Faith in and Love toward – very short
If Jesus claimed the honor due God, we would expect to find the Bible explicitly according him most, if not all, of the forms of honor that it accords to God. We already have seen that the Bible teaches us to honor Jesus by glorifying him, by worshiping him, by praying to him, and even by singing hymns to and about him. In this concluding chapter on the honors due to Jesus, we will see that in virtually every other way that the Bible teaches us to honor God it also teaches us to honor the Lord Jesus.
Faith in Jesus Christ is a major theme of the Gospel of John. The Gospel was written "so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name" (John 20:31). Those "who believed in his name" -- in the name of Jesus -- became God's children (John 1:12; see also 1 John 3:23; 5:1, 10, 13). God sent Jesus to die so that whoever "believes in him may have eternal life" (John 3:15; see also 3:16, 36; 6:40). "Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God" (John 3:18). Note that the basis of eternal condemnation is by not believing in Christ, not because of their sins. These statements go beyond anything ever said about Moses or anyone else in the Bible. John teaches his readers to believe in the name of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. What this means is that faith in Christ is a confidence placed directly in him because of his own identity, not because of a merely functional role that he filled.
Belief in Jesus is not in place of belief in God. The person who accepts his teachings, Jesus said, "believes him (the Father) who sent me" (John 5:24). This is what Jesus meant when he said, "Whoever believes in me believes not in me but in him who sent me" (John 12:44). Jesus made it clear that he was not inviting faith in him apart from, or in place of, faith in God. On the other hand, he made the claim -- audacious for any creature to make-that he was just as trustworthy an object of faith as God himself: "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me" (John 14:1). Jesus' call here for the disciples to believe in him as they believed in God "links Jesus with the Father as the supreme object of faith."'
Notice what is found in the OT prophet Daniel. When that period was over, I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my reason returned to me. I blessed the Most High, and praised and honored the one who lives forever. For his sovereignty is an everlasting sovereignty, and his kingdom endures from generation to generation. (4:34) I make a decree, that in all my royal dominion people should tremble and fear before the God of Daniel: For he is the living God, enduring forever. His kingdom shall never be destroyed, and his dominion has no end. (6:26)
This language of a kingdom that will not be destroyed and that will endure forever is then applied to the kingdom of the Son of Man. To him was given dominion and glory and kingship, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall not pass away, and his kingship is one that shall never be destroyed. (7:14)
In the Gospel of John, Jesus repeatedly associates love for him with obedience to his commandments: "If you love me, you will keep my commandments" (14:15); "He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me" (14:21); "If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love" (15:10). When Jesus connects obedience with love, biblically literate Jewish hearers would immediately think of the associations between obeying God's commandments and loving God.
In different language, the apostle Paul also spoke of this highest kind of love for Jesus Christ. At the end of his epistle to the Ephesians, he wrote, "Grace be with all who have an undying love for our Lord Jesus Christ" (Eph. 6:24). Paul's word translated here "undying" is aphtharsia, which means "incorruptible" The point is, Jesus Christ comes first in our lives-our love for him is our highest priority, and nothing will interfere with, or stop us from, loving him forever. That is what it means to know Jesus as our Lord and God.
Oh, to be more like Him!
If Jesus claimed the honor due God, we would expect to find the Bible explicitly according him most, if not all, of the forms of honor that it accords to God. We already have seen that the Bible teaches us to honor Jesus by glorifying him, by worshiping him, by praying to him, and even by singing hymns to and about him. In this concluding chapter on the honors due to Jesus, we will see that in virtually every other way that the Bible teaches us to honor God it also teaches us to honor the Lord Jesus.
Faith in Jesus Christ is a major theme of the Gospel of John. The Gospel was written "so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name" (John 20:31). Those "who believed in his name" -- in the name of Jesus -- became God's children (John 1:12; see also 1 John 3:23; 5:1, 10, 13). God sent Jesus to die so that whoever "believes in him may have eternal life" (John 3:15; see also 3:16, 36; 6:40). "Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God" (John 3:18). Note that the basis of eternal condemnation is by not believing in Christ, not because of their sins. These statements go beyond anything ever said about Moses or anyone else in the Bible. John teaches his readers to believe in the name of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. What this means is that faith in Christ is a confidence placed directly in him because of his own identity, not because of a merely functional role that he filled.
Belief in Jesus is not in place of belief in God. The person who accepts his teachings, Jesus said, "believes him (the Father) who sent me" (John 5:24). This is what Jesus meant when he said, "Whoever believes in me believes not in me but in him who sent me" (John 12:44). Jesus made it clear that he was not inviting faith in him apart from, or in place of, faith in God. On the other hand, he made the claim -- audacious for any creature to make-that he was just as trustworthy an object of faith as God himself: "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me" (John 14:1). Jesus' call here for the disciples to believe in him as they believed in God "links Jesus with the Father as the supreme object of faith."'
Notice what is found in the OT prophet Daniel. When that period was over, I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my reason returned to me. I blessed the Most High, and praised and honored the one who lives forever. For his sovereignty is an everlasting sovereignty, and his kingdom endures from generation to generation. (4:34) I make a decree, that in all my royal dominion people should tremble and fear before the God of Daniel: For he is the living God, enduring forever. His kingdom shall never be destroyed, and his dominion has no end. (6:26)
This language of a kingdom that will not be destroyed and that will endure forever is then applied to the kingdom of the Son of Man. To him was given dominion and glory and kingship, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall not pass away, and his kingship is one that shall never be destroyed. (7:14)
In the Gospel of John, Jesus repeatedly associates love for him with obedience to his commandments: "If you love me, you will keep my commandments" (14:15); "He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me" (14:21); "If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love" (15:10). When Jesus connects obedience with love, biblically literate Jewish hearers would immediately think of the associations between obeying God's commandments and loving God.
In different language, the apostle Paul also spoke of this highest kind of love for Jesus Christ. At the end of his epistle to the Ephesians, he wrote, "Grace be with all who have an undying love for our Lord Jesus Christ" (Eph. 6:24). Paul's word translated here "undying" is aphtharsia, which means "incorruptible" The point is, Jesus Christ comes first in our lives-our love for him is our highest priority, and nothing will interfere with, or stop us from, loving him forever. That is what it means to know Jesus as our Lord and God.
Oh, to be more like Him!
