Author: rickkhol

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.
Colossians 2:9,10

Not 10%, not 50%, not even 90%, but 100% of the fullness of the Godhead belonged to Christ. What does that mean, exactly? It means that all that is God (i.e. His power, His majesty, His holiness, His character) was bound up in the body of Jesus. Nothing was missing. He wasn’t a condensed form of deity; He was the real deal.

Having the  Fullness of the Godhead in bodily form took nothing away from the Father, but allowed the Creator to touch and redeem His creation in ways He couldn’t do as a distant deity. “For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross” (Colossians 1:19,20).

True faith in the Savior includes and concludes that He is God. He always was and always will be. There is only one True God, and the Lord Jesus is the manifestation of that Supreme Being. The Son of God isn’t inferior to God the Father and never took away anything from the Father. “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God” (Philippians 2:5,6).

The realization that Jesus is the Fullness of the Godhead should shake people up. It certainly did in the first century. Many of those who shouted “Crucify Him!” or jeered at Him, or spit on His face, later fell down on their knees with fear and repentance when they realized they allowed the Prince of Life to be put to death.

Today, most people just don’t get it. They either don’t know that Jesus is the Fullness of the Godhead, or they really don’t understand what that means. They demean and reject Christ’s sovereignty and control over their lives by viewing Him as less than God.

Christ knows all, sees all, and has existed for all eternity. When He lived and walked on earth, in His body was the Fullness of the Godhead.

August 5

Then the Jews answered and said to Him, “Do we not say rightly that You are a Samaritan and have a demon?”
John 8:48

Samaritan – the word doesn’t bring up any emotional response or gut reaction in our day and age, but at the time it was given, it was a put-down of the basest sort. Jewish people looked down on their neighbors to the north because they were foreign transplants to the land of promise and, even after centuries of living there, were still unwelcome.

The term also had connotations of being a heretic, because although the Samaritans wanted to worship Yahweh, they did so at the wrong mountain and in the wrong manner. By equating Jesus with those undesirables, the Jewish leaders could switch from discussing issues with the Master to simply dismissing any argument He could give, because He was beneath them.

The main problem with trying to use racial slurs to insult Christ is that He loved everyone, including the Samaritans. He purposely traveled through Samaria to reach out to a wayward woman, and then preached to her village, where He was hailed as “the Christ, the Savior of the world” (John 4:42). In Jesus’ parable of “the Good Samaritan,” the Samaritan was portrayed as the good guy and the Jewish leaders as hypocrites. Finally, when the Lord healed ten lepers, only the Samaritan in the group came back to give thanks. Jesus commended him and told him “Your faith has made you well” (Luke 17:19).

The Lord Jesus wears all His titles well, even the derogatory ones. Bigoted men and women appear in every age and culture. They would try to ignore Christ because they feel He is unworthy of their time and effort. He still loves them all the same and wants them to break through their hate and prejudice so they can approach Him in faith as Savior of the World.

August 4

“Behold! My Servant whom I uphold, My Elect One in whom My soul delights!
I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the Gentiles.”
Isaiah 42:1

This Old Testament title is obviously a Messianic prophesy, so we’re able to examine a pre-incarnate name of Christ. The plan of redemption was already in play 700 years before the Baby Jesus was born in Bethlehem. The Servant of God had been chosen for the job.

The position of Savior of the World is not something someone chooses for Himself; actually, it’s an elected office. Qualifications for the job included sinless perfection and the attributes of God. It’s safe to say that no one ran against Him in this election. Besides, who would have wanted the position, anyway? The job required being mocked, jeered at, spat upon, beaten, nailed to a cross, and abandoned by one’s closest friends.

This Elect One wasn’t chosen by the people He came to save. Frankly, they (we) rejected Him. He was elected by God, and the surprising thing was,  He accepted!

This brings us to why this title is so important. A willing sacrifice had to be offered as a substitute for a rebellious creation who willfully sinned. If an unwilling sacrifice was forced to suffer and die for mankind’s sin, there would be neither justice nor propitiation. Only willful obedience could atone for willful disobedience.

Of the 23 times the terms “elect” or “election” are used in the New Testament, only once does it refer to Christ.”Behold, I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone, elect, precious, And he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame” (1 Peter 2:6). The idea here is that believers respond in faith to the Elect One.

Most of the other verses refer to Christians who were chosen by God, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and without blame before Him in love (Ephesians 1:4). As God’s elect, we’re asked to be obedient to our calling and follow the example of the Elect One.

August 3

Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and
given Him the name which is above every name.
Philippians 2:9

God’s personal Hebrew name appears over 6,000 times in the Old Testament. It is four consonants without vowels (roughly equivalent to the English letters YHWH or possibly JHVH), so it is unpronounceable.

Christian Bible scholars who wish to give utterance to the name of God pronounce it Yahweh or Jehovah. Devout Jews, however, consider the tetragrammaton (those four Hebrew letters) as too holy to even say. When they come to it during the Sabbath Torah reading in the Synagogue, the word Adonai (the LORD) or Ha-shem (the Name) is substituted in its place.

