This Christian article is all about Jesus Christ's life on earth
in the beginning. Jesus recognized his relation to God, at the age of
twelve years saying to his earthly parents, "Did you not know that I
must be in the house of my Father?" (Luke 2:48-50)
God saw fit to make Jesus the key figure in the outworking of all His purposes, the focal point on which the light of all prophecies would concentrate and from which their light would radiate, the solution to all the problems that Satan's rebellion had raised, and the foundation upon which God would build all universal family in heaven and earth.
Jesus being the key figure while on earth, clearly stated that "no man has ascended into heaven." (John 3:13) In reality, there is nothing in the Scriptures to show that a heavenly hope was held out to God's servants prior to the coming of Jesus Christ. Such hope first appears in Jesus' expressions to his disciples (Matt 19:21, 23-28) and was fully comprehended by them only after Pentecost of 33 C.E. (Acts 1:6-8' 2:1-4)
One thing to take note about Jesus' life. At the beginning of Jesus ministry up to his crucifixion, his purpose was to fulfill all the things prophesied about him and bearing the truth to the things to which God had sworn. This truth was the truth that would 'set men free' if they showed themselves to be "on the side of the truth" by accepting Jesus' role in God's purpose. (John 8:32-36; 18:37)
Jesus Christ himself is full of grace and truth. While Jesus lived his life on earth he always spoke the truth as he received it from his Father. He committed no sin, nor was deception found in his mouth. Jesus represented things as they really were. Besides being full of truth, Jesus was himself the truth, and truth came through him. He declared: "I am the way and the truth and the life."
Jesus life was based on the truth and all his teachings were truth, for he was the master teacher of all God's ways. Jesus knew God as no other man did and this enabled him to provide authoritative teaching concerning his Father.
Jesus Christ was thoroughly acquainted with God's written Word. When ask which commandment was the greatest in the Law, without hesitation he summed up the entire Law in two commandments, quoting from Deuteronomy (6:5) and Leviticus (19:18). (Matt 22:36-40)
During the course of Jesus ministry he is known to have referred to or expressed thoughts that parallel passages from about one-half of the books of the Hebrew Scriptures.
Other aspects about Jesus that made his teaching authoritative and effective were the understanding of man and his loving concern for others. His keen discernment was enhanced by miraculous knowledge of the background and reasoning of others.
Jesus' heart went out to the people to such an extent that he sacrificed needed rest to teach them. On one occasion Jesus Christ and his disciples took a boat and headed for an isolated spot to rest up a bit. But people saw them going and many got to know it, and from all the cities they ran there together on foot and got ahead of them. Well, on getting out, he saw a great crowd, but he was moved with pity for them, because they were as sheep without a shepherd. And he started teaching them many things.
After Jesus life ended on earth by being crucified on the cross in a cruel way, God exalted him to a superior position and kindly gave him the name that is above every other name, so that in the name of Jesus every knee should bend, of those in heaven and those on earth and those under the ground, and every tongue should openly acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.
Acknowledgment of Jesus Christ as Lord means more than simply calling him Lord. It requires that an individual recognize Jesus' position and follow a course of obedience. As Jesus himself said: "Not everyone saying to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter into the kingdom of the heavens, but the one doing the will of my Father who is in the heavens will."
Since Jesus has the keys of death and Hades, he is in position to release mankind from the common grave and from the death inherited from Adam. He is therefore also the Lord over the dead.
During the three and a half years of his earthly ministry, Jesus trained his apostles to continue the work he had started. As imperfect humans, they could not possibly remember every detail about Jesus and his teachings, for the teachings of Jesus were accurate to all God's ways.
But Jesus promised to send them the helper, the holy spirit which the Father would send in his name and the holy spirit will teach them all things and bring back to their minds all the things he told them.
Now that we as Christians have the Holy Spirit as a helper let us take a good look at Jesus life from the beginning with this point of view. Jesus was planted here on earth as the seed of life that grew clear up into the heavens and he set the example for us to follow.
We have the opportunity to follow the example that Jesus set before us and grew up into the heavens with him or choose to do things our way and wither away like a tree that has limited time and eventually dies off. For Jesus Christ is the only way to everlasting life, and the life of Jesus was sacrificed that we may live.
