| The Christian Life | April 1942 |
Jesus in God’s Plan
“To us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things; and we in Him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by Him.”—I Corinthians 8:6
PERFECTION, either mental or physical, is an unknown quality in the fallen human race. One of the evidences of imperfection existing in all of us is the tendency towards extremes in thought, word and deed. It is difficult to maintain a balanced viewpoint of subjects on which the truth lies between two possible but erroneous extremes. One of the Scriptural subjects upon which off balance viewpoints and practices are often displayed is that pertaining to the true position in the divine plan of Jehovah, the Creator, the Heavenly Father; and Jesus, His Son, our Redeemer and Savior.
The church nominal emerged from the Dark Ages with many distorted and God-dishonoring views, one of them being the theory of eternal torture for the wicked. In this view the God of the Old Testament—Jehovah—was alleged to be the God whose “justice” could be satisfied only by exacting a cruel and endless punishment of sinners. In this view Jesus was the One whose heart was filled with love for the human race, and who came down to earth to do all He could to save sinners from this horrible pit of endless torture.
Very few church members understood this philosophy very clearly, nevertheless, it served well as a background, for the very one-sided view often entertained concerning Jesus, namely, that He is the real God of the Christian, the loving God, the friendly God, etc., while Jehovah should, as it were, be confined to the Old Testament, as the stern, austere tribal God of the Jews. This view results in an over-emphasis of Jesus and an undervaluation of God, the Creator, and Father of Jesus.
Recognizing this off-balance viewpoint, others, doubtless also sincere, have been led to well nigh take Jesus out of the Bible, while in a frenzied manner they have zealously endeavored to exalt and vindicate the name of Jehovah. But here too, we need to be on guard lest we cause the pendulum of thought and practice to swing to the opposite extreme; for this, also, would do violence to the real truth of God’s Word. If we have the right viewpoint we will see that by properly honoring the Son, we honor the, Father also. We will also understand that if we fail to properly honor the Son, as the Father has commanded, we will actually be dishonoring the Father who thus commanded us. See John 5:21-23; 8:49; Matt. 3:17; 17:5; II Pet. 1:17,18
Those who are enlightened with Present Truth know, of course, that Jehovah, the Creator, is not a cruel God. They know that He is equally as loving and kind as His Son, Jesus. They know, in fact, that “God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16) It was by the will of Jehovah that Jesus came to earth to redeem mankind; and it was by divine decree and through the exercise of divine power that Jesus was raised from the dead and subsequently exalted to the right hand of His Heavenly Father, the Creator.
Now the command has gone forth concerning Jesus, “Let all the angels of God worship Him.” (Heb. 1:6) Since God, the Father, has so highly exalted Him to a place second only to Himself and given Him all power in heaven and in earth, it is evident, therefore, that God would have the followers of Jesus give the Son a very prominent place in their hearts and a fundamentally important place in the Gospel of the Kingdom which they preach to others. (Phil. 2:7-11; Eph. 1:19-23; Matt. 11:27; 28:18) Indeed, when we realize the prominence the apostles and others in the early church gave Jesus in their ministry, it makes us feel that we could hardly over-estimate the importance of the position He holds in the divine plan, and should occupy in our affections.
At the same time, if we are properly enlightened by “all the counsel of God” as it reaches us through His Word, we will know that by giving Jesus the place in our hearts that He properly deserves, we will not by any manner of means, be displacing Jehovah in our affections, but quite the reverse. According to Jesus’ own testimony, He is the One sent of God to reveal the Father to us. It is through Him that we know God in the true sense. This means that when we honor Jesus we honor the Father also. Our love and devotion to both the Father and the Son are true and acceptable only if both are included.—Matt. 10:40; Luke 9:48; John 12:44
We are sure that the following contributed, and much to the point, questions with Scriptural answers, will help us realize the high esteem in which Jesus was held by the Apostolic Church, and the great extent to which His instructions should serve to guide all of us in our endeavors to please God:
Do you know that the two words, Jesus and Christ, occur 995 times in the New Testament?
Do you know that, with the exception of the Third Epistle of John, all the introductions of the epistles of the New Testament mention God and Christ in the same sentence?
Do you know that in Philippians, Christ is mentioned 41 times and God 18 times?
Do you know that believers are spoken of as being “in Christ,” 80 times?
Do you know that the words, blood, bought, cross, justify, redeem, save, sanctify, wash, cleanse, purge, purify, etc., referring to our Lord’s redemptive work, occur over 300 times?
Do you know that “He hath given all judgment unto the Son”?—John 5:22,23
Do you know that every knee must bow and every tongue confess to the Son?—Phil. 2:10,11
Do you know that every creature “in heaven and on the earth” will eventually honor the Son even as they honor the Father?—Rev. 5:13
Do you know that Christ said: “Without Me, ye can do nothing” (John 15:5); “He that receiveth Me receiveth Him that sent Me” (Matt. 10:40); “He that rejecteth Me, rejecteth Him that sent Me” (Luke 10:16, R.V.); “Go ye, and’ make disciples … teaching them to observe all the things whatsoever I have commanded you,” (Matt. 28:19,20, Margin); “All authority has been imparted to Me, in Heaven and on Earth,” (Matt. 28:18, Emphatic Diaglott); “I am the light of the world,” (John 8:12); “No man knoweth … the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal Him”?—Matt. 11:27
Do you know that no one can come to the Father or have any standing with Him except through Christ?—John 6:44; 10:7,9; 14:6; 15:5,6; Col. 3:3; II John 9
Do you know that the word Jehovah does not occur one time in the New Testament, but that the words Lord, God, Father, Creator are used instead?
Do you know that when Christ and the apostles quoted from the Old Testament, they always substituted either the word God or Lord for Jehovah?—See Matt. 3:3; Isa. 40:3; Matt. 21:42; Psa, 118:22,23; Matt. 22:44; Psa. 110:1; Luke 4:18; Isa. 61:1; Acts 2:25; Psa. 16:8
Do you know that the apostles preached “Christ,” “Jesus and the resurrection,” “Peace by Jesus Christ,” “Christ crucified,” etc.?—Acts 3:20; 4:2; 8:5,35; 9:20,27; 13:38; 17:18; 19:13; 20:21; I Cor. 15:3,12,23
Do you know that Christ said in Luke 16:16, “The law and the prophets were until John; since that time the Kingdom of God is preached”? See also Matt. 3:2; 4:23; 10:7; Mark 1:14,15; Luke 4:43; 10:9,11
Do you know that Paul said, “Though we, or an angel from heaven preach any other gospel … let him be accursed”?—Gal. 1:8,9; Matt. 7:21,22
Does it not seem from the foregoing that we cannot proclaim the true message of the Kingdom if in any measure, we set aside the name of Jesus, or minimize His importance in the divine program?
Would not such a course practically “rob” Christians of an effective personal Savior, High-Priest, Advocate, Intercessor, Captain, Overseer, Good Shepherd, and Friend?—Col. 2:8-10,18
Did not Paul say, “We are ambassadors for Christ”?—II Cor. 5:20
Do you know that those who are to live and reign with Christ a thousand years are those who die as witnesses for Jesus? (Rev. 20:4) See also Acts 1:8; 2:32; 3:15; 4:33; 10:38-43; 13:31-49; 22:15; 23:11; Luke 24:48.