This is even seen in scripture. In Leviticus twenty-four, there is the story of the son of an Egyptian man who cursed the LORD. Verse eleven reads “And the Israelite woman’s son blasphemed the name of the LORD and cursed; and so they brought Him to Moses….” Then, in verse sixteen, it goes on to say, “And whoever blasphemes the name of the LORD shall surely be put to death. All the congregation shall certainly stone him, the stranger as well as him who is born in the land. When he blasphemes the name of the LORD, He shall be put to death.”

The reason for examining these verses is to note that the phrase “of the LORD“ is in italics, which means that it is not there in the original. In Hebrew, this section reads that he “blasphemed the name and cursed.” To blaspheme Ha-shem is to take the sacred name of God in vain.

To the unsaved world, The Name of Jesus Christ isn’t sacred, holy, or blessed. They use it as a curse. Our society doesn’t stone people for blasphemy anymore, and most Christians just tune it out or accept the disrespect as normal. The problem is that when believers aren’t offended, God is. The least that a Christian could do is say to the offender, “Please don’t say that; it bothers me” or “Please stop that; you’re cursing The Name I love.” The church should never forget that God has given Jesus The Name that is above every name.

August 2

And when John had heard in prison about the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples and said to Him,
“Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?”
Matthew 11:2,3

The writings of Moses and the prophets included hundreds of prophecies concerning the Messiah that was to come. Centuries had passed since these promises were given, and then came another four hundred years with no message from God at all. Yet the faithful to God still awaited the “Coming One.”

Then, on the day his son was born, old Zacharias the priest prophesied concerning the Dayspring from on High that was coming. Roughly six months later, both the honorable and just Simeon  and the prophetess Ana from the temple testified that they saw the Lord’s Christ come as a baby to be dedicated in the house of God.

John the Baptist lived his whole life set apart for the work of God. When he baptized Jesus, he saw the heavens opened and heard the voice of God Himself declare the Savior as the beloved Son of God. John had strong affirmation that day that He was commissioned to be the voice crying in the wilderness to prepare the way of the Lord. He was convinced that the Coming One had finally arrived.

Yet circumstances and solitude have a way of raising doubts and compromising firm decisions. So when John was thrown in prison and the Messiah, the Son of David, didn’t come to liberate him, he sent two disciples to affirm his faith in the Messiah.

John had indeed perceived correctly; the Coming One had, in fact, come. Two thousand years later, Christ is still the Coming One, because He promised His followers that He would return. That’s a long time to wait, so just like the first time, some believers have started to wonder, “Where is the promise of His Coming?” (2 Peter 3:4).

The good news is that He is on His way, and He’s right on schedule. The signs of His coming laid down in Matthew 24 all check out, so any time now we’ll get to see the Coming One.

August 1

“Woe to him who strives with his Maker!
Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth!
Shall the clay say to him who forms it, ‘What are you making?’
or shall your handiwork say, ‘He has no hands’?”
Isaiah 45:9*

Absurd and ridiculous; something out of a cartoon – That’s the image of a lump of clay arguing with its potter and giving instructions on how it wants to be made. Yet, that is a frequent occurrence between human beings and their Maker. If the truth were known, there’s a greater disparity between the most intelligent man and his Creator than between a human genius and a glob of dirt.

This verse pronounces a curse to those who would dare to criticize God for making them the way they are. And yet, in this age of ever present media, we want to be as beautiful as models, when even they aren’t that beautiful without professional make-up artists, and lots of photo editing and airbrushing.  Many of us covet the intelligence, physical attributes, and opportunities of others. In this “enlightened age,” people even undergo hormone treatments and operations in order to change their gender. (Yet, the DNA of every cell in their body will still assert otherwise).

Faith is the process of agreeing with God. A believer agrees with what God is, says, and has done. To argue with one’s Maker is to not believe.

The Lord Jesus Christ made the world and everything in the heavens (Hebrews 1:2 and 10). In fact, there is nothing made that He didn’t make (John 1:3). As Maker of the human race, the Savior customized every individual that ever lived. All were made for a purpose and on purpose, so it dishonors the Creator to envy others for their strengths, intelligence, or appearance.

Life has been given to each one as a joy and privilege, so each man and woman should come to their Maker with thanksgiving for the gifts He has given.

*Isaiah 17:7, 22:11, 54:11

 September 3

Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who
alone is wise, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.
1 Timothy 1:17

INVISIBLE. Now, isn’t that an odd title to give to the Lord Jesus Christ? After all, He is the second person of the Trinity, and by definition, He has a real body and can be seen and even touched. It’s not surprising, then, that some preachers view this verse as a doxology – a song of praise to God in general rather than to Jesus in particular.

Wait a minute! These praises are addressed to the King Eternal, and that’s clearly a reference to Christ, who is the King of Kings. Another thing: In the first chapter of 1 Timothy, the main focus is the grace and mercy of Christ Jesus. By the time Paul reaches verse seventeen, it seems like he just bursts into praise and thanksgiving for his wonderful Savior.

But how is Jesus invisible, if He has a body? Well, He doesn’t stop being God even though He has a body.

