In Awe of Christ: Unlocking the Mysteries of the Universe

Ken

“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6 NIV).

We do not give Christ the credit to which He is due. In the two millennia since He walked this planet, we have become far too accustomed to the mention of His name without the awe and reverence due Him. “You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for You created all things, and by Your will they were created and have their being” (Revelation 4:11 NIV). With the Spirit of Christ’s help through His Infallible Word, we can determine:

  • Christ is the key to every lock.
  • Christ is the understanding for every problem.
  • Christ is the answer to every question.
  • Christ is the missing piece to every puzzle.
  • Christ is the tool for every circumstance.
  • Christ is the genuine to every counterfeit.
  • Christ is the unification to all dissolution.

Perhaps we can sense how far removed we are from the reality of God’s Word, when we find ourselves sympathizing with the world about discovering a way, truth, or life about existence without Christ as the key, understanding, answer, missing piece, tool, genuine, and unification for all possible necessities. World peace, equality, justice, forgiveness, understanding, acceptance, community, love — to name only a few — are some of what Christ addressed in that simple statement to His disciples in the hours before His Gethsemane betrayal. Jesus spoke words, which His followers were not yet able to hear. But, are we still any different? Do we not wait with rapture for some breakthrough of understanding or for some human attainment to arrive, before we can confidently lay hold of Christ’s unequalled statement of who He is and what He possesses — “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6 NIV)? Who He is in relation to us is, simply put, “His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness” (2Peter 1:3 NIV). Because He is, so are we.

Christ is the key to every lock

It should come as no surprise that Jesus claimed to be the door or gate of salvation to all those who come through Him. “I am the gate; whoever enters through Me will be saved” (John 10:7 NIV). When dealing with spiritual concerns, it is necessary to use metaphoric language and analogies, for nothing else exists to enable us to grasp better these intangible concepts. Spiritual reality is depicted by physical concepts. It is said of Christ, “For through Him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit” (Ephesians 2:18 NIV). Access and entry to God’s domain are provided through Christ. It is more than hyperbole when God translates physical things into spiritual or spiritual things into physical. “And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of His glory in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19 NIV). Look at the Old and New Testaments and note that God repeatedly attempts to open the eyes of His people to the superior reality of spiritual things. “And Elisha prayed, Open his eyes, Lord, so that he may see. Then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha” (2Kings 6:17 NIV). “I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest [of people for His kingdom]” (John 4:35 NIV). But, how can every locked door be opened by Christ? It should be understood that any door closed by Christ is not a disciple’s wish to be opened. “What He opens no one can shut, and what He shuts no one can open” (Revelation 3:7 NIV)

Christ is the understanding for every problem

Finding and appropriating Christ for every circumstance is the rule of life for the disciple, and the careful leading of the Spirit makes the proper application. “It is because of Him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God — that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption” (1Corinthians 1:30 NIV). God has given language meaning to represent the understanding He wishes to impart. Wisdom is a moral choice, while understanding is a resulting condition both of mind and heart. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding” (Proverbs 9:10 NIV). The spread of the knowledge of God is inherent in the system God has ordained mankind to fashion. From the beginning it was so. “God blessed them and said to them, Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground” (Genesis 1:28 NIV). Only an act of the will in defiance of God could sabotage the wisdom God would give us to understand all of our problems. And, the subverter of human souls was more than happy to introduce doubt to our first parents about the integrity of our Faithful Creator. The ensuing confusion is the fruit born to those who stand in opposition to God. Christ was introduced into the world to heal the breach and restore the original intent of God for mankind to “live a life worthy of the Lord and please Him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God” (Colossians 1:10 NIV).

Christ is the answer to every question

Why doesn’t God answer every question? Because He only gives an answer to the right question, which is, How do I accomplish the will of God? “Teach me to do Your will, for You are my God; may Your good Spirit lead me on level ground” (Psalm 143:10 NIV). Consider logically God’s position. All of humanity has a seeming endless number of questions. Has God obligated Himself to answer every little question? If you were God, which questions would you answer? Would you fault God for answering only those questions, which promote “His kingdom and His righteousness” (Matthew 6:33 NIV)? Christ taught His disciples to pray, “Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10 NIV). Remember the “riches of His glory in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19 NIV)? Those riches are sufficient for wisdom enough to accomplish any and all of God’s will. “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you” (James 1:5 NIV). What human, much less scientist or philosopher, wouldn’t want a pass key to unravel every conundrum? But notice, the mysteries of the universe are all answered in Christ. To the savant or learned scholar, this answer may be truly uninspiring, because it is too simple — for them, overly simplistic. “18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 24 but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God” (1Corinthians 1:18, 24 NIV).

