WHAT MAKES JESUS CHRIST SO UNIQUE AS THE SUPREME AUTHORITY AND ONLY RULER OVER ALL OTHERS?
Sakkie Parsons
What makes Jesus Christ, our Christians’ GOD, Savior and Redeemer, who is one with the Father the Almighty, All-wise and Omnipresent GOD, unique and completely different from all the other religions’ many leaders with their many different offices or names, ranks, etc.?
Well, in all the other religions you find that man has to reach out to their god and please him, and then, if they please him, they believe there is a chance that something is going to happen.
The Christian leader is God – and the Christian religion is the only religion of all religions, where God in Jesus who became man, in His great divine loving grace, reached out to man, to want a loving relationship with everyone – everyone who wants to receive Him into their hearts.
Someone might ask: “Now show us that the claim you make and what you say Jesus make – that He is God – is indeed so.
Because of the length of the writing, I always try to limit myself to 2 or 3 of the many passages from the Word that I could have used.
First read this conversation of Jesus with His friends:
JOHN 14:7-11 Jesus’ Oneness with the Father
7“If you had [really] known Me, you would also have known My Father. From now on you know Him, and have seen Him.”
8Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father and then we will be satisfied.”
9Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you for so long a time, and you do not know Me yet, Philip, nor recognize clearly who I am? Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father?’
10Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? The words I say to you I do not say on My own initiative or authority, but the Father, abiding continually in Me, does His works [His attesting miracles and acts of power].
11Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me; otherwise believe [Me] because of the [very] works themselves [which you have witnessed].
Now read this passage of Jesus with His enemies, who will also ultimately crucify Him – and He of course also knew this while He was speaking to them, because they were going to crucify Him precisely because of what He said to them there:
JOHN 8:56-59
56“Your father Abraham [greatly] rejoiced to see My day (My incarnation). He saw it and was delighted.”
57Then the Jews said to Him, “You are not even fifty years old, and You [claim to] have seen Abraham?”
58Jesus replied, “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, before Abraham was born, I Am.” (Jesus told them that He was the great I AM who met Moses in the wilderness.)
59So they picked up stones to throw at Him, but Jesus concealed Himself and left the temple.
You have now read what Jesus told His friends and His enemies about who HE really is,
Now let’s quickly read what the Creator of the great universe – the sun, the moon, the earth and everything else in the universe, HE, GOD Almighty who has the last word, had written down for us regarding Jesus, our God, Saviour and Redeemer:
JOHN 1:1-5 The Deity Of Jesus Christ
1In the beginning [before all time] was the Word (Jesus Christ), and the Word (Jesus Christ) was with God, and the Word (Jesus Christ) was God Himself.
2He (Jesus Christ) was [continually existing] in the beginning [co-eternally] with God.
3All things were made and came into existence through Him (Jesus Christ); and without Him (Jesus Christ) not even one thing was made that has come into being.
4In Him (Jesus Christ) was life [and the power to bestow life], and the life was the Light of men.
5The Light shines (for more than 2000 years now) on in the darkness, and the darkness did not understand it or overpower it or appropriate it or absorb it [and is unreceptive to it].
JOHN 1:14 The Word Made Flesh
14And the Word (Jesus Christ) became flesh, and lived among us; and we [actually] saw His (Jesus Christ) glory, glory as belongs to the [One and] only begotten Son of the Father, [the Son who is truly unique, the only One of His kind, who is] full of grace and truth (absolutely free of deception).
PHILIPPIANS 2:6-9
5Have this same attitude in yourselves which was in Jesus Christ [look to Him as your example in selfless humility], 6who, although He existed in the form and unchanging essence of God [as One with Him, possessing the fullness of all the divine attributes—the entire nature of deity], did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped or asserted [as if He did not already possess it, or was afraid of losing it];
7but emptied Himself [without renouncing or diminishing His deity, but only temporarily giving up the outward expression of divine equality and His rightful dignity] by assuming the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men [He became completely human but was without sin, being fully God and fully man].
