JESUS - Centerpiece of Scripture

[nChrist]

JESUS - Centerpiece of Scripture
by J. Vernon McGee
Who Is JESUS?

Foreword

This book has been compiled from our library of Dr. McGee’s messages preserved for us on audio cassettes. They have been selected with the intent of offering glimpses of who Jesus is so that we may stand in awe as we see Him “despised and rejected by men,” yet always gracious and full of compassion, “slow to anger and of great mercy.”

As the final chapter is edited and put in place, we find, as Dr. McGee has expressed it, that we are standing on the shore of an infinite sea! We feel like a little child playing with a bucket and a shovel, knowing nothing of those vast shores and that vast, heaving sea.

May the Holy Spirit push back the clouds and open our minds and hearts to continually grow in the knowledge and appreciation of this wonderful Person —  Jesus, the centerpiece of Scripture.

 —  Trude Cutler, Editor
..........

Who is Jesus?

God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through 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 at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they. (Hebrews 1:1–4)

You will notice that the first verse of the Book of Hebrews opens with the word God. Oh, this epistle opens on a grand scale! “God!” There is nothing before it to try to prove He exists. So our first assumption is that God exists. If you deny the existence of God, the problem is with you, not with God. So many little men who carry Ph.D. degrees deny that God exists. My thought is, Who are they? Put one of those puny little minds down by the side of God, and it becomes obvious why God did not waste His time proving who He is. I would like to refer them to God’s question to Job: “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?” If any person is going to come to God, that person must first believe that God is.

The second assumption is that God has spoken. Realizing that God is an intelligent person and that He has given mankind a certain degree of intelligence, if we didn’t already have a revelation from Him, I would suggest that we wait for it. It is only logical that the Creator would get a message through to us. Well, my friend, He has communicated with us. And the revelation that we have is the inspired Word of God, the Bible. The first verse of the Book of Hebrews assumes that the Scriptures we have are divinely inspired. And He used different processes in communicating them to us. One time God would give a promise; another time He’d give a law; another time He’d give a dream; another time it was ritual. Another time it was history, another time poetry, and another time prophecy. Different ways, you see. So when you look back in the Old Testament, you recognize that God spoke, but He didn’t give the Old Testament all at once. He did it in different ways over a period of nearly fifteen hundred years.

Then He stopped all of that, and after about four hundred years of silence we are told that “He has in these last days spoken to us by His Son.” This is the reason I’m not interested in the Koran or Science and Health or The Book of Mormon. God now has spoken to us in His Son, and He hasn’t any more to say. He’s said it all in Christ. He has spoken fully and completely in Christ, and there is nothing more to follow. So if you have a vision, do not attribute that to a revelation from God. He’s not speaking in dreams and visions anymore. Just think back to what you had for dinner. That may explain why you had a vision. God is speaking in His Word, and He’s speaking through Christ today. Jesus is God’s final Word. In these last days He has spoken to us by His Son. And literally it’s not by His Son nor by the Son, and it’s not even by a son. In the original Greek it is simply in Son. That’s the only way God is speaking today. And this means that the writer is not putting the emphasis on the person of Christ, but on the character of Christ.
________________________________________

[nChrist]

JESUS - Centerpiece of Scripture
by J. Vernon McGee
Who Is JESUS?

Now follow seven wonderful statements concerning the Lord Jesus Christ. First, Whom He has appointed heir of all things. In this we have the program for the future. For example, do you want to know who is ultimately going to control China? Or do you wonder who’s going to get Europe or America? Well, Jesus Christ is. He’s been appointed heir of all things. All will be coming to Him. The predestined end of this little world on which we live is that it is to come in under the reign of Jesus Christ. This makes me feel like shouting Hallelujah! The Lord God omnipotent will reign forever and ever! He is the heir.

Then will you notice the second thing: Through whom also He made the worlds [made the ages]. The Greek word for “worlds” is aion, and that means “ages.” This is even more than physical; it is the time periods.

The Lord Jesus Christ is the creator of this universe, and there is purpose to it. Abroad today is the idiotic notion that the universe is running at breakneck speed through time and space like a car that has lost the driver. The interesting thing is that when a car loses the driver there is a wreck, but this universe, even according to the scientists, has been running for millions of years; and it has been doing pretty well, by the way. The sun comes up at a certain time every morning; it is very precise. The moon stays in a predictable orbit. As one of the men who worked on the moon modules said, “All they have to do is aim, and the moon will be there when the module gets there.” You can always depend on the moon. It is not running wild. This is not a mad universe in which you and I live. It has purpose, and the Lord Jesus is the One who gives it purpose.

Why has everything been created as it is? My illustration is this: As you look into the night sky, do you see that little star on the end of the Big Dipper? I’ve often wondered why it is there. And I know now. It’s there because He wanted it there. These things in His universe are there because He wants them that way. It’s His universe. It’s His right. If He wants a star there, He puts it there. He never asked any of us, and He’s not apt to. Everything is resolved in the person of Christ.

Now notice the third wonderful thing about our Lord: Who being the brightness of His glory. “Brightness” means the outshining of His glory, the effulgence. The material sun out in space gives us a good example of this. We could never know the glory of the sun by looking at it because we can’t look at it directly —  it would blind us if we tried. But from the rays of the sun we get light and we get heat. That is the way we know about the sun. Now in somewhat the same way we would know very little about God apart from the revelation that God has given in His Son. The Lord Jesus Christ is the brightness we see. No one has seen God, but we know about Him now through Jesus Christ. Just as the rays of the sun with their warmth and light tell about the physical sun, so also the Lord Jesus reveals God to us today.

