Jesus Only

24 Apr

Jesus Only

Philippians 2:5-11 expresses the heart of Jesus behind His incarnation, life, death, burial and resurrection:

“Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men. And being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him a name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, things in earth, and things under the earth. And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

Jesus voluntarily gave up His position in Heaven and what is naturally His, to humble Himself into the form of His own created humans. By God’s decree, all worship belongs to God through Jesus, whose whole purpose is to give glory to God the Father. A paradox, indeed, but it is what Scripture teaches.

On earth, Jesus rightly connected Himself to God when He applied the name “I AM” to Himself. This name for God is first found in Exodus 3:14 when Moses wanted to know who he should tell the Israelites had sent him: “And God said unto Moses, ‘I AM THAT I AM [ehyeh ’ăšer ’ehyeh]:…Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.’” Linguistically, this term denotes ultimate being, someone with no comparison in any terms. In English it is the first person of the conjugated verb infinitive “To Be”. That God expressed it as a noun signifies a use of human language that is as close as our understanding can get to the true meaning of God’s name. It can have no other meaning than ultimate being, unique and beyond anything we can comprehend.

When Jesus said, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I Am.”, the crowd He was speaking to knew exactly what He was saying when He used the very same term that God had used with Moses – that He is God. They picked up stones to stone Him. But Jesus was able to leave the temple and escape them. As we have seen in Philippians 2:9-11, He was declared by God to be the only One worthy of worship, and that every knee will bow before Him.

Matthew 4:1-11 records what is commonly called the “Temptation of Jesus”, attempts by Satan to derail God’s plan for salvation by tricking Jesus into sin. Jesus’ answer to Satan’s wheedling demand to worship him in Matthew 4:10 was, “…Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve.” And Satan continues his attempts to take glory away from Jesus. Since Jesus is God Incarnate, we need to be careful to keep our worship for Him and not idolize other humans or things.

Even the disciples fell into this trap and were scolded by God Himself for their thoughtlessness. When Jesus took Peter, James, and John up the mountain to witness the transfiguration in Matthew 17:1-8, they observed His meeting with Moses and Elijah. No one had to tell them who these ancients were; they seemed to recognize them without prompting. Peter suggests to Jesus that they “…make here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah” (vss. 3-4).

The answer came instantaneously from heaven in the form of a concealing cloud and the voice of God saying, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him” (vs. 5). The disciples earned the rebuke from God because they attempted to share the worship of Jesus, who is God incarnate, with Moses and Elijah.

There are other times in Scripture that we see angels telling people not to worship them because they are not God. Peter himself found Cornelius worshipping him in Acts 10; “But Peter took him up, saying, ‘Stand up; I myself also am a man’” (vs. 26). In Acts 10 we read of Herod, the king, who made a speech to a large crowd. The people in the audience shouted and declared in verse 22 that “It is the voice of a god, and not of a man.” Not refuting that declaration and the worship that came with it, Herod was judged by God at once: “And immediately the angel of the Lord smote him, because he gave not God the glory. And he was eaten of worms and gave up the ghost” (vs. 23).

Be careful, child of God, that your life reflects worship for God Almighty through the Lord Jesus Christ. Do not take glory from God by receiving praise for things only God can and has done. Instead, give that glory back to God in worship, through Jesus Christ to whom it rightly belongs by God’s decree.