God saw fit to make Jesus the key figure in the outworking of all His purposes, the focal point on which the light of all prophecies would concentrate and from which their light would radiate, the solution to all the problems that Satan's rebellion had raised, and the foundation upon which God would build all universal family in heaven and earth.
Jesus being the key figure while on earth, clearly stated that "no man has ascended into heaven." (John 3:13) In reality, there is nothing in the Scriptures to show that a heavenly hope was held out to God's servants prior to the coming of Jesus Christ. Such hope first appears in Jesus' expressions to his disciples (Matt 19:21, 23-28) and was fully comprehended by them only after Pentecost of 33 C.E. (Acts 1:6-8' 2:1-4)
One thing to take note about Jesus' life. At the beginning of Jesus ministry up to his crucifixion, his purpose was to fulfill all the things prophesied about him and bearing the truth to the things to which God had sworn. This truth was the truth that would 'set men free' if they showed themselves to be "on the side of the truth" by accepting Jesus' role in God's purpose. (John 8:32-36; 18:37)
Jesus Christ himself is full of grace and truth. While Jesus lived his life on earth he always spoke the truth as he received it from his Father. He committed no sin, nor was deception found in his mouth. Jesus represented things as they really were. Besides being full of truth, Jesus was himself the truth, and truth came through him. He declared: "I am the way and the truth and the life."
Jesus life was based on the truth and all his teachings were truth, for he was the master teacher of all God's ways. Jesus knew God as no other man did and this enabled him to provide authoritative teaching concerning his Father.
Jesus Christ was thoroughly acquainted with God's written Word. When ask which commandment was the greatest in the Law, without hesitation he summed up the entire Law in two commandments, quoting from Deuteronomy (6:5) and Leviticus (19:18). (Matt 22:36-40)
During the course of Jesus ministry he is known to have referred to or expressed thoughts that parallel passages from about one-half of the books of the Hebrew Scriptures.
Other aspects about Jesus that made his teaching authoritative and effective were the understanding of man and his loving concern for others. His keen discernment was enhanced by miraculous knowledge of the background and reasoning of others.
Jesus' heart went out to the people to such an extent that he sacrificed needed rest to teach them. On one occasion Jesus Christ and his disciples took a boat and headed for an isolated spot to rest up a bit. But people saw them going and many got to know it, and from all the cities they ran there together on foot and got ahead of them. Well, on getting out, he saw a great crowd, but he was moved with pity for them, because they were as sheep without a shepherd. And he started teaching them many things.
After Jesus life ended on earth by being crucified on the cross in a cruel way, God exalted him to a superior position and kindly gave him the name that is above every other name, so that in the name of Jesus every knee should bend, of those in heaven and those on earth and those under the ground, and every tongue should openly acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.
Acknowledgment of Jesus Christ as Lord means more than simply calling him Lord. It requires that an individual recognize Jesus' position and follow a course of obedience. As Jesus himself said: "Not everyone saying to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter into the kingdom of the heavens, but the one doing the will of my Father who is in the heavens will."
Since Jesus has the keys of death and Hades, he is in position to release mankind from the common grave and from the death inherited from Adam. He is therefore also the Lord over the dead.
During the three and a half years of his earthly ministry, Jesus trained his apostles to continue the work he had started. As imperfect humans, they could not possibly remember every detail about Jesus and his teachings, for the teachings of Jesus were accurate to all God's ways.
But Jesus promised to send them the helper, the holy spirit which the Father would send in his name and the holy spirit will teach them all things and bring back to their minds all the things he told them.
Now that we as Christians have the Holy Spirit as a helper let us take a good look at Jesus life from the beginning with this point of view. Jesus was planted here on earth as the seed of life that grew clear up into the heavens and he set the example for us to follow.
We have the opportunity to follow the example that Jesus set before us and grew up into the heavens with him or choose to do things our way and wither away like a tree that has limited time and eventually dies off. For Jesus Christ is the only way to everlasting life, and the life of Jesus was sacrificed that we may live.
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