The Lord Himself said, “Where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them” (Matthew 18:20). Christ is the unseen guest at the table of every Christian home. He is always there at prayer meeting, even when the numbers are down, and His invisible presence is felt every time believers remember Him in the Breaking of Bread.        

When the Lord gave the Great Commission, He ended it with the promise, “Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). That means the Master is very close at all times to His disciples no matter their situation. He is there in the prison cell, in the desert, or even with a saint who is lost in the woods. He is the Invisible friend that is always near and dear.

August 16

And you shall burn the whole ram on the altar. It is a burnt offering to the LORD; it is a sweet aroma,
an offering made by fire to the LORD.
Exodus 29:18*

“Holocaust” is a powerful word that evokes emotions and means “great destruction.” The most common use of the word today is to refer to the Nazi genocide of European Jewry in WWII. It is interesting to note that the word was used for the first time in this manner in 1965 (20 years after WWII ended).

The word comes to English from the Greek word “holokauston” which means “a thing wholly burnt.” It was the word of choice for “burnt offering” when the Septuagint was translated from Hebrew in the 3^rd century BC.

The burnt offering was one of the three “sweet-smelling” sacrifices that were well-pleasing to the LORD. It was set apart from other oblations in three important ways:

1. Voluntary – the offerer wanted to give this to God.
2. Act of Worship – It was a gift to God to show appreciation.
3. Totally Consumed – The entire animal was burnt to ash, nothing remained.

The Jewish Holocaust fulfilled none of these criteria, but Christ’s sacrifice on the cross fulfilled them all:

1. The Lamb of God volunteered to give His life to save the human race; no one made Him do it.
2. The Savior’s sacrifice of love was clearly done to glorify God.
3. Jesus gave everything He had and held nothing back. He suffered the shame and the torment without saying a word. He was tortured and killed, but didn’t resist.

God had no real pleasure when animals were burnt on altars in the Old Testament (Hebrews 10:6). However, He was thoroughly pleased when the Son of God gave Himself as a Burnt Offering.

*There are a total of 261 references to the burnt offering found throughout the Bible.

October 12

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

Propitiation – now that’s a mouthful. The term is used four times in scripture, and yet probably not one in 100 Christians can give an understandable definition of the word. For over forty years, I’ve heard preachers try to explain what it means, but have never gotten a definition that I like. They’re either too simplified or too complicated.

As a Bible teacher, I pride myself in making the difficult easy to understand. I have for years sought to explain this word, but haven’t found an answer that is both short and to-the-point. I can make it simple, though.

In the Old Testament, many different kinds of sacrifices were used for different reasons and at different times. Once a year, a ram was sanctified on the Day of Atonement for the sins of the nation of Israel. The High Priest sprinkled the blood of the sacrifice on the mercy seat, which was on top of the ark of the covenant. This atoned for the people’s sin for one year.

Actually, the term “mercy seat” is more a description of what the cover of the ark was, and not a true translation of the Hebrew word (Kapporet). A literal translation would be “propitiatory” or “place of propitiation.” Therefore, the blood of the ram was the propitiation, and the mercy seat (propitiatory) was where it was placed.

When talking sacrifice, the propitiation is where the rubber meets the road. It’s what makes a sacrifice work; it’s what actually takes away the sin. In the case of Christ’s sacrifice at Calvary for the sins of the Human race, the cross was the propitiatory, and the Savior Himself the propitiation. It’s not just the blood of Christ that saves us, but that He gave all of Himself without reserve to become the Propitiation for our sins.

*see also: Romans 3:25; Hebrews 2:17; 1 John 4:10.

September 27

They sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying: “Great and marvelous are Your works, Lord God Almighty! Just and true are Your ways, O King of the saints!”
Revelation 15:3*

Immediately after the miracle at the Red Sea, Moses and the children of Israel burst into song: “Then Moses and the children of Israel sang this song to the LORD, and spoke, saying: “I will sing to the LORD, For He has triumphed gloriously! The horse and its rider He has thrown into the sea!” (Exodus 15:1). The singing goes on for 18 verses so it’s unclear if they had a songwriter, if people made up verses as they went along, or if God directed the choir.

A similar songfest is scheduled in the not so distant future just as the Great Tribulation is coming to an end. All the emotion, thrill of triumph, and pride of victory that was heard in the song of Moses will be repeated here in the song of the Lamb. All those who endured and overcame the terrible persecutions of the Anti-Christ will be gathered on the glass sea before the throne of God to celebrate. Looking on at the praise service will be the seven judgment angels with the last bowls of wrath that will be poured out on earth.

The Lamb of God is being honored and worshiped as the glorified saints cry out “Great and marvelous are your works, Lord God Almighty!” Once again, the divine nature of the King of Saints is shouted out for all to hear.

This song of the Lamb inaugurates the beginning of the end. In the chapters that follow, all seven bowls of judgment reduce the world’s population to a small fraction. Babylon the Great falls and He who is called Faithful and True descends to Earth with the host of heaven to establish His kingdom.

That will be glorious. Hail King Jesus, King of kings, Lord of lords, and Lord God Almighty.

November 8