THE CENTRALITY OF CHRIST

“I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which [God] has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance in His holy people, and His incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength He exerted when He raised Christ from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under His feet and appointed Him to be head over everything for the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills everything in every way.”  (Ephesians 1:18-23 NIV)

When it comes to systemic change [in the church], all that matters is the Gospel. Either the system helps people experience the transforming power of God and walk daily with Jesus, or it does not. If it does not, then no matter how daring, fun, intriguing, or socially beneficial it might be, it does not fulfill the New Testament purpose of the church. If it does, then congregations can flourish and bear fruit (spiritual, social, and economic) to benefit all humankind.

...The real issue before the church is not merely theological. It is Christological – [relating to the person, nature, and role of Christ]. The key question... for church transformation is: What is it about our experience with Jesus that this community cannot live without?... No enduring change can happen in the church... without it being linked to continuing spiritual growth in one's relationship with Jesus.

-- Thomas G. Bandy in “Moving Off the Map” 

THE CENTRALITY OF CHRIST

“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence. 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 1:15-20 NKJV)

The Cross of Christ is the heart of the Gospel. It takes the entire Bible to explain it. All our teaching must relate to that, like all the spokes and rim and tires of a wheel relate to the axis. Jesus is the center, the pivot. Everything else will fit into place around Jesus. Indeed the entire Word of God revolves around Him. If Christ is not the hub the wheel will wobble and break. 

-- Reinhard Bonnke in “Christ for All Nations”

#5336

SEEING CHRIST IN ALL OF SCRIPTURE

It’s appropriate that at the end of Luke’s Gospel (chapter 24), Luke recounts the interaction Jesus had with a couple of His disciples walking along the road to Emmaus. Jesus -- the Messiah -- has been crucified, and the disciples are perplexed, unable to piece it all together. How did the Savior just die? But along comes Jesus, disguised as He has been throughout Scripture, and He opens their eyes to see that the whole of Scripture is really about Him.

He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter His glory?” And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, He explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning Himself. (Luke 24:25-27 NIV) Luke recounts that their “hearts burned within them” (verse 32) as their minds were opened.

Luke reveals to us an important fact: Knowing God’s plan and gift of salvation is deeply rooted in knowing the entire story. The good news doesn’t just reside in Part 2 of the Bible, the New Testament. The entire story of the Bible is about one person, one plan, one goal. That person is Jesus, that plan is redemption, the goal is the glory of God. It’s really a pretty simple storyline. 

-- Adapted from Tom Hudzina in “Four Sevens: Meeting With Jesus in the Gospel of Luke”

#4982

THE HOPE DIAMOND OF THE BIBLE

For God

so loved the world

that He gave His one and only Son,

that whoever believes in Him

shall not perish but have

eternal life.

A twenty-six-word parade of hope:  beginning with God, ending with life, and urging us to do the same. Brief enough to write on a napkin or memorize in a moment, yet solid enough to weather two thousand years of storms and questions. If you know nothing of the Bible, start here. If you know everything in the Bible, return here. We all need the reminder. The heart of the human problem is the heart of the human. And God’s treatment is prescribed in John 3:16.

He loves. He gave. We believe. We live.

…Believe or dismiss them, embrace or reject them, any serious consideration of Christ must include them.

-- Max Lucado in “Cast of Characters”

#4330

GOD IS THE CENTER

"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations."  (Jeremiah 1:5)

Our lives are not puzzles to be figured out.  Rather, we come to God, who knows us and reveals to us the truth of our lives.  The fundamental mistake is to begin with ourselves and not God.  God is the center from which all life develops.  If we use our ego as the center from which to plot the geometry of our lives, we will live eccentrically.

-- Eugene H. Peterson in “Run with the Horses: The Quest for Life at its Best”


#4152