The express image of His person. That phrase “express image” is the Greek charakter, the impressed character, like a steel engraving. We get our English word character from this. We say that the Lord Jesus Christ is the revelation of God because He is God. He is not just the printed material; He is the steel engraving of God because He is the exact copy, the image of God.

The Lord Jesus Christ is not only a man through whom God moved. He’s not just a religious genius. He is God. You may recall that He said to His disciples, “He who has seen Me has seen the Father.” For instance, when we see Jesus weeping at the tomb of Lazarus, we know how God feels when our loved one dies. Jesus is God manifest in the flesh. When He came to this earth, He was God, every bit God. Jesus is the express image of His person. Oh, how wonderful He is!

And upholding all things by the word of His power. Jesus Christ not only made everything, He not only entered the human family in a human body, but even as that little Baby yonder in the stable back of the inn, He was holding everything together. And if you don’t think that takes power, consider the power in one atom when they split or untie it! That little fellow becomes dangerous! Well, who has them all tied together? Jesus Christ has. If He let go today —  well, since you and I are held on this earth by His glue, His stickum, which we call gravitation —   we would go flying out into space. This universe would come unglued without His constant supervision and power. He is not like an Atlas holding up the earth passively. He is actively engaged in maintaining all of creation. As far as I can see, that is greater than creating it in the beginning. He keeps the thing running, keeps it functioning. He’s holding everything together by the word of His power. This is one of the tremendous things He is doing today.
_______________________________________

[nChrist]

JESUS - Centerpiece of Scripture
by J. Vernon McGee
Who Is JESUS?

At this point in Hebrews we reach the time of His incarnation, when He intruded Himself into human history at Bethlehem, and finally at Calvary. Which brings us to the sixth and greatest statement: When He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high. No event of time or eternity can in any way compare with the tremendous significance of the death of Christ when He purged our sins. During those dark hours on the cross His righteousness and His love for the human family were supremely revealed.

“When He had by Himself purged our sins.” Think of it, friends, the Lord Jesus Christ provided the cleansing for our sins! This, by the way, is the only purgatory mentioned in the Bible. He went through it for you and me; there is no purgatory for anyone who trusts Christ because He purged our sins. He has paid the penalty for them. How wonderful He is! The purging was accomplished by what He did on Calvary for you and for me, and today we are accepted in the Beloved. The one who comes to Christ receives a full redemption and complete forgiveness of sins. Oh, what a Savior!

“Sat down” does not indicate that He is resting because He is tired —  or that He is doing nothing. It means that when He finished our redemption, He rested because it was complete; there was nothing more He needed to do.

As for me, there is always something incomplete —  you should see my desk right now! My work is never complete, but Christ sat down because His work of redemption was complete. Friend, you cannot lift your little finger to add to the redemption He wrought for you on the Cross. He has completed our redemption, and we are complete in Christ. In Col_2:9-10 we are told, “For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.” We are made complete in Him, made full in Him, and we are accepted in the Beloved. How wonderful!

The present ministry of Christ is another aspect of this. He died down here to save us; He lives up there to keep us saved. He has a ministry of intercession, a ministry of shepherding, a ministry of disciplining His own. Although He is at God’s right hand now, He is still vitally interested in those who are His own, and He is available to us.

My friend, what do you need? Do you need mercy? Do you need help? Do you need wisdom? Whatever you need, why don’t you go to Him for it? If you ask Him to intervene in your behalf, He will work it out according to His will (but maybe not your will). Prayer is not to persuade God to do something that He didn’t intend to do; prayer is to get you and me in line with the program of God. And Christ is at the right hand of the Father, ever living to make intercession for us. We can obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. This is the present ministry of Christ, and it makes these verses in Hebrews pretty real to you and to me.

This brings us to the seventh wonderful statement. Christ is not only better than the prophets of the Old Testament because He gives us a complete, full revelation of God, but He is also better than angels: Having become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they. Christ is superior to the angels. Angels were prominent in their ministry to Israel in the Old Testament. And in the Book of Revelation we find that after the church is removed, there is an angel ministry of judgment that is going to take place.

In view of the growing prominence of angels in our decadent culture, we need to keep in mind the warning of Galatians 1:8 :

But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed.

This verse is as strong as anything could possibly be. Paul says that if an angel dared to declare any other message than the gospel, he would be dismissed with a strong invective.

If an angel should appear to you or to me right now and say, “You are right as far as you go, but you also have to do something to be saved, ” both you and I should say, “Get out of here; I’m not listening to you although you might even be an angel from heaven.” My friend, in our day we hear many folk who are trying to give us another “gospel.” They may look like angels to you —  after all, Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light, and his ministers are transformed as the ministers of righteousness (see 2 Corinthians 11:14-15).
________________________________________

[nChrist]

JESUS - Centerpiece of Scripture
by J. Vernon McGee
Who Is JESUS?

In Galatians 1:9, Paul goes on to say:

As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed.

“Let him be accursed” is literally “let him be damned.” Friend, I could not make that statement any stronger.

But to the Son He says: “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You with the oil of gladness more than Your companions.” (Hebrews 1:8-9)

By the way, this is a quotation from Psalms 45:6-7 which reveals that it is one of the great messianic psalms. This One who is coming, according to the writer to the Hebrews, is the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the One who will rule. Imagine this old earth being ruled by One who loves righteousness and hates lawlessness and iniquity!