Christ is the missing piece for every puzzle

A puzzle is a perplexing problem looking for a solution or a missing piece. It is the idea of incompleteness awaiting wholeness. A missing piece suggests a completed picture was the original design of its creator. With the knowledge of the original picture, the missing piece can be found to complete the puzzle. Christ is both the picture and the missing puzzle piece. “The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in Him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together” (Colossians 1:15-17 NIV). It is not God’s intent to simply hand man a labor saving tool, a mindless solution, or a panacea to avoid work, but His purpose is to enable us to find fulfillment and completeness through faith in Christ. It is helpful to describe God’s effect upon our circumstances as not merely “saving” or “sanctifying,” which He definitely accomplishes, but as well, God is satisfying His people by feeding the hunger of the soul, and slaking the thirst of heart, in a way that only the Indwelling Christ can fulfill. Contentment and completion can only be found in Christ. With that sudden epiphany of understanding, we are complete in Christ. No longer struggling to be pronounced complete by any measure of man, we are completed and satisfied by Christ. As we are satisfied by Living Water, not merely at salvation, we are also maintained forever by Living Water for sanctification. Christ is the Living Water that satisfies us in salvation. “Whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (John 4:14 NIV). Christ is the Living Water that continues to satisfy us in sanctification. “On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, Let anyone who is thirsty come to Me and drink. Whoever believes in Me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them. By this He meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified” (John 7:37-39 NIV).

Christ is the tool for every circumstance

Without tools, religion is rendered useless. A tool is anything used as a means to accomplish a task or purpose. By Scripture’s own definition, “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world” (James 1:27 NIV). The practicality of Pure Religion deals with distressed people in difficult circumstances, while the purity of Practical Religion deals with remaining faultless in a hostile world. The world accuses the godly of being so heavenly minded that they are of no earthly use. But, the very evidence for the truth of True Religion are the deeds that flow out of the lives of True Disciples. “Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds” (James 2:18 NIV). Christ is the epitome of the perfect tool for all circumstances. “I can do all this through Him who gives me strength” (Philippians 4:13 NIV). A tool that can do all things can only be the Living Christ, for during His earthly ministry, those who saw His miracles “were overwhelmed with amazement. He has done everything well, they said” (Mark 7:37 NIV). And, these words were spoken by not necessarily His disciples. You can see the pattern of these superlatives. Christ fulfills some capacity or relationship to each one of our needs or circumstances. Only the Divine Son of God could fulfill such a requirement. “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on His shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of His government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over His kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this” (Isaiah 9:6-7 NIV).

Christ is the genuine to every counterfeit

A counterfeit attempts to steal glory or value not belonging to it. The very effort to fraudulently gain the benefit of the original and genuine because of the deception is to counterfeit. Christ is the genuine, as Antichrist is the counterfeit. “For many will come in My name, claiming, I am the Messiah, and will deceive many” (Matthew 24:5 NIV). In a discussion of the false and the true, Jesus Christ is clearly intended as the genuine, when represented against all impostors. “Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour” (1John 2:18 NIV). Our understanding of Christ is the greatest possible deterrent and preservative against the deception of Antichrist. “We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know Him who is true. And we are in Him who is true by being in His Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life” (1John 5:20 NIV). Study the pattern of the genuine, and the counterfeit is easily spotted. Apologetics must be preeminently grounded in the understanding of who Christ is for our own circumstances before waging war against the subversion of the Antichrist. As we become better acquainted with Christ, we become better “prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have” (1Peter 3:15 NIV). As we gain experience with Christ, we inevitably become better acquainted with Christ’s adversary, “in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes” (2Corinthians 2:11 NIV).

Christ is the unification to all dissolution

Christ is the greatest unifying force in the universe. Christ not only attracts but resists dissolution. “And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to Myself” (John 12:32 NIV). Christ attracts humanity to Himself. This is accomplished through the power of the Gospel. “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile” (Romans 1:16 NIV). But, as a moral force, even Christ can be resisted. “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned” (Mark 16:16 NIV). As the Designer of the Universe, He understands the moral attraction of love. “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” (John 3:16 NIV). Love is where each seeks the highest good of the other — God’s good first, then our neighbor’s good equal to our own. The Gospel offers us a second chance without God giving up the integrity of the Law of Love. The substitutionary, suffering sacrifice of the Son of God makes it possible for God to forgive us, when we repent and believe, without God having to withdraw His Law’s necessity to love or perish.

“God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God” (2Corinthians 5:21 NIV). And, God does hold us accountable for voluntarily associating with those whose influence over our morals draws down our character more than our character improves their morals. “Do not be misled: Bad company corrupts good character” (1Corinthians 15:33 NIV).

Conclusion 

We could never speak of Christ with such awe and reverence unless He truly is one with the Father. “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30 NIV). And, we bow down before Him as the Everlasting God. “Before Abraham was born, I am!” (John 8:58 NIV). Whatever power is revealed through the understanding of these concepts will be a demonstration of the power of the Holy Spirit. The difference between the hyperbole of flowery speech about Christ and the reality of Christ is power. “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power” (1Corinthians 4:20 NIV). One can only worship the Great I Am as we ponder the magnitude and implications of these concepts. “To Him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!” (Revelation 5:13 NIV). Unlocking the mysteries of the universe brings us face to face with Christ! “Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen” (1Timothy 1:17 NIV).