CONSIDER JESUS - PART 4

SATURDAY 18 MAY 2024

As you consider Jesus successfully, you will continue to have a personal divine experience with His divinity and presence, that will make you fully convinced that He is the Lord of all. Although the hebraic emphasis in our referenced Scripture is on the grand order of apostleship and high priesthood of Jesus, the author made it quite clear in the subsequent versified statements that He was faithful to the one who appointed Him, just as Moses was faithful in all God's house (Hebrews 3:1-3 NIV). Both of them were legendary personae in the realm of being faithful to their God-assigned and ordained missions. Got it?

But compared to Moses, a fabulous human, who also brought words from God, Jesus is found worthy of greater honour than Moses - by God, the one who appointed Him, and more importantly, because the Son of God came in the flesh and was subject to the infirmities of human nature, yet He did not sin and also, He accomplished salvation and redemption for everyone, not just for the Jews.

Reference: Hebrews 3:1 English Standard Version (ESV)

"Therefore, holy brothers, you who share in a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession."

The next and last segment of the above Scripture to be expounded by my humble self is:

How does His office as the apostle and high priest of our confession apply to our Christian faith?

First of all, take note of this truth: Jesus' office as the apostle and high priest of our confession focuses on the complete deity of Christ, not His earthly walk. Jesus is our spiritual apostle, because He is no longer on a mission on earth. But there is an important aspect of His mission on earth, which I want to emphasize because it will help me to travel far in the arena of exposition: When He ministered on earth, He was declared and appointed to be God's messenger; He took upon Himself a human nature and sinlessly identified with us in every aspect of life from His birth to His death on the cross. Then our sins were done away with through the destructive physical influence of suffering in His bodily nature. To that effect, Romans 6:6 reads, "We know that our old self was crucified with Him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin" (ESV).

The whole tone of the above Scripture deals with the great experience of pain and sorrow which He suffered in His crucifixion - and it has a greater influence and a wider scope of eternal significance than what Moses did for the Israelites for 40 years, as he led them to the brink of promised land. By this I mean that even though Moses shepherded the Israelites and administered their salvation and freedom from slavery, which was a great deal of accomplishment, Jesus' faithfulness was on a whole new level. As a man of sorrows with a high-spirited courage, He accomplished for everyone what Moses couldn't, because He reconciled the world of fallen and broken mankind to God by what He accomplished on the cross.

Now pay ardent attention to this verity: His office as the apostle and high priest of our confession seeks to draw our attention to the faith we profess. But before I come to that in my next article, we must gain the accurate understanding that His office and role as an apostle is not exactly the same as the roles of apostles we have today. As our heavenly apostle, He is the head and overall superintendent of the church, which is His body. To that effect, Colossians 1:18 reads, "Christ is also the head of the church, which is His body. He is the beginning, supreme over all who rise from the dead. So he is first in everything" (NIV).

As the head of the church, He is the founder of the church because exerted the special task of establishing the church and setting an example that should be followed (see also 1st Peter 2:21). To that effect, Matthew 16:18 reads, "Now I say to you that you are Peter (which means 'rock'), and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it" (NIV). Peter and the other disciples had their personal experiences that convinced them of the reality of Jesus being the true Apostle from God. And in the same way that God gave Jesus a mission in the world, He gave His disciples a mission to fulfil in the world (John 17:18 MSG).

Hence, after Jesus ascended into heaven, Peter and the early apostles went with the message of the glorious gospel to change lives, and transform cities and nations, as they were instructed by the Lord Jesus, which implied that they received an apostolic anointing to build and equip the body of Christ upon the firm foundation, already laid by Christ, for Jesus Christ Himself is the chief corner stone. To that effect, Pauline epistolary dictum numbered as 1st Corinthians 3:11 reads, "For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ" (NIV). Stay tuned for part 5. Shalom!

Scripture Reading - John 5:23; John 6:29; John 13:13-17; Ephesians 2:20.

Guided Prayer: 

Heavenly Father, I acknowledge before you that my inward man is being renewed day by day - by your eternal truth, from which I gain repeated and upgraded experiences of your unfailing love. I'm growing in grace as I actively share in your heavenly calling and I acknowledge the Lord Jesus Christ as the apostle and high priest of my confession - in the conscious development of my spiritual life. Thank you for the revelation that comes with this topic, which is for an exalted purpose, capable of advancing my faith walk from glory to glory, in Jesus' Name, Amen.