Your throne, O God. This is God the Father calling God the Son God! Do you want to deny that Christ is God manifest in the flesh? If you do, then may I say that you are contradicting God Himself. God called the Lord Jesus God. What are you going to call Him? I don’t know about you, but I also am going to call Him God. He is God manifest in the flesh. He is far superior to angels because He is going to rule over the universe. He is the Messiah. He is the King of kings and Lord of lords who is going to rule over the earth someday.

Another tremendous passage sets before us the deity and the exaltation of our Lord Jesus Christ:

Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:9-11)

Hallelujah!
..........

JESUS - Centerpiece of Scripture
by J. Vernon McGee
Christmas Is God Shining In
From Eden to Bethlehem and Beyond

The first time that Christ came to this earth was not two thousand years ago at Bethlehem, but some six thousand years ago in the Garden of Eden.

An abnormal emphasis has been placed on the birth of Christ at Bethlehem. This emphasis has given us a rather warped conception of the thing that God would have us see in its proper perspective. We will not attempt to remove the luster from Christmas, the glory from Bethlehem, or the halo from the stable story. On the contrary, the birth of Christ will receive a new meaning which will shed new light upon the place where the star shone so brightly.

A pertinent question as we begin this subject is this: What do we mean by Christmas? Our forefathers came to this land of religious liberty in order to have a place where they could worship God according to the dictates of their conscience. Yet as I write this, our children in school are forbidden to hear the Christmas story as it is recorded in the only document, the Word of God. And they are forbidden to sing “Silent Night” and “Joy to the World.” They can sing “Jingle Bells,” however.

It is a pertinent question to ask. What do you mean by Christmas? Christmas means one thing and one thing only. We cannot indulge in some vague and vapid generalities like “the brotherhood of man” or have it dissipated and diluted with some sort of meaningless statement that has to do with “peace in our time.” May I say, specifically, Christmas means the coming of Christ into the world in the flesh. And in particular it means the virgin birth of Christ.
__________________________________________

[nChrist]

JESUS - Centerpiece of Scripture
by J. Vernon McGee
Christmas Is God Shining In
From Eden to Bethlehem and Beyond

Now our purpose in this message is to show that the first coming of Christ into the world was not two thousand years ago in Bethlehem but six thousand years ago plus! That’s six thousand years at the minimum, and I think it was a great many more thousands of years that Christ came to the Garden of Eden! Christmas today, even as believers celebrate it, makes the coming of Christ to Bethlehem seem to be only a single such event. It’s often said —   you’ve heard it, I’m sure —  “I cannot believe in the virgin birth because it’s contrary to nature.” Well, my friend, to be sure, it is contrary to nature. That’s the whole point of it! Any manifestation of God’s command is contrary to nature. And to bring up the fact that the queen bee is virgin born, as are certain other insects you can find in the biological world, proves nothing at all. Every time the supernatural touches the natural, it is not according to nature. And when God broke in after four hundred years of silence, it was with the words in Luke 2:10, “Do not be afraid … I bring you good tidings of great joy.” Do not be afraid although the supernatural is touching the natural.
 
Epiphany: God Shining In

Now the real difficulty is not that the virgin birth is contrary to nature. It’s the fact that folk are totally unaware that Christ came to this earth before Bethlehem. And the virgin birth is not just an isolated incident but is one in a series of events when Christ came to this earth. In the Old Testament Christ was there in history, and He was there in prophecy, and today we want to develop that even further.

Now again may I say that the critic has come forward with another objection —  he has many, of course. I hear this each Christmas: If the virgin birth is so important, why didn’t the apostle Paul mention it? The critic has made much of this. I heard it in college, I heard it in seminary, and I’ve heard it in the ministry ever since. My beloved, the fact of the matter is Paul did mention it, although he used another word, and I wish today we all could use that other word. Those of us who are not in a liturgical church are more or less inclined to push away from some very good Bible words. Here is one that Paul used several times. Notice his use of it in 2 Timothy 1:8-10:

Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God, who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began, but has now been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.

Notice that Paul has written, “but has now been revealed.” The word “revealed” in verse 10 is translated from the Greek phaneroo. Then Paul continues, “God has now been revealed by the appearing,” and “appearing” is epiphaneia, from which we get our word epiphany. Now epiphany is a word with which we are acquainted today. In fact, it is this Greek phrase that has been brought over into the English by transliteration. So, according to Paul, God has been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ.

The word epiphany means a shining in, and that’s exactly the word that Paul uses. He uses other words for the coming of Christ, but epiphany is the one on which he dwells.

The fact of the matter is that Paul wrote of the two comings of Christ —  His coming at Bethlehem and His second advent —  and called each an epiphany when he wrote to a young preacher by the name of Titus: “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men.”

“The grace of God that brings salvation has appeared” —  there’s our word epiphany. When Christ came the first time it was God shining in.

Now will you notice God’s instructions for today:

Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age. (Titus 2:12)
________________________________________

[nChrist]

JESUS - Centerpiece of Scripture
by J. Vernon McGee
Christmas Is God Shining In
From Eden to Bethlehem and Beyond

Now for the future:

Looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ. (Titus 2:13)

And the word “appearing” again is the word epiphany. Paul said that when Christ came to Bethlehem some two thousand years ago, He was shining in —  God was shining into this world. He’s coming again, Paul reminds us, and when He comes, it will again be God shining into this world.

You’ll find that the two advents, both the first advent and the second advent of Christ, are spoken of as epiphanies. And not only Paul but all the writers of the New Testament do this.

