Minds That Are Blind

The Bible teaches that Satan is the evil one. He is the ruler of this present evil age. When Satan tempted Jesus to worship him, he offered Jesus the kingdoms of this world, which is this present evil age. The Bible describes Satan's work in people, "whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe" (2 Cor. 4:4). In Jesus our Lord, believers see the light defeating Satan's power of darkness.

Satan as "the god of this age" blinds the minds of those who believe not the gospel of Christ (2 Cor. 4:4). Works of the evil one are based upon spiritual darkness, which includes unbelief, temptation, sin and death. God's power unto salvation is your victory, through faith in the righteousness and resurrection of Christ (Romans 1:16-17).

Jesus Christ was born into this world as the light to destroy the works of spiritual darkness. He came to destroy the works of the evil one. "For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil" (1 John 3:8). Jesus our Lord brings light to minds that are blind.

Jesus Christ was born to die for our sins according to the Scripture (1 Cor. 15:1-4). Jesus destroyed the power of death when He was raised from the grave. Jesus defeated the power of darkness through His death, resurrection, and ascension (1 Corinthians 15:20-21; Ephesians 4:8; Hebrews 2:14-15). The gospel of Christ gives light to minds that are blind.

How God Promised

When men entered into covenant during Bible days, they made promises sworn with an oath. Then, they offered an animal as a sacrifice. The slain animal was cut in half. Men entering into covenant walked between the two halves. Symbolically, they were saying, may I be cut off as this animal if I keep not my word of promise.

God promised with a covenant oath. No animal was sacrificed. Instead, God's only begotten Son was the sacrifice of the everlasting covenant. God's promises to every believer are sealed in the precious blood of Jesus, known in Scripture as the Lamb of God. God's covenant promises to us as believers are guaranteed and cannot be broken. Or, as the hymn says, "standing on the promises that cannot fail."

God promised with words that are forever the same (Jeremiah 31:31-34; Hebrews 7:22; 8:7-13). Know God's covenant promises. (1) God will put His laws in our mind; (2) God will be our God and we are His people; (3) We will all know the LORD; (4) God will forgive our sins and remember them no more.

God promised through the everlasting covenant (Hebrews 13:20-21). God's promises reveal His good will. He promises with a guarantee for His people. We know Him as the LORD of our lives. LORD is God's covenant name. He forgives our sins and will remember them no more. All our sins are taken away through the blood of the everlasting covenant, at the cross of Jesus.

God Manifest in Flesh

The Bible teaches that Jesus our Lord is God . "And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh" (1 Timothy 3:16). Jesus is the God-Man, fully God and fully man. Christ is the Word who became flesh (John 1:1, 14).

Jesus is God manifest in flesh. Thomas understood this when the risen Christ appeared unto him. He said to Jesus, "My Lord and my God!" (John 20:28). Jesus is our Lord and our God. He is the God-Man.

Jesus is God manifest in "the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person" (Hebrews 1:3). You may ask, "What is God like?" He is just like Jesus, because Jesus Christ is God in the flesh. He is the exact likeness of God. God is revealed to you fully in Christ.

In the Bible, God is revealed as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. At the baptism of Jesus, God the Father's voice spoke from heaven, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased" (Matthew 3:17). God the Holy Spirit descended from heaven upon God the Son to anoint Him for ministry (Acts 10:38).

Jesus is God manifest in flesh as the express image of the Father, and the brightness of His glory. Jesus said, "I and my Father are one" (John 10:30). God is forever the same. Therefore, we read, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and today, and forever" (Hebrews 13:8). Worship Jesus Christ as our Lord and God manifest in flesh.

Jesus Our Immanuel

"Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us" (Matthew 1:21). Jesus Christ is the virgin born Son of God. He is the God-Man, fully God and fully Man. Jesus is our Immanuel, as the full revelation of God with us. 

Jesus is God with us in "the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person" (Hebrews 1:3). He is God the Son revealing God the Father. "The express image" means Jesus is the exact likeness of the Father in all his attributes. What is God like? Look to Jesus and find the perfect answer.

