Jesus, Christ and Lord: Reflecting the Trinity

As we have discussed previously, God is a Triune Being, and the nature of the Trinity is reflected throughout His creation.

Jesus of Nazareth, wholly God yet wholly man as He wrapped Himself in human flesh, is also Christ and Lord (Acts 2:36; 1 Corinthians 12:3; Ephesians 4:5). Jesus walked the earth teaching and preaching His divine wisdom; as Christ He was the perfect sacrifice to reconcile sinful man with holy God; and in His omnipotence He is Lord and Master of all and over all (Acts 10:36; Romans 10:12). These three aspects of God the Son are also described as Prophet, Priest, and King. 

In His earthly ministry, Jesus was the greatest Prophet of all (Matthew 21:11; Luke 7:16, 24:19; Acts 3:22,23), sent to earth as the Revelation of the Father, with the words of eternal life. His teachings, parables, miracles, and words are recorded forever in God’s Word, which will never pass away. He Himself is called the Word, for He spoke the worlds into existence (John 1:1; Revelation 19:13; I John 1:1).

Jesus Christ is the Great High Priest (Hebrews 3:1; 4:14) after the order of Melchisidec (Hebrews 5:6; 6:20). Because Christ is the Holy One of God (Mark 1:24; Isaiah 49:7; Acts 2:27; 3:14), He exemplifies ultimate perfection as the Priest, the Temple, and the Sacrifice, and deserves to be praised three times as Holy, Holy, Holy (Isaiah 6:3).

As the Priest, Christ is the Minister (Mark 10:45; Romans 15:8, Hebrews 8:2), the Intercessor, constantly interceding on our behalf (Hebrews 1:3).and mediating between us and God the Father (Hebrews 7:25; 1 Timothy 2:5), and the Counselor or Advocate (I John 2:1), representing and defending us when Satan accuses us. Since He rose from the dead, Jesus has been seated at the right hand of the throne of God where He is perfectly positioned to fulfill these three roles, for He is the author and finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:2).

Jesus Christ is All-in-All, and in His self-sufficiency, He is not only the Priest, but the Temple (Revelation 21:22) or Sanctuary (Isaiah 8:14), and He Himself serves as the Veil, the Altar (Hebrews 13:10, and even the Offering (Ephesians 5:2). Just as the veil of the temple separating the Holy of Holies from the people was torn in two at His crucifixion, His torn flesh was the new and living Way  (Hebrews 10:20) allowing sinners to approach Holy God.

Jesus, the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world (Revelation 7:9; 13:8), made the perfect sacrifice of His shed blood to be the perfect atonement or propitiation (Romans 3:25) for our sins, once and for all (Hebrews 7:27). He was the offering and sacrifice to God that He would accept as a sweet-smelling savour far better than any incense (Ephesians 5:2).

As Lord of Lords (Revelation 17:14; 19:16), Jesus Christ is the Lord Both of the Dead and Living (Romans 14:9), the Lord of the Sabbath (Luke 6:5), and the Lord of Peace (II Thessalonians 3:16). The Lord of Hosts (Zecharaiah 14:16) is the King of Glory (Psalm 24:10), the King of Righteousness, and the King of Peace (Hebrews 7:2).

As King of Kings (Revelation 17:14; 19:16), He shall reign forever and eternally (Psalm 29:10; Revelation 11:15). He shall be not only the King of Israel (John 1:49), meaning the King of the Daughter of Zion (John 12:15) or the King of the Jews (Matthew 2:2; Mark 15:2; John 19:19), but He is also the King of Saints (Revelation 15:3), meaning of all believers, and King Over All the Earth (Zechariah 14:4,5,9)

As would be expected from the Almighty Lord and King, Jesus will fulfill three roles in His second coming: Warrior, Judge, and Ruler. As Supreme Warrior (Psalm 45:3), He will lead armies of resurrected saints to defeat the enemies of Israel at the battle of Armageddon with the Sword of His Word (Isaiah 55:4; Revelation 19:13), and He will even defeat Satan and death. Jesus Christ as Warrior is all-powerful, fierce, and noble, represented by The Lion of the Tribe of Judah (Revelation 5:5). He is the Captain of the Host of the Lord (Joshua 5:14) and of our salvation (Hebrews 2:10), and our Leader and Commander (Isaiah 55:4). The Self-Sufficient Warrior is also His own weaponry and armor: the Polished Shaft or arrow (Isaiah 49:2), the Shield (Psalm 84:9), and the Destroying Sceptre (Numbers 24:17) with His mouth the Sword of the Word (Isaiah 49:2).

As the Just One (Acts 7:52; 3:14, 1 Peter 3:18) or perfect and righteous Judge (Acts 17:31; 2 Timothy 4:8), He will fairly bestow rewards to His children, and punishment to souls and to nations who rejected Him (Revelation 19:11).

As Ruler (Micah 5:2), the Lord Jesus will preside over the Millennial Kingdom of perfect peace and harmony (Isaiah 9:6; (Psalm 45:6) as their Governor (Matthew 2:6), Ensign of the People (Isaiah 11:10), or symbol of national power, and Messiah the Prince (Daniel 9:25) and Saviour.(Acts 5:31).He is not only the Prince of all Rulers (the Prince of Princes (Daniel 8:25) and the Prince of the Kings of the Earth (Revelation 1:5)), but He is also the Prince of Life (Acts 3:15) and the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6).