The apostle John, in 1 John  3:5, does as Paul does —  he puts the two appearings right together:

And you know that He was manifested [there’s our word epiphany] to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin.

That’s the coming of Christ to Bethlehem. John here is making it very clear that it was God shining in, for that’s the meaning of epiphany. Phaneroo means “to shine,” and epi means “upon” or “into.” Epiphany means the shining in of God into a darkened world. That’s the reason John, in his Gospel, introduces the Lord Jesus as the Light. And of John the Baptist he said, “He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light,” and he added that “the true Light [Jesus] … gives light to every man coming into the world” (John 1:8-9).

That was the first mention. But in 1 John  3:2 he says:

Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed [there’s our word again, epiphany], we shall be like Him.

When He comes again it will be an epiphany. John and Paul and all the writers of the New Testament say that Christ’s coming to Bethlehem was the shining in of God into this world. And when He comes again, it will be the shining in of God into this world.

It’s interesting to note that historically the Greek Catholic Church refers to the baptism of Jesus as being the Epiphany. And you’ll find that the Roman Catholic Church uses that word in connection with the wise men and especially the appearance of the star they followed.

We find the word epiphany used in reference to Christ’s second coming, His second advent. And we find that the word epiphany is used at His birth in Bethlehem. Now think of the significance of this, my beloved: The appearance of that special star shining into this world was no accident. It was to be the herald, the sign of Christ’s appearance. And that was the sign that the wise men had seen. It was the event that was to mark our Lord’s shining into the world. His coming at Bethlehem was an epiphany, and the appearance of a star in the heavens was the proper place for it to be, for He had come out of heaven.

Now, friend, follow this carefully. It should give us a new appreciation and understanding of the preexistence of Christ. At His second advent, that is, when He comes again, it will be an epiphany. It will be an appearing from heaven, where He is now, and it will be His shining into this world.

His first advent was an appearing from a preexisting state, and He was shining into this world. Each time He comes from heaven, each time He shines into this world, Paul says He is manifested in the flesh.

May I say, that’s the way we describe the virgin birth. He was manifested in the flesh from an existence in heaven, and He came down to take upon Himself our human flesh. Let me now ask the real question: It is not how could He be born of a virgin, but how could He be born any other way? Could God have come into this world in human flesh any other way? Those who have raised the objection to the virgin birth, come forward now and tell me how God can shine into human flesh, take upon Himself our humanity, and be without sin. Impossible!

So you see that Paul does teach the virgin birth of our Lord, but he uses a different approach than we are used to. Unfortunately, we have dwelt too much on His humble birth in a stable when we should be emphasizing His deity, His shining in. His epiphany was the light of God breaking into the world. And the star was the herald, telling us that a little baby was the container for God!
_____________________________________

[nChrist]

JESUS - Centerpiece of Scripture
by J. Vernon McGee
Christmas Is God Shining In
From Eden to Bethlehem and Beyond

Christmas Is Christ’s Coming

The Old Testament is filled with appearances of God, and Paul identifies most of those appearances with the titles of Angel of the Covenant and the Angel of His Presence. Let’s go back to the wilderness with Moses and the children of Israel. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 10 that the Rock that followed them was Christ. He sent the Angel of His Presence with them, and the Angel of His Presence was the One who led Israel by the cloud and the pillar of fire. It was none other than the preincarnate Christ who led Israel through the wilderness. This statement of the apostle Paul is of utmost significance, and the implications are tremendous. If Christ was the One in the greatest of the appearances of God in the Old Testament, then He is the One in the other appearances of God. This leads us to conclude that all of these manifestations of Christ in the Old Testament culminate in the Incarnation!

In the life of Jacob, two notable experiences are recorded in Genesis 28–32. One was at Bethel when he fled from home and from his brother Esau, and the other was at Jabbok when he fled from his father-in-law Laban. In the latter experience, Jacob had a very close contact with the Angel of the Lord in the wrestling match in which Jacob had no desire to participate. Later, in recounting the experience to the sons of Joseph, Jacob called him “the Angel who has redeemed me from all evil.” Again, we have an appearance of the preincarnate Christ.

We can push further back in Genesis than Jacob to identify an appearance of Christ. “The Angel of the Lord” appeared to Abraham in his long experience of dealing with God. It is stated:

But the Angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” So he said, “Here I am.” (Gen_22:11)

This was during the ordeal of Abraham offering his son Isaac upon the altar. It was our Lord Jesus Christ who appeared to these men.

Now the question is, will the New Testament take us as far back as the Garden of Eden? If you follow me now, I’ll take you to Christmas Day in the Garden of Eden. Notice Paul’s language:

But I want you to know that the head of every man is Christ, the head of woman is man, and the head of Christ is God. (1Co_11:3)

My beloved, the analogy here is that just as the woman was created from man and in the image of man, yet different, even so man was created in the image of Christ at the beginning. You must remember that our Lord is called “the last Adam.” And back in the Garden of Eden, man had to be made in the likeness of Christ so that Christ might come in the likeness of man.
 
Christmas Is a Family Affair

Christmas Day in the Garden of Eden. Let’s go back there. It’s no “Jingle Bells” now. It’s none of this modern folderol.

May I call your attention to something that is of tremendous significance and very interesting in Gen_2:4: “These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth” (KJV). The more I study the Word of God, and the more I study the Book of Genesis, the more I’m convinced that Moses’ concern was not in giving us the story of Creation —  it’s too brief to be the emphasis. He was not even concerned about giving details of the Flood —  just a few facts; that’s all. The important information he wanted to give us was the families. And what we have in the Book of Genesis, simply stated, is just the families.