Jesus is God with us in grace and truth. "We beheld His glory, the glory of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth" (John 1:14). The glory of God is revealed fully in Jesus Christ. Through Jesus, God revealed his manifest presence to us.

Jesus is God with us now through the Holy Spirit. Jesus says to us, "I am with you always, even to the end of the world" (Matthew 28:20). He makes his presence known to us through faith, hope, and love (1 Corinthians 13:13). We are enabled to know God by faith in Christ. We have a living hope in God through Christ. The love of God in Christ fills our hearts. God's full revelation is in Jesus our Immanuel.

Jesus Saves His People

Jesus was born to save His people. He did not come into this world to try to save, hope to save, nor might save. Be sure to know that Jesus saves all who come to God through Him. The truth is this, we cannot save ourselves. We need a Savior, and there is only One. His name is Jesus.

"And she shall bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins" (Matthew 1:21). 

When the Son of God was born of flesh to dwell among us, the name given Him was JESUS. That name means "Jehovah is salvation." Jehovah is the covenant name for God. The name tells the story, Jehovah God saves people through His Son. 

Jesus was born to save His people. That is certainly not talking about Jews only. Jesus was born a Jew, but Jesus saves people from every race and nation. He draws people from all nations to Himself (John 12:32). Jesus saves all who repent and come to Him by faith. He is calling people out of all nations (Revelation 5:9).

Jesus was born to save all who believe the gospel. And, what is the gospel? It is clearly defined in 1 Corinthians 15:3-4, "that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures." 

Faith Receives Christ

Charles Spurgeon wrote, "The hand of faith that receives Christ is similar to the children receiving an apple in their hands. You hold the apple out to the child and they must step toward you in order to receive it from you. This is a mixture of faith and receiving on the child's part. It is the same with someone who wants to receive salvation. What the child's hand is to the apple, your faith is to salvation."

"The child's hand does not make the apple, improve the apple, or deserve the apple; he simply takes it. Similarly, faith has been chosen and designed by God to be the hand with which you receive salvation. Your hand neither creates nor helps in salvation, but is content to receive it." 

Faith receives Christ as the gift of God (Ephesians 2:8-9). Christ is always and only received as the gift of God and never by your works. You receive the finished work of Christ at the cross for sinners, which is confirmed by God through the resurrection of Jesus our Lord (Romans 10:9).

Faith receives Christ through the Spirit of grace. The Holy Spirit convicts us of unbelief toward Christ, as well as the righteousness of Christ (John 16:7-11). The same Holy Spirit regenerates us, giving us new birth, through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ (John 1:12-13).

Christ Revealed to You

Christ is revealed to you in the Bible by the Holy Spirit. The same Holy Spirit opens our eyes of understanding to the truth about the Lord Jesus Christ. He guides us into all truth (John 16:13). It is the truth of God in the Bible about Jesus Christ our Lord. He is God incarnate. "The Word became flesh" in the Lord Jesus Christ (John 1:14).

Christ is revealed in the Bible, that you may know God the Father (John 14:6). Christ is perfect and complete theology. No wonder Jesus said, "He who has seen Me has seen the Father" (John 14:9). Christ is the total and full revelation of God. He is the express image of God (Hebrews 1:1-3).

Christ is revealed to you in both the Old and New Testaments. In the Old Testament, Christ as Messiah is revealed in prophecy and typology. The first prophecy of Christ coming is found in Genesis 3:15. He is the Seed of the woman. In typology Christ is revealed in signs and symbols, such as the Lamb of God. In the New Testament, Jesus Christ is revealed as fulfilling the prophecy and typology of the Old Testament.

Christ is revealed to you as the author and finisher of your faith (Hebrews 12:2). He is the sacrifice for all your sins. Jesus is your risen Lord. Faith in Jesus Christ is the assurance of your salvation. He is the focus of your faith, the hope of your future, and the love of your life. Christ is your all and all, now and forever!