Seeking the King of the Kingdom, introduction
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Important messages
A week ago, I posted the
introduction to the series of books entitled, Seek the Kingdom of God.
What we have below is the introduction to the first book in the series, Seeking
the King of the Kingdom. We find the King in the Old Testament, very
clearly in the New Testament, and we also find Him today, risen from the dead
and alive to claim His kingdom in the hearts and lives of His people. He has
lost nothing. He is as true to His name and character, as He ever was before. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today
and forever.” Hebrews 13:8
THE ANGEL OF THE LORD
Of course, the theme,
which concerns the personality of the King, is immense. I imagine that after
10,000 years in heaven still we will be involved with it. A single verse of scripture
about the person of Jesus should be enough for our present study. This
particular verse, Hebrews 13:8, has inspired songwriters, preachers and the
personal thoughts of many individuals. It has offered faith and comfort. I hope
that what I present here could be a beginning towards the discovery of many
more mysteries concerning Him, hidden in the pages of the Old and New
Testament, for the person who desires to continue the study on his own.
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| You are reading the introduction to this book |
TIMES CHANGE…
A good number of months
ago, I took a trip by airplane from Spain to Romania. I had my laptop open to a
Bible program on the seat next to me, preparing to give a message at a wedding,
which would be celebrated the next day. My thoughts went back many years, to
when we were missionaries in a very primitive area of Mexico. I rode horseback
from one village to another and, because I had many places to tend, I prepared
messages as I rode with an open Bible on the wide, Mexican-style, saddle horn.
Yes, things change; the world reels wildly and moral values have turned
upside-down. We have no idea what the future might bring, but one thing that
should not change is the message about the person of Jesus, because He is the
only One who has remained permanently stable over the ages. Only He can give us
a firm base, upon which we can always stand.
For the writer of
Hebrews, his “yesterday” was the Old Testament. The time in which he lived,
which was the time of the New Testament, was his “today” and his “forever” was
the entire future, including the 21st century and on into eternity. One of my
translations inserts the word “yes” just before “forever”. I like that, because
we need a special word of security for our future which, without Him, would be
very uncertain. In these chapters, we are going to learn that the personal Word
of God already existed and acted during the entire Old Testament period.
Afterwards, we will see him with clarity doing the same works in the Gospels
and in the book of Acts. We will observe the apostles, portraying Him clearly
in their theology. And yes, we can expect the same from him today and
throughout eternity, because He will act according to His nature, which cannot
change.
The Apostle John chose
the expression “Word” to define Him in his Gospel, stating, “In the beginning was the Word, and the
Word was with God, and the Word was God” (Jn. 1:1). He goes on to affirm, “All things came into being through Him” and
that He “enlightens every man”. Through
these statements, we understand that He has been active since the foundation of
the world. In the book of Revelation, again it is John, who proclaims, “His name is called The Word of God”.
His function in all ages is to express the word of God through His being, His
deeds and His tongue. He is the Messenger and, in the Old Testament, He is
often called the Angel of the Lord. The noun angel means messenger and,
even though the name mostly is applied to celestial beings, there are a few
times that it can refer to a man. However, when the Old Testament specifically
states, the Angel of the Lord, it is usually, if not in all cases,
announcing the presence of the second Person of the Trinity, who in coming to
earth, was called the Lord Jesus Christ. In the same sense, though there are
many sons and daughters, who are born of God, very specifically there is only
one who is the only begotten Son of God. There are lambs without number,
but there is only one who is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of
the world.
In all times, God has
permitted that people should enter difficulties with a purpose to find Him as
the only remedy for those situations and thereby learn personally His
attributes. My father used to tell how the Lord led him home, when he was
unable to see in the midst of a blizzard. On another occasion, when he
desperately needed firewood to heat the house, he received supernatural
strength to carry 10-foot logs a long distance through knee-deep snow. Through
these experiences, he came to know the Lord as his guide and strength.
Those who find Jesus in
this experiential way are permanently changed. The Apostle Paul teaches us, “We all, with unveiled face, beholding as
in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image
from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit” (2 Cor. 3:18). With
this purpose in mind and by means of seven small studies, we want to fix our
eyes upon Him. We want to see Him, at first, in the Old Testament and
afterwards in the New, so that we will be able to say, “Yes, He remains
faithful to His nature and, if we are found in the same circumstances as the
people in the Bible, we can be sure that He will respond to us in the same
manner, as He did with them.” Christ always is consistent and acts consistently
with biblical revelation.
We must take serious
precautions, so as not to alter the Word. It is always wise to examine the
context around any one verse that we want to emphasize. We ought to be sure
that we are seeing the original purpose, which the Holy Spirit had in mind, and
thereby gain its true significance. Remember: “No prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, for
no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy
Spirit spoke from God” (2 Pt. 1:20, 21). It is not beneficial, in fact it
is dangerous, to adjust a verse to our personal interpretation. Do not forget
that the devil uses the Scripture for his own purposes. Joined to the verse
that we are using as a text in these studies, we have the next one: “Do not be carried away by varied and
strange teachings…” (Heb. 13:9a). We must understand that the personality
of Jesus remains constant over the ages and we cannot fit Him into doctrines
that are not in agreement with His character. Let us begin with a lesson that
will give us biblical warnings about those, who go far astray in their concepts
of Christ. They can wander so far as to actually become idolatrous, worshiping
a false Christ. So, before we declare the virtues of the true Christ, we will
intend to see, biblically, how to avoid certain dangers and how to detect
impostors.
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