GOD BECAME CHRIST FOR THIS REASON

SATURDAY 12 MARCH 2022

The Bible says, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God" (John 1:2 NIV). Then the Word became human and made his home among us (John 1:14 NLT). This is talking about God and His trinity form of supernatural manifestation. In one of the past articles, I shared about God being known as "I Am that I Am" which is a significant English translation of a Hebrew phrase.

This name was given to Moses by God when he asked God for His name. The alternative renderings of the name include: 'I will be that I will be'; 'I will become whatsoever I please', which is the Greek form, (Ego eimi ho on). In today's article, we will engage the reason God as the Word, became human.

Reference: Colossians 1:21-23 New Living Translation (NLT) "This includes you who were once far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions. Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault. But you must continue to believe this truth and stand firmly in it. Don’t drift away from the assurance you received when you heard the Good News."

To understand exactly what God did in and through Christ, let's us consider the earlier verses, Colossians 1:19-20: "For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ, and through him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross" (NIV). Going by the description, "I Will Be that I Will Be", God in all His fullness changed to human form and became Christ, a distinctive vessel in the flesh programmed to transmit the fullness of God in bodily form. So Christ the Son of God became the flesh for holding and radiating the fullness of God (Hebrews 1;3 NIV).

God did this for a purpose, because He becomes whatsoever He pleases in order to accomplish His purpose at any given time, according to the good pleasure of His will. So what was God's purpose of becoming Christ in the flesh? Adam messed up! For this reason, sin reigned over mankind resulting in death, such that man could no longer have anything to do with God or live perpetually. As a result, mankind was detached from God and became His enemy, as regards being separated from Him by sinful nature that sponsored all manner of evil thoughts and wicked actions. But God who is rich in mercy and full of eternal life, became Christ for us in order to reconcile us to Himself through the death of Christ in His physical body. By doing so, grace began to reign through righteousness to bring eternal life to man again through Jesus Christ our Lord (see Romans 5:21).

As a result of Christ's death, we (those who have received Christ as Lord) are brought back and restored into the presence of God, as holy and blameless people and we can stand before Him without a single fault. Notably, it is God working everything out through Christ in order to reconcile us to Himself. This emphasizes the gracious proceeding of God towards us in immediate connection with the work and person of Christ. He raised us up with Christ so that we should no longer walk "according to the course of this world," but according to the eternal life in Christ - which is the newness of life.

Now what is our own responsibility? We must continue to believe this truth and stand firmly in it. Don't drift away from the assurance of faith you received when you heard the Good News of the glorious gospel of Christ. Beloved, we have been positioned in Christ by God, a realm where the benefits and privileges of the Kingdom of heaven are dispensed and the fellowship of the Godhead is solemnly engaged. No wonder St. John, the Apostle gracefully wrote, "We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And this fellowship of ours is with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ" (1 John 1:3 BSB). God made everything possible for this reason: So we can live eternally and partake in the divine fellowship with the Godhead at will, where supernatural possibilities and elevation of Spirit are habitually experienced. Shalom!

Scripture Reading - John 17:3; Romans 16:25; Colossians 1:19; 2 Corinthians 5:19; Colossians 2:2-3.

Guided Prayer: Dear Father in heaven, I'm grateful for reconciling me to yourself and welcoming me into your presence forever, through the death and resurrection of Christ. According to the good pleasure of your will, I have been born again through the living and eternal Word that became flesh for this purpose. Hence, by being one with Christ Jesus, eternal life has become my portion. Thank you Lord because I'm daily renewed by the Word, spiritually transformed and set apart for your purpose, thereby progressively fulfilling my glorious destiny in Christ, in Jesus' Name, Amen!