As the Prince of Life and of Peace, He gave us life, maintains our life, and paid our sin debt to redeem us from death to eternal life! Praise God that Jesus Christ and Lord is our Creator, Sustainer, and Redeemer – as we will discuss in our next post!

© 2012 Laurie Collett

Guidance

GUIDANCE = God – U & I Dance. This acronym for “guidance” is not my own, and it has been circulating on the Internet in various forms for more than 20 years, but it is one that bears repeating. Partnership ballroom dancing is to me a wonderful metaphor for a Biblical marriage (Mark 10:6-9), which, in turn, pictures the relationship between Christ and His church (Ephesians 5:22-33).

In a fallen world, partnership dancing, like marriage, is subject to the influences of our own sin nature and of worldly distractions and idols (Mark 10:1-6). Before I was saved, my dance practices with my husband Richard were more like a shouting match than a harmonious collaboration, and our competitive energies and frustrations were mostly aimed against one another rather than at our actual competitors.

On one memorable occasion nearly 20 years ago, furious that Richard was not seeing things my way (because of course I knew I was right!), I stormed out of an evening practice session and proceeded to walk home. Never mind that home was about 5 miles away, through dark streets, and that I was wearing a skimpy practice dress and high-heeled Latin shoes, and that I didn’t even have the house keys.

After realizing that I wasn’t planning on returning to the practice, and that I was too “directionally challenged” to find my way home safely, Richard set out after me in the van. When he caught up with me he quietly but sternly asked me to get in, only to have another car stop and the driver ask me if this man (Richard) was bothering me! At that point I had enough sense to say “No, ma’am,” and to humbly get in the van and beg Richard for his forgiveness.

So before salvation, our stormy dance partnership reflected neither an ideal marriage (Colossians 3:18-19) nor the submissive and trusting attitude a believer should have toward her Savior (Proverbs 3:5; Romans 10:3-4; James 4:7). But in its pure and perfect form, dancing can be a beautiful illustration of both relationships.

The gentleman invites the lady with an extended hand; the lady accepts and moves toward him. He clasps her hand in his, protectively yet tenderly; she delicately balances her free hand on the support of his outstretched arm. He cradles her shoulder blade with his other hand, and she melts into their point of connection at the rib cage where she is keenly aware of his intended movement. He leads with power but without force; she responds by following with sensitivity, without tension or doubt.

Together they dance as one, creating a far more beautiful picture than either could alone. In her flowing, colorful ball gown, the lady resembles an orchid nourished and supported by a sturdy tree, able to sway in the breeze without separating from the stability and protection of her partner.

For all this to occur, the lady must completely and graciously submit to the gentleman’s lead, which is only possible if she senses that he can be trusted to always do what is best for her, even if it means sacrificing his own comfort or glory or putting himself in harm’s way to protect her. Most of the time, she dances backward, so she cannot see where she is going and must trust her partner to navigate around the other couples or obstacles that may be in the ballroom. Dancing on stage is particularly perilous, as she must trust him not to let her stray over the edge into the orchestra pit!.

Theatre Arts ballroom dancing involves even greater trust, as the gentleman balances the lady in overhead lifts (video). Sometimes their only point of connection is his hand on her back while she faces the ceiling, trusting him to balance her entering, during and exiting the lift, and not to drop her even if something goes wrong. If she panics or struggles, the shifts in balance make the lift even more dangerous and likely to result in a fall.

Despite the greater challenges of this style, Richard grew fond of it early in our dance career, for as he said, “When you’re overhead, you’re not in a real strong bargaining position!”

The Bible tells us that wives should submit themselves to their husbands, and that husbands should love their wives as Christ loved the church and gave Himself for it (Ephesians 5:22-33; Colossians 3:18-19). The two go hand in hand – submission to one who loves sacrificially with an agape type of love. Why would we not willingly submit to One Who loves us so much that He gave His own life to save us? (John 15:13; Romans 5:8)

So not only is the dance partnership a mirror of the marriage bond, but also of the believer’s relationship to Jesus Christ as Lord of our lives (Acts 10:36). He never imposes His will on us, but where He leads, we should want to follow because He alone is completely faithful (Deuteronomy 7:9; Psalm 89:8; 1 Corinthians 1:9; 10:13), true (Isaiah 25:1; Revelation 3:14; John 14:6), and loving (Ephesians 2:4; 1 John 4:7). As in the dance, He always initiates (1 John 4:19), awaits our response, and then takes us further based on how closely we follow (James 4:8).

The outcome is up to us -- we can pout in the corner and refuse to dance. Or, we can begin to follow Him and then fall out of step or even flat on our face, because we listen to our pride and impatience and insist on making our own moves (Proverbs 16:18). Ideally, we accept His dance invitation and attune ourselves to His subtle signals, shutting out all distractions so we can swiftly and completely respond to His direction with sensitivity and commitment (Acts 17:28), following Him every step of the way.

He will give us guidance -- the wisdom, joy and fulfillment we desire -- if we follow Him (Matthew 16:24; 19:21,28; Mark 2:14; 8:34; 10:21; John 10:27). He is the one Partner Who will guide us through the dance of life with perfect grace and harmony until He safely leads us home.

Before Richard and I begin each dance practice, we pray that He will empty us of ourselves so we can yield completely to His Holy Spirit. We pray that we will dance together as one person, his leading and my following in perfect harmony, reflecting to each other and to our audience the love that He has for us. May this prayer also be the model for every precious moment we spend with Our Savior, following Him wherever He leads, trusting in His perfect direction, protection, provision and timing.

© 2012 Laurie Collett