As we look at these families, they become all-important. Look at this verse: “These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth.” What does he mean by “the generations of the heavens and of the earth”? Notice that he begins immediately to talk about the creation of man in Gen_2:7:

And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.
________________________________________

[nChrist]

JESUS - Centerpiece of Scripture
by J. Vernon McGee
Christmas Is God Shining In
From Eden to Bethlehem and Beyond

Man on the physical side is of the family of the earth. I repudiate the theory of evolution with all my being because when this man Adam began to look around for someone kin to him, somebody like him, he found none —  not one.

And the Lord God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.” Out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them. And whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name. So Adam gave names to all cattle, to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper comparable to him. (Gen_2:18-20)

We are specifically told that among all the creatures that had been created there was not one found that could have fellowship with man, not one. But, my beloved, whether you like it or not, you have been taken out of the dust of the ground, and “dust you are, and to dust you shall return” (Gen_3:19). On the physical side, that’s all you are. The psalmist said, “He remembers that we are dust” (Psalms 103:14), but sometimes we forget it. And when dust gets stuck on itself, it’s mud. You have in you today the same elements that are right out there in the dirt, and someday you’ll go right back to it physically. “These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth.”

But, you see, man is different. Man is not like the animals of the earth. Our Creator made man of the dust of the ground as He did the animals, but He didn’t stop there. He breathed into his breathing places the breath of life, and man became a living soul. He is of the families of the heavens and of the earth.

Man has something of heaven in him, for God created him after His own image: “In the image of God He created him; male and female He created them” (Gen_1:27).

I do not know in just what way this was true, but man in the image of God made it possible later on for Christ to come down and take upon Himself our human flesh. What a glorious, wonderful picture this is!

Several years ago scientists, after examining meteorites, came to the conclusion that life came from off this planet. Well, that’s what God says in Gen_2:7. God breathed into his nostrils or breathing places the breath of life, and man became a living soul.

Now follow this very carefully:

And the Lord God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.” (Gen_2:18 )

We live in a society that glorifies the independent wife who pursues her own career, but when any woman thinks she’s something other than a help-meet for her husband, she has missed her high calling. And too often the breakup of the family is the tragic result. Now that’s old-fashioned, isn’t it? But it’s Bible.

Oh, my friend, how much better is God’s plan!

Now will you notice:

And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs. (Gen_2:21)

That’s an unfortunate translation. Actually, the Hebrew words mean He took one side of man, implying that He took one half of man to make a woman. Let me give you a more literal translation:

And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept; and He took one half of Adam, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; and with this half, which the Lord God had taken from man, made He a woman, and brought her to the man. (Gen_2:21-22)
_____________________________________________

[nChrist]

JESUS - Centerpiece of Scripture
by J. Vernon McGee
Christmas Is God Shining In
From Eden to Bethlehem and Beyond

She’s like him, but she’s different. And I want to say this: She was the most beautiful creature this world has ever seen. You’ve never seen any beauty in the daughters of Eve today but what Eve herself didn’t combine with everything else. Adam fell for her. It was love at first sight. This is a marriage that I know was made in heaven. Some of them are not —  they make them in another place. But this one was made in heaven.

And Adam said: “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.” Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.
(Gen_2:23-24)

Marriage is not a union; it’s unity. They become one. And the unity is seen in the child. God now has brought to Adam his other half. She is like him, and yet she’s different. Paul said that as the man is the head of the woman, so Christ is head of the man. This is because man was first made in the image of God in order that the Son might be able to come down at Bethlehem and become a man.

May I say that when that first man was created, and then that first woman (I do not know this, I’m merely guessing now), I think the angels shouted for joy. It’s not a baby now, born in a stable, but it’s a man in the Garden of Eden. A man, may I say, in two halves. And he was in the image of God.

I wish I could say they lived happily ever after. That’s not the way the story ends. It’s a sad story. Genesis 3 is probably the most important chapter in the Bible because it tells the story of the entrance of sin and of death into the human family. Genesis 3 is the only way you can explain this world we live in today.

As we contemplate our Christmas this year, my friend, I do not think any person, regardless of how much rosewater he likes to use, can miss the fact that we are living in a crazy, mixed-up world. Constant threat of world war, men at each other’s throats, problems that men cannot solve. Suffering everywhere; starvation; restlessness in the hearts of mankind; hospitals filled; mental institutions filled; homes broken; lives smashed. How do you explain it, brother?

Well, Genesis 3 explains it. We’re right now in a struggle for our very existence. Sumner Wells, during World War II, said, “We have lived, and we are living, in a rotten world.” He said that —  I didn’t say it. If that was true back during World War II, what is it today? May I say this, my beloved, if we are not now approaching the end of this age when the Lord intends to remove His own from this earth and begin His program of judgment, which will bring Him to the throne —  if God does not intend to do that, I have an awful suggestion to make to you. He may let this world lapse again into the Dark Ages. The entire world can move back behind another curtain, and darkness again can cover this earth. It was back in the Middle Ages that a monolithic religious system of totalitarian dictatorship and darkness spread throughout the world. And if God is not getting ready to move again, we will go back into it, my beloved. It’s not a pretty thought, is it?

Why is this true? Because of Genesis 3. This man and this woman doubted God. They didn’t believe He’d do the best for them. Then they disobeyed God; they rebelled and ran away from Him. That’s the picture, and it’s been the picture ever since. That’s the picture in your town and my town today. We are not running to God; we are running away from God!