8After He was found in [terms of His] outward appearance as a man [for a divinely-appointed time], He humbled Himself [still further] by becoming obedient [to the Father] to the point of death, even death on a cross.
9For this reason also [because He obeyed and so completely humbled Himself], God has highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name (Jesus Christ) which is above every name, (that is, above every other name that you have heard before, that people say you should use)
10so that at the name of Jesus (and in no other name) EVERY KNEE SHALL BOW [in submission], of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11and that every tongue will confess and openly acknowledge that Jesus Christ (only Jesus Christ) is Lord (sovereign God), to the glory of God the Father.
Now I’m back to what this writing is actually about.
What makes the Christian God and Savior, or rather; What makes the Christian Leader so completely different from the leaders of all other religions?
Let me explain:
Before the New Testament that Jesus prepared for us, that is before Jesus’ gospel, man, (except for those who lived heavily under the Mosaic law), continued to languish in his sin – on his way to hell. No one sought the true God, everyone just built and designed religions as it suited them – but when the fullness of time arrived, God reached out to man to save him:
GAL 4:4-6
4But when [in God’s plan] the proper time had fully come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the [regulations of the] Law, 5so that He might redeem and liberate those who were under the Law, that we [who believe] might be adopted as sons [as God’s children with all rights as fully grown members of a family]. 6And because you [really] are [His] sons, God has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying out, “Abba! Father!”
God reached out to man to save him, but because He is a perfect God, only a perfect sacrifice could do this once and for all, and in the entire vast universe of creation there was only One such perfect sacrifice that was suitable:
HEB 10:5-10
5Therefore, when Christ enters into the world, He says,“SACRIFICE AND OFFERING YOU HAVE NOT DESIRED,
BUT [instead] YOU HAVE PREPARED A BODY FOR ME [to offer];6IN BURNT OFFERINGS AND sacrifices FOR SIN YOU HAVE TAKEN NO DELIGHT.
7“THEN I (Jesus) SAID, ‘BEHOLD, I HAVE COME
TO DO YOUR WILL, O GOD—
[TO FULFILL] WHAT IS WRITTEN OF ME IN THE SCROLL OF THE BOOK.’”
8After saying [in the citation] above, “YOU HAVE NEITHER DESIRED, NOR HAVE YOU TAKEN DELIGHT IN SACRIFICES AND OFFERINGS AND WHOLE BURNT OFFERINGS AND sacrifices FOR SIN” (which are offered according to the Law)
9then He (Jesus) said, “BEHOLD, I HAVE COME TO DO YOUR WILL.” [And so] He does away with the first [covenant as a means of atoning for sin based on animal sacrifices] so that He may inaugurate and establish the second [covenant by means of obedience]. 10And in accordance with this will [of God] we [who believe in the message of salvation] have been sanctified [that is, set apart as holy for God and His purposes] through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed) once for all.
Do you still remember how that outreach from God to man manifested?
How did it happen?
LUKE 1:28-33 Jesus’ Birth Foretold
28And coming to her, the angel said, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” 29But she was greatly perplexed at what he said, and kept carefully considering what kind of greeting this was. 30The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31Listen carefully: you will conceive in your womb and give birth to a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. 32He will be great and eminent and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; 33and He will reign over the house of Jacob (Israel) forever, and of His kingdom there shall be no end.”
LUKE 2:6-7 Jesus’ Birth In Bethlehem
6While they were there [in Bethlehem], the time came for her to give birth, 7and she gave birth to her Son, her firstborn; and she wrapped Him in [swaddling] cloths and laid Him in a manger, because there was no [private] room for them in the inn.
LUKE 2:10-11
10But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people. 11For this day in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord (the Messiah).
Thus, was fulfilled the prophecy that had been prophesied hundreds of years before:
ISA 9:6-7
6For to us a Child shall be born, to us a Son shall be given; (Jesus Christ)
And the government shall be upon His shoulder,
And His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7There shall be no end to the increase of His government and of peace,
[He shall rule] on the throne of David and over his kingdom,
To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness
From that time forward and forevermore.
The zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish this.
