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Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling,
consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Christ Jesus,
Hebrews 3:1

Simply speaking, an Apostle is a “sent one.” Although this is the only passage in the Bible that labels Jesus as the Apostle, He did call Himself the Sent One of the Father on several occasions:

“For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me” (John 6:38).

“Jesus said to them, ‘If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God; nor have I come of Myself, but He sent Me’” (John 8:42).

“I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work” (John 9:4).

“For I have given to them the words which You have given Me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came forth from You; and they have believed that You sent Me” (John 17:8).

“And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world” (1 John 4:14).

It is important to understand that the term “apostle” does not refer to some high position in the ecclesiastical hierarchy, but rather to someone simply sent on a mission. The Lord Jesus had twelve close disciples whom He later sent out to every town and village in Judea to teach and heal. It was this act of being sent out and, subsequently, doing what they were sent to do, that made them apostles.

Christ was on a mission to do His Father’s will. A plan was in place before the foundation of the world to redeem mankind and define love and grace to the angels that  witnessed Satan’s rebellion and fall. Only God manifested in the flesh could do this, but no person capable of feeling intense pain would come up with the idea of dying on a cross in order to save the world. In Gethsemane, the Savior prayed “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done” (Luke 22:42). That’s what an Apostle does.

August 10

You answered them, O LORD our God; You were to them God-Who-Forgives,
Though You took vengeance on their deeds.
Psalm 99:8

Although this is an Old Testament verse, God-Who-Forgives is very clearly a title of Christ. Of the 98 times the word “forgive” appears in scripture, only 43 of those are in the Old Testament. Sometimes the Old Testament talks about one person forgiving another, such as in the case of Joseph’s brothers asking him to forgive them (Genesis 50:17). But most often it is used referring to the sin offering and temple sacrifice. In these cases God’s forgiveness seems very conditional: “…So the priest shall make atonement for him, and it shall be forgiven him” (Leviticus 4:31).

Of the 55 times that “forgive” occurs in the New Testament, 41 are directly the words of the Savior. Jesus put a tremendous emphasis on forgiving and being forgiven. “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you” (Matthew 6:14).

The Son of God freely forgave those who came to Him. “When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, ‘Son, be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven you'” (Matthew 9:2). Regarding the sinful woman who came in the Pharisee’s house to wash the Lord’s feet, He said concerning her, “Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much” (Luke 7:47).

The gospel of Christ Jesus is the message of the God-Who-Forgives. Paul certainly preached it: “And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you” (Ephesians 4:32). “He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins” (Colosians1:13-14).

The Apostle John also preached it: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9), because Jesus is the God-Who-Forgives.

November 21

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.
Colossians 1:15

How do you describe something that is indescribable? Do you know the answer? Use a genre without words. Art and music can convey thoughts and emotions that verbal communication can’t. That’s why humans try so many forms of artistic expression. They want to imagine the unimaginable and view the invisible.

Jesus Christ is the Creator’s artist masterpiece in which He presents to Mankind the Image of the Invisible God. The Almighty used an art medium that every human being can connect with: flesh and blood. He used it to communicate what can’t be understood, the nature of God.

Planets, stars, galaxies, and light energy can be observed, so they are proved to exist. However, scientists have studied the gravitational forces of the universe and discovered that what we consider to be normal matter and energy is actually less than 5% of the total universe. Some invisible unknown reality is out there, and it’s really big, making up over 95% of all that exists. This huge, mysterious something is called “dark matter,” together with “dark energy.” Actually, just going by percentages, dark matter should be considered the normal and what we call ordinary matter is really the aberration.

Maybe it’s just me, but when people start speaking about some huge force out there that fills the universe, I think of God. Some people prefer to call Him Dark Matter, rather than Almighty Creator, because they feel that they owe no obligation to a burst of unknown energy, but would be beholden to God if it was proved that He designed them and gave them life.

Christ came into this world so that ordinary people could know the unknowable and see the Image of the Invisible God. He didn’t arrive composed of dark matter, but with skin, muscle, and blood. He showed us what the invisible God is like, both in character and in nature. He also came so that we can be made like Him and be transformed from the mortal to the immortal.

August 11

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

But we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness,
but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and
 the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men,
and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
1 Corinthians 1:23-25

A really wise chess master will sometimes make a move that seems stupid to his opponent because it results in the loss of a bishop or knight. Then, a few moves later, the chess master executes “checkmate,” thanks to the board position he gained from the sacrifice. That’s what is happening in these verses.

It doesn’t make sense that the sinless Son of God should be sacrificed on a Roman cross. It seemed that Satan and the God-haters of the world had won, and all were pleased and proud of how it played out. Christ is still rejected by the majority of the Jewish people to this day, and some intellectuals still laugh at the ludicrousness of the gospel.

The bottom line is that the celestial chess game was never between God and mankind; it was between God and the devil. When Satan and his angels rebelled against God, Satan seduced the human race to join his cause. Planet Earth became the last piece of turf Lucifer had in the whole universe. If God had just destroyed everything, the Creator would have, in fact, lost the game. God’s plans would have been thwarted, and the creation He made in His image would have been cut off from fellowship forever.

Human history is full of wars, plagues, and natural disasters. Chaos seems to dominate, and the devil seems to be the undisputed god of this world. Everything, however, changes in the end-game. Christ came to destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8). He not only restores mankind to the relationship they had before the fall, but He also brings them into the family of God. Very smart move, and Satan never saw it coming, because he was matched up against Jesus Christ, the Wisdom of God.

August 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

For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men,
the Man Christ Jesus,
1 Timothy 2:5

A mediator is only effective when both sides have confidence in their go-between. Divergent sides with no common ground cannot be brought together unless there is someone standing with one foot firmly in each camp. That person must be able to take seriously the interests of both.

Job had many problems, but he was afflicted most of all by his loss of fellowship with the living God. Feeling frustrated and rejected, he cried out to his maker, “Nor is there any mediator between us, Who may lay his hand on us both” (Job 9:33). Job longed for a mediator who could get things settled.

Holy God and sinful man – a great gulf separated the two. The vast expanse was uncrossable, so a cross was provided. The Creator took on His creature’s form and bridged heaven and earth at the moment of the incarnation. Christ Jesus, having both the divine and human natures, became the true Mediator Between God and Men.

God
Holy Omnipotent
All-seeing Ruling Judging
Jesus Christ Savior Lord
Feeling Searching Thirsting
Living Breathing
Man
                        – R. Khol

August 14

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

Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly,
I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.”
John 8:58

Talk about a conversation-stopper. The Pharisees were shocked. They couldn’t believe their ears. Jesus of Nazareth had just called Himself “I AM.” Just moments before, He had said that He was older than Abraham. Now, in effect, He was saying that He was the God of Abraham. They immediately picked up stones to throw at Him (John 8:59).

This was no inside joke or subtle allusion. Jesus had blatantly applied one of the most powerful names of God to Himself. They knew the scripture: “God declared to Moses ‘I AM WHO I AM.’ And He said, ‘Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.'” (Exodus 3:14).

The Jewish leaders didn’t believe the Lord. They refused to have Him rule over them, and thus, they were guilty of the crime of rejecting the Living God.

When Jesus calls Himself the great I AM, He calls all humanity to respond to His claim. To reject or ignore the deity of Christ is to choose not to believe the Master. Believing Him is to praise, worship, and honor Him as the everlasting God.

By the Spirit all pervading,
Hosts unnumbered round the Lamb,
Crowned with light and joy unfading,
Hail Him as the great “I AM.”
                                J.N. Darby (1800-1882)

August 15

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