The first Christmas message breaks in now. That first Christmas message was not “Merry Christmas!” It was a question, although it was not the one asked by the wise men, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews?” That was man seeking God. But in the Garden of Eden it is God seeking man, and He cries out, “Adam, where are you?” That is the first Christmas message.

Here is the record in Gen_3:8: “And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day.” The Lord Jesus Christ apparently was in the habit of coming at the conclusion of each day to talk with this man and this woman. They could have fellowship with Him, and He could have fellowship with them because they were in His image. The head of the man is Christ. The head of the woman is the man. And so one day He came as usual, but this time it wasn’t as usual. This time when they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. And the Lord God called unto Adam and said unto him, “Where are you?” He is not asking what tree he is hiding behind. God knew where he was. Rather, He was asking where he was now in relation to God. Where are you in relation to the world that you’re in? Where are you?
___________________________________________

[nChrist]

JESUS - Centerpiece of Scripture
by J. Vernon McGee
Christmas Is God Shining In
From Eden to Bethlehem and Beyond

Christmas Brings Gifts

God was looking for man. May I say, it was a glorious, wonderful day when, though man was in rebellion against God, had turned his back and run away from Him, God was still searching him out!

No room in the inn —  little wonder. Did you expect there would be room for Him in Bethlehem’s inn? Did you? No. From the very beginning man has been running from Him. And when He comes to Bethlehem, man shuts the door and says, “No vacancy, go somewhere else! ” Well, our Lord is coming in. Even if He has to come in through a stable, He will come, for He’s looking for man!

Do you want to know what the first Christmas gift was? We find it in Gen_3:21: “Also for Adam and his wife the Lord God made tunics of skin, and clothed them.”

Eve got a new fur coat for Christmas, and so did Adam. How did they get the coats? They got the coats because an animal was slain. That’s the only way you can get the skin of an animal, isn’t it? An animal had to be slain. Here’s where the sacrificial system begins. This is the first Christmas gift.

Now we’re told that this couple has to leave the Garden, they cannot stay there and live forever. Thank God for that!

Let me ask you a question: Would you want to live as you are living now forever? I certainly wouldn’t. God says to this man and this woman, “You’ll have to get out; you’ll not live forever. Death is come now.”

So He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life. (Gen_3:24)

Now a great many folk think this means that these cherubim were put there to keep man away. But, no, they were put there to keep the way open to God. And when Adam and Eve left the Garden of Eden, they turned and looked back, and when they turned, the sun was going down in the west, and between the two cherubim there was that glory, a shining light. The way to God was open because a sacrifice had been made, and they are now clothed with that which speaks of the righteousness of Christ.

We began with Paul, and we come back and close with him. In 2 Corinthians 8:9 Paul said:

For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.

What a sublime act of impoverishment! He came down to find man in the Garden of Eden. Epiphany. Any time He breaks through, epiphany! And about two thousand years ago, He broke through again in a stable —  an epiphany. But you say, “I think I’m good enough!” Well, if you do, He didn’t come for you. He came to seek and to save that which was lost.

For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works. (Titus 2:11-14)
..........
TO BE CONTINUED!

[nChrist]

JESUS - Centerpiece of Scripture
by J. Vernon McGee
“God So Loved the World …” (John 3:16)
God loves us!

There is a sinking feeling of total inadequacy as I come to this verse of Scripture. I am not able to communicate to you the vastness of the love of God, the intensity of that love, the overwhelming goodness of our God. Yet as you and I move into this new age in which a crisis looms as a cyclonic cloud in every direction, we need to know that God loves us. I pray that the Spirit of God will make this real to you; I am dependent upon Him.

In the original language, the Greek text, it reads like this:

For so loved God the world that He gave the Son, the only begotten one, in order that anyone believing into Him might not perish but have life everlasting.

The words are simple. In fact, as you read through the entire Gospel of John you will find that most of the words are monosyllabic. The words are so simple that a child can read them but so profound that I question if any one of us knows what they mean.

The emphasis is upon love. Notice in the Greek rendering that it reads, “loved God the world.” In Greek sentence structure the important part of the sentence is placed first. In this verse actually God is not the important word, and world is not the important word; the important word is loved. The emphasis is upon the love of God.
 
The Imperative of Love

These words are a part of an interview that Nicodemus had with our Lord one night. They sum up all that previously had been covered in the conversation. Before we come to the words of our text, let us look at the two verses that immediately precede it, as they are very important to the understanding of it.

And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:14-15)

Notice that the Lord Jesus is calling Nicodemus’s attention to something with which he is very familiar — the account in the Old Testament of the lifting up of the serpent in the wilderness. He said, “Even so must the Son of Man be lifted up.” The must corresponds to the must that our Lord gave to Nicodemus at the very beginning of their conversation. He said, “You must be born again,” and since you must be born again, then the Son of Man must be lifted up. The necessity of being born again makes imperative the lifting up of the Christ on the Cross. It is a divine compulsion.

Our Lord threw open the doors of heaven that night for Nicodemus (and for us), and we behold the King of Glory — not enthroned and crowned, but on a cross. It is an arresting fact that Christ revealed His death on the cross to Nicodemus on His first trip to Jerusalem, at the very beginning of His ministry. He did not reveal this to His own disciples until three years later, six months before He went to the Cross.