Jesus walked on earth for about 3 years and preached His gospel of love for God and my neighbour and fulfilled the Mosaic law and our Passover Lamb was slaughtered for us on Golgotha:
JOHN 19:30 When Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And He bowed His head and [voluntarily] gave up His spirit.
1COR 5:7-8
7Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new batch, just as you are, still unleavened. For Christ our Passover Lamb has been sacrificed. 8Therefore, let us celebrate the feast, not with old leaven, nor with leaven of vice and malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and [untainted] truth.
When our Passover Lamb was slaughtered for us on Golgotha, the veil was also torn in half from top to bottom and Jesus made it possible for us to now – how wonderfully wonderful – have direct contact with our Lord ourselves.
MAT 27:50-51
50And Jesus cried out again with a loud [agonized] voice, and gave up His spirit [voluntarily, sovereignly dismissing and releasing His spirit from His body in submission to His Father’s plan]. 51And [at once] the veil [of the Holy of Holies] of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; the earth shook and the rocks were split apart.
Now Jesus is our High Priest and therefore we always go to our Lord in the Name of Jesus and we also ask everything in the name of Jesus.
Have you become a follower of this unique Jesus?
In other words:
Have you accepted Jesus as your Saviour and Lord?
If you are not sure whether you have, then you have not yet truly accepted Him as your Savior and Redeemer and have not yet truly begun a love relationship with Him.
When my wife was still alive, I never for one moment forgot or doubted that I was married.
If you have accepted Jesus as your Saviour and Lord, you will never forget that either.
Not because, for example, something impressive or supernatural has necessarily happened – but because you will first and foremost be very aware of the drastic step you have taken.
Because if you have truly accepted Jesus as your Saviour and Redeemer, you are assured of eternal life and you just have to follow Jesus for the rest of your life.
JOHN 3:36 36“He who believes and trusts in the Son (Jesus Christ) and accepts Him [as Savior] has eternal life [that is, already possesses it]; but he who does not believe the Son and chooses to reject Him, [disobeying Him and denying Him as Savior] will not see [eternal] life, but [instead] the wrath of God hangs over him continually.”
It is also only right that I point out to you that one can never remain neutral once you have heard of Jesus. Because not choosing Jesus is choosing against Him.
MAT 12:30 30He who is not with Me [once and for all on My side] is against Me; and he who does not [unequivocally] gather with Me scatters.
JOHN 14:6 6Jesus said to him, “I am the [only] Way [to God] and the [real] Truth and the [real] Life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.
If you have not yet accepted Jesus as your Saviour and Redeemer and you have read this far, Jesus is saying to you again through this writing:
REV 3:20-22
20‘Behold, I stand at the door [of the church] and continually knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door (of your heart), I will come in and eat with him (restore him), and he with Me. 21‘He who overcomes [the world through believing that Jesus is the Son of God], I will grant to him [the privilege] to sit beside Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down beside My Father on His throne. 22‘He who has an ear, let him hear and heed what the Spirit says to the churches.’”
If you now want to accept Jesus as your Lord and Saviour, you can pray these simple words right here, where you are sitting or lying and reading:
“Lord, I want to be Your child.
I come to You now with all my sins and all my shortcomings and weaknesses and I ask forgiveness. I turn around Lord. I make a U-turn. I repent and I say, as that man in Your Word said on occasion: ‘Lord, I believe, please help my unbelief’ and help me as You helped him.
“I ask this in the Name of Jesus.“
Now you look for a church that preach the entire Bible as the Word of our Lord. Go to one of their services, meet with the pastor/minister of the church. Tell him about your decision and ask him for further guidance.
If you are having trouble finding such a congregation, contact me and I will try to help.
In this writing, I shared with people who at least had a Bible open and had at least heard of Jesus, so I only used the Bible – but I have also written about Jesus and His uniqueness which I also share on the subject outside the Bible, which I can send to you upon request.
Greetings with Jesus love,
Sakkie
Email: bediening@sakkieparsons.co.za
Website: www.sakkieparsons.co.za
Cell: 083 457 6669
Jude 1:24-25 To him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy, to the only God our Saviour be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.
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