Friday, January 7, 2005

The Solution: More Revelation of Jesus

Considering the Church at Galatia and Corinth today. Paul wrote them letters in which he dealt with some pretty serious difficulties, including some very pernicious problems.

The Galatians were becoming deceived by a group of Jewish Christians who believed that one had to become Jewish before becoming Christian. This was actually a justification-by-works mentality, a performance-based religiosity, the spirit of religion. In a word — legalism.

The Corinthians had a bagful of their own problems: factionalism and strife between brothers, believers hauling each other to court to be judged by worldly standards, sexual promiscuity, gross negligence of poorer brothers, pride and abuse regarding spiritual gifts.

But what they all really needed was more revelation of Jesus — who He is, why He came, what He came to do, and who we are in Him. And in various ways, that is the need Paul addressed.

For example, in the book of Galatians, Paul presented the Lord Jesus Christ as the “seed” (not “seeds,” plural) of Abraham, and declared that Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the Law. Powerful stuff.

For another example, in 1 Corinthians 13, sometimes called the “Love Chapter” of the Bible, when Paul was giving a revelation of love, was he not really offering us a revelation of Jesus Christ. I mean, we can replace every occurrence of the word “love” in that chapter with the name of Jesus, and it will always make perfect sense.

The more I think about it, the more I become convinced that all we really need is more revelation of Jesus.

Think on Jesus in everything you do. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal Him to you more and more, that He may be glorified in you more and more—in your spirit, soul and body.

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