And, by the way, this is the answer to those who say that the Lord Jesus was caught in Jerusalem between the upper millstone of Roman power and the nether millstone of religious cupidity and died as a helpless victim. This obviously is not true since three years before, here in Jerusalem, He had told Nicodemus of His approaching death on the cross. If He had wanted to escape it, He could have stepped over into the East, into the Orient — where there were teeming millions in that day — and could have disappeared so that Rome and the religious rulers could never have touched Him. But that was not His thought, for He says here that He would be lifted up because God loved the world.
_______________________________________

[nChrist]

JESUS - Centerpiece of Scripture
by J. Vernon McGee
“God So Loved the World …” (John 3:16)
God loves us!

“Love” Is an Interesting Word

Love, on which the emphasis is placed, is an interesting word. In the Greek language there are three words that are translated into the English by the one word love. This reveals how barren the English language is. Hollywood would give a million dollars if it had another word for love. But the Greeks had three words for it. One was eros, from which we get our word erotic, that is, sensual love. This is never used in the New Testament. Then there is the word phileo, which does appear in the New Testament, and its highest meaning is “friendship.” It means, “I like you,” and it means no more. Obviously this is not the word used here, because you cannot say that God so liked the world! The other word, the word used in John 3:16, is agapao, which is love in the highest degree. Agapao is an attribute of God; it is divine love, not human love. It is love lifted to a high, noble, supernatural plane. God loved!

The “world” means the ordered world in which we live. It means the world of mankind, and it means all men — it is not limited to the elect only; it is not limited to the good, it is not limited to any particular race — it encompasses the totality of the human race, from Adam right down to the present generation. Those who maintain that God loved only certain ones, only the elect, are not giving us the language of the Bible. God says that He loves all of the human family. No one is excluded.

Another great statement in this verse is “He gave.” His love was revealed in the fact that He gave. Again there is the thought of totality; it was a total gift. It does not say that God gave His Son to die, although this is included, but it means more than that. It means that Christ’s coming into the world about two thousand years ago — beginning with His virgin birth and ending with His death, His resurrection and ascension into heaven, even His present ministry today and His coming again in the future —  is God’s gift.

A great deal has been made of the words “only begotten Son.” In the original language it does not say that God gave His only begotten Son — He did not beget Him. Rather, it is the Son the only begotten one, which is His title.

John begins his Gospel by presenting Jesus Christ as the eternal Word. Of Him he writes:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. (John 1:1-3)

In the beginning was the Word, not is the Word. It was not in the beginning that the Word started out or was begotten. “Was” is a durative imperfect, meaning continued action. It means that the Word was in the beginning. You see, we are dealing with the God of eternity. At the time of Creation “all things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.” No matter how far back you want to go, billions of years before Creation, the Son comes out of eternity to meet you. He was already there when the beginning was. The eternal Son, the Creator of all things, took upon Himself human flesh.

“The only begotten” is unique; it means that the Lord Jesus is unique. It was the same in the Old Testament. For instance, in Psalms 22:20 “My darling” or “precious” is “My only one.” He was the only one in His birth — only He is virgin born. He was the only one in the life that He lived — only He lived a perfect life. It is only of Christ that the Father has been able to say, “This is My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.” He never has said that about you, and He never has said that about me —  He could not say it — but He did say it of Christ. He is the only one who could die for the sins of the world. He is the only one who is back from the dead in a glorified body. He is today the only hope of the world, the only begotten Son.
__________________________________________

[nChrist]

JESUS - Centerpiece of Scripture
by J. Vernon McGee
“God So Loved the World …” (John 3:16)
God loves us!

 
Putting the Yardstick on “So”

Let’s come back to our little word so. God so loved. How much is that? Let me give a little different translation of it to widen out that word: “God loved to such an astounding and astonishing degree.” Now we are faced with a problem. Is there some way to bring this word so out of heaven and reduce it to the terminology of earth? Can we bring this little word down here and give it an incarnation so we can look at it? How much did God love the world?

Paul tells the Ephesian Christians that he prays this for them:

[That you] may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height — to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. (Ephesians 3:18-19)

Can we measure the love of God? Can we put down the yardstick on that little word so and determine the breadth of it and the length of it and the depth of it and the height of it? At this point I really feel inadequate. How can mere man measure the love of God?
 
Wide as “Whosoever”

Let us first try to comprehend the breadth of the love of God. How wide is His love? God’s arms encompass the entire world so that all are included. And when it says that He loves all, it means that He loves each one — He loves you. And I frankly feel that John 3:16 is the most personal verse in the Bible; it is personal to you, and it is personal to me. It is more personal than if it said, “God so loved Vernon McGee.” I’ll tell you why.

Several years ago I was conducting meetings in a church in Seattle. One morning at the hotel where I was staying, I received a telephone call from a woman who began speaking as if she knew me very well, “Pastor McGee, how are you?”

“Fine.”

“How is Annie?”

“Annie?” I repeated, “I don’t know Annie.”

“Oh, yes, your wife.”

“No,” I countered, “you are wrong. I do not have a wife named Annie.”

Suspiciously she probed, “Aren’t you Vernon McGee?”

“Yes.”

“Aren’t you a preacher?”

“Yes.”

“Were you not,” she asked distrustfully, “pastor of a certain Methodist church back in Iowa?”

I said, “No ma’am. I never have been off the train in traveling through Iowa.”

Puzzled, she continued, “Well, I knew a Vernon McGee who was a Methodist preacher, and he was my pastor back in Iowa.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know there was another one loose.”

Now you know the reason I am glad that John 3:16 does not read, “God so loved Vernon McGee,” because it might mean that other fellow and not me at all. But when it says, “God so loved the world,” that means me and it means you.
_______________________________________________

[nChrist]

JESUS - Centerpiece of Scripture
by J. Vernon McGee
“God So Loved the World …” (John 3:16)
God loves us!

