who trust Him.
Finally, Jesus is King. And He said, "My kingdom is not of this world." We owe it to our ruler to live faithfully as subjects of His kingdom and not in thralldom to the times and seasons and material possessions that occupy the minds and hearts of those who pay no allegiance to Christ.
If He is our King, then He is King over everything — over our financial life, our domestic life, our social life, over affairs of the mind and the concerns of the heart. His sovereignty extends to the smallest decision we make.
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Have you seen Jesus the Prophet and under His teaching, seen God the Father revealed? Have you seen Jesus the Priest and under His ministry found forgiveness and cleansing? Have you seen Jesus the King and made Him the undisputed monarch of all your life?
Prayer
You, O God, are all the world needs. You, O God, are all we need. Help us to find You as we recognize the mighty Lordship of Your Son, Jesus Christ. We ask it in His name. Amen.
Donn Moomaw was an All-American football player at UCLA; College Football "Hall of Fame;" Presbyterian pastor in Los Angeles, California. Board of Directors, Fellowship of Christian Athletes.