God loves the world. We have heard this so much it is commonplace. But let me ask you: How could He love this reeking world today with all of its sin, its rebellion, its meanness, its ugliness, and its sordidness? Oh, He might love some folk who are lovely and cultured and educated. But can He love those savages in Africa who ate the livers of their captives? Yes, He loves them exactly as much as He loves you. God loves the meanest, lowest man you can think of as much as He loves you — just as much. If you somehow think that you are one of God’s little pets and that He has placed His love on you and your kind and upon no one else, you are wrong. God loves the world. God made a level place at the Cross, which is the only place where you have real integration. None is righteous there; all have sinned. God declares all to be sinners that He might have grace upon all.

And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world. (1 John  2:2)

God has His arms outstretched to a gainsaying, lost, rebellious world. They spat in His face when He was here, and they are still spitting in His face today. Yet He says, “I love them.”

A young fellow in my Southland was asked, when he was being examined for church membership, “How did you get saved?” He answered, “I did my part, and God did His part.” They thought they had found a flaw in his theology and probed, “What was your part, and what was God’s part?” He answered, “My part was the sinnin’ and His part was the savin’. I done run from Him as fast as these sinful legs and this sinful, rebellious heart could carry me, and He done took out after me ’til He done run me down.” And, my friend, that is the only way any of us is saved. God has pursued us because He loves us.

Years ago in England when the Quaker movement was new — and oh, what a warm movement that was at the beginning — Miles Halhead, a young married preacher, went everywhere with the message of Christ. Finally his wife in vexation exclaimed, “Would God I had married a drunkard that I might find him in the alehouse, but now I cannot tell where to find him — he goes everywhere preaching the gospel! ” He had the love of Christ in his heart because God loves everybody. There is no exception. Oh, the breadth of the love of God!
 
Length by Demonstration

What about the length of God’s love? God so loved that He gave. The test of love is to what length it will go. Love is not love which will not die or make sacrifices often more bitter and cruel than death. I always suspected that boy who sent a note over to his girl:

I love you. I would climb the highest mountain for you. I would swim the deepest river for you. I would go through snow and hail for you. P. S. If it does not rain Wednesday night, I’ll be over to see you.

May I say to you, we demonstrate our love. And God has demonstrated His love by the extent to which He has gone — He gave His Son. Do you want to know how much God loves you? Do you want to know the length to which He has gone? Listen to this:

For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:6-8)

God commends or proves His own love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. What a staggering demonstration of His love!
__________________________________________

[nChrist]

JESUS - Centerpiece of Scripture
by J. Vernon McGee
“God So Loved the World …” (John 3:16)
God loves us!

God is on the giving end. He is not asking one thing from man. I am afraid we preachers give the wrong impression that God is asking this world for something. He asks nothing from this world! He said, “If I were hungry, I would not tell you; for the world is Mine, and all its fullness” (Psalms 50:12). If He wanted gold, would He ask us for the puny amount we have at Fort Knox today? Why, the gold and the silver are His, and the cattle on a thousand hills. God says in effect, “I do not want anything from you, but I would like to give you something: eternal life in Christ Jesus.” God so loved the world that He gave, and He gave His only begotten Son. He gave Him not only at Bethlehem, not only in a perfect life, not only to teach, not only to reveal God, but He gave Him to die upon the cross for the sins of the world. My friend, what else can you ask Him to do for you? Can you think of anything more that God could do for you, a sinner, than to give His Son to die for you that He might save you?

Love ever gives,
Forgives
Outlives,
And ever stands
With open hands.
And while it lives,
It gives.
For this is love’s prerogative:
To give and give and give.

I was interested in an article that appeared in a metropolitan newspaper some time ago. There was a picture of a mother and son with the caption “Father Gives Life for Son”:

Sidney Lawrence underwent a cross transfusion for his son, Robert … in which blood of father and son mingled. The father’s kidney worked for both, allowing the son’s diseased kidney to recuperate. But the father was sensitive to proteins in his son’s blood, causing his death.

That man did not have to stand up and say, “I love my son.” He proved it when he gave his life for his boy. There is many a father who would do that. But, my friend, God has gone far beyond that. He has given His Son to die for you. Do you want to ask Him to do something else? He has gone the very length of love.
 
Deep as Hell

Now let us attempt to ascertain the depth of God’s love: “That whoever believes in Him should not perish.” I don’t want to be unloving and unkind to you, but someone needs to speak plainly. We are hell-doomed and hell-deserving sinners, every one of us. A great many folk think that mankind is on trial, that God wants to see if we will do better or not. This is not so. Notice the verses that follow our text:

For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. (John 3:17-18)

“He who believes in Him is not condemned.” Well, suppose he does not believe in Him? He is already condemned. Why? Because mankind today is not a prisoner at the bar awaiting trial to see whether he is guilty or not. Mankind today is a prisoner inside the prison of this world, in sin, and is asked if he will accept a pardon. Someone says, “You don’t mean to tell me that nice, sweet Mrs. So-and-So is lost!” My friend, she is a sinner in rebellion against God; she has no capacity for God; she would wreck heaven if she were permitted there without a new nature. “Well,” someone asks, “what about the heathen who have never heard of Christ?” They are lost; we are all born lost! You and I are members of a lost race, a doomed race, and what Christ did was to come into this prison and say to men, “Do you want a pardon? I’ll pay your penalty. I’ll stay here and go through this hell for you